Celebrate 9.0 digital by Content Magazine

CONTENT Silicon Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Innovative and Creative Culture

Issue 9.0

ZUrB | Nasty Ray | GrandView Restaurant | Michi Sushi | NUMU Los Gatos

content magazine, san jose

April Gee

Boutique Owner / Musician

celebrate 9.0 $9.95

2 N . M A R K E T S T R E E T, S U I T E 1 0 0 , S A N J O S E , C A 9 5 1 1 3 / P : 4 0 8 . 2 9 3 . 4 2 4 2 / U M B R E L L A S A L O N . C O M

SAVE

www.gofundme.com/save-empire-seven

CONTENT Issue 9.0 “Celebrate” Jan / Feb 2017

The Makers: Cultivator Daniel Garcia

Editors Odile Sullivan-Tarazi Johanna Hickle, Emily Wenzl Vila Schwindt, Elizabeth Sullivan Kelsy Thompson, Trudy Obi Laura Larson Circulation/Distribution Elle Mitchell Brand Director Julia Canavese Production Kristen Pfund

Designers Elle Mitchell, Maggie Moore Photographers Stan Olszewski, Arabela Espinoza Scott MacDonald, Mark Chua Writers Tad Malone, Kate Evans, Michelle Runde, Nathan Zanon Kevin Biggers, Diane Solomon Giselle Tran, Johanna Hickle Brandon Roos, Nicole Tindall Brandi Stansbury, Francisco Alvarado Fall Intern Brandie Alvarez

Publisher Silicon Valley Creates Five years! We did it. Though it has been a lot of hard work, it has also been very rewarding to shine a spotlight on the community I grew up in and the people I love. There's been many along the way who have helped make this crazy dream a reality. I am deeply grateful for all the great friends and contributors. Photographers, graphic designers, writers, editors, advisors, all the subscribers, and gracious partners and faithful advertisers. I do want to call out just a few who contributed particularly to the birth of Content: Sarah Hale, Stacy Ernst, Mary Matlack, Flora Moreno de Thompson, Mark Haney, Khiem Hoang, Jeff Gardner, Daniel Milano, and Sarah Garcia. These folks gave so much in the early days that this fifth year would not be possible without them. Thank you all for your help. And now, for the next 5+ years, the current team is just as dedicated and desirous as I am to continue to provide the South Bay with stylized representations of our culture. These folks, listed above, also deserve recognition and thanks for their contributions. Lastly, our 2015 merger with SVCreates has truly positioned us for growth and stainability in the future. It is with joy that I look back at where we’ve been and with great excitement that I look forward to where we’re going: we have much to celebrate! Enjoy. Daniel Garcia The Cultivator

IN THIS ISSUE Specialized Bicycles / April Gee / GrandView Restaurant / New World Ales / Mothers Worry To participate in Content Magazine: daniel@content-magazine.com Subscription & advertising information available by contacting elle@content-magazine.com

Content Magazine is

a bimonthly publication about the innovative and creative culture of Silicon Valley, published by SVCREATES.

Beyond Photorealism: Watercolor Painting by Zhang Xiaochang Xiaochang has no intention of tricking you, but his watercolor paintings are so photorealistic that many have questioned whether his works are really watercolor. What makes his paintings special is that he always shows compassion and benevolence from deep within his heart.

12/10~12/21/2016 Opening: 2:30pm, Sat, 12/10 Address: 3777 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 400, Santa Clara, CA 95051 Contact: (408)248-2698 Website: www.artshu.com Silicon Valley Asian Art Center

Content celebrate 9.0 Jan/Feb 2017 San Jose, California

Day Trip

8 Redwood City, Ca

Art and Design

10 Artist, Tamara Chang 14 Artist, Andrea Melara 18 NUMU, New Museum Los Gatos 20 School of Arts & Culture, Tamara Alvarado 24 Silicon Valley Asian Art Center, Jianhua Shu 28 RetailNext, Alexi Agratchev 30 Zurb, Bryan Zmijewski 34 Specialized Bicycle Components, Mike Sinyard

April Gee, pg. 84

FOod and Drink

38 GrandView Restaurant, Maurice Carrubba

44 Michi Sushi, Michi, Raphael & Mike Shin 48 The Cookie Boys, Jeffrey & Joseph Heilman 50 New World Ales, Mark Denari

Style

52 60 64 66

Night Shoot, Mark Chua Heritance Crafted Goods, Kevin Asuncion Barber, Sir Terrance Finley Bedlam Beauty and Barber, PJ Ciraulo

Words and Music

70 74 78 82 84 86

Michi Sushi, pg. 44

KQED Radio, Rachael Myrow Village House of Books, Cheryl & Steve Hare Nasty Ray, Ray Mora Wax Moon Containher, April Gee Mothers Worry

88 Content Calendar 90 Content Contributors 91 Content Partners

All materials in Content Magazine are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published, broadcast or modified in any way without the prior written consent of Silicon Valley Creates, or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of this content. For further information, or to participate in the production or distribution, please contact us at editor@content-magazine.com.

Nasty Ray, pg. 78

GrandView Restaurant, pg. 38

2016DTceCadv2.pdf

11/7/16

5:43 PM

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

Need an escape? Don’t have a lot of time? Living in Silicon Valley provides you with all kinds of options for a short getaway. From the beach to the mountains, wineries to windsurfing, the South Bay is one of the best hubs for launching into world-class scenery and activities. So why not take a day trip?

Day trip

408

Redwood City, Ca. Written by Annette Garcia Photography by Daniel Garcia Known for its near-perfect climate, and conveniently located halfway between San Francisco and San Jose, Redwood City is the oldest city on the peninsula. In fact, during the Gold Rush of 1849, it became an important logging town. Redwood City has quietly been a tech town for over 30 years, and in the most recent gold rush of tech, it’s experiencing a boom of its own. To tech giants such as Oracle and Electronic Arts, Redwood City has added Box, Evernote, Shutterfly, and Shazam. With so many tech companies moving in, the city has seen a quickly evolving downtown expand into a super cool little city, with artisanal coffee and roasters, trendy places to eat, the arts, and great live entertainment. On your day out, you might want to start with a cup of coffee—not just any coffee, but great coffee. Redwood City has grown into a superior coffee town, with some shops serving their own roasts, others selling many of the same artisanal roasters you’d find in the best shops in the South Bay. Start your day at Bliss Coffee right in the heart of downtown, on Broadway. Bliss serves their local artisanal coffee on a rotating schedule, and on any particular day you might find blends from Four Barrel, Verve, or Chromatic on the menu. It’s likely to be a lovely day for a hike. Fortified with a jolt of joe, drive five minutes up Woodside Road into the town of Woodside to Wunderlich County Park. Beautifully shaded ferns and moss-covered

boulders are surrounded by statuesque redwood trees. Hikers and horses share trails that pass the old Folger estate stables, for a step back in time. If you skipped coffee downtown, on your way up to the park you can enjoy a handcrafted pour-over, syphon, or cold brew at S’ bastians Coffee, right along Woodside Road. After a leisurely, woodsy walk, jump back in your car and, yes, another short five minutes and you’re back downtown for lunch at Vesta. Relax on the charming back patio and enjoy one of the incredible woodfired pizzas they’re known for. The crust is on par with what’s on offer in New York— it’s that good. You might try the sausage and honey: tangy tomato sauce with spicy Italian sausage, mascarpone, fresh parsley, honey, and a tiny kick of Serrano chili. Get there early. With limited reservations, there’s a line out the door nearly any day of the week. In the afternoon, if you’re a history buff, check out Union Cemetery, a Civil War– era burial ground built in 1859. Use the markers and archives listed on the website, or wander about on your own. You might also browse through the San Mateo County History Museum, at the grand courthouse on Broadway. The museum is situated in a charming European-style town square dotted with mini-cafes reminiscent of Italy, Spain, or the Netherlands. In the summer, you’ll find the locals enjoying Friday night concerts here in the square. If it’s a warm day and you’d like to cool

off, head for Nazareth Ice Oasis. Built in the ’70s, it’s one of only two ice rinks between San Francisco and San Jose. The home rink of the Stanford hockey team, Ice Oasis boasts figure skating and ice dance coaches who’ve won national, Olympic, and World titles for both the US and Canada. Ready for dinner? LV Mar’s white table– clothed dining room with its highly attentive wait staff should be top of your list. Chef Manuel Martinez creates Latin-inspired tapas, ceviches, entrees, and desserts. With your meal, try the refreshing nonalcoholic tamarindo with soda, a Pisco Sour, or a festive Brazilian Caipirinha. After dinner, stroll on over to the historic Fox Theatre for live entertainment. The Fox, which has seen artists such as Etta James, Neil Young, BB King, and Melissa Etheridge within its walls, first opened in 1929. Its interior was designed to have a Moorish feel; its exterior, a Gothic style. Inducted into the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, it’s not to be missed. If what’s playing at the Fox doesn’t appeal, you might check out the intimate, not-for-profit, 70-seat Dragon Theatre, where the focus is often on emerging voices. Or if you’d prefer music— in fact, if you’d prefer dinner and music—try Angelica’s, which offers fine dining and live music five to six nights a week. Shows often sell out, so plan ahead. With so much to see and do here in Redwood City, you may find yourself planning a second trip.

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

Bliss Coffee

2400 Broadway #110 Redwood City, CA 94063 blisscoffeecafe.com

Wunderlich County Park

4040 Woodside Road Woodside, CA 94062 parks.smcgov.org/wunderlich-park 650.851.1210

Sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;bastians Coffee

1725 Woodside Road Redwood City, CA 94061 sbastianscoffee.com

Vesta

2022 Broadway Redwood City, CA 94063 vestarwc.com 650.362.5052

Union Cemetery

316 Woodside Road Redwood City, CA 94061 historicunioncemetery.com

San Mateo County History Museum

Wunderlich Country Park Stables

2200 Broadway Redwood City, CA 94063 historysmc.org 650.299.0104

Nazareth Ice Oasis

3140 Bay Road Redwood City, CA 94063 iceoasis.com 650.364.8090

Bliss Coffee

LV Mar

2042 Broadway Redwood City, CA 94063 chefmanuelmartinez.com/lv-mar/ 650.241.3111

Nazareth Ice Oasis

Fox Theatre

Welcome to Redwood City, CA

2215 Broadway Redwood City, CA 94063 foxrwc.com 650.369.7770

Population: 85,288

Redwood City is the county seat of San Mateo County, and its first inhabitants were the Ohlone Indians. When San Francisco began growing rapidly following the Gold Rush of 1849, as the only deep water port in the South SF Bay, Redwood City provided a most economical way to bring much-needed redwood timber from the Peninsula hills. By 1851, it was known as a logging town.

Dragon Theatre

2120 Broadway Redwood City, CA 94063 dragonproductions.net 650.493.2006

Angelicas

863 Main Street Redwood City, CA 94063 angelicasllc.com 650.679.8184

FOx Theatre

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

TAMARA CHANG Written by Johanna Hickle Photography by ARABELA ESPINOZA

VIVID HUES, BOLD LINES, AND A COLORFUL MIND

uthors are a kind of storyteller, but they aren’t the only ones who erect entire worlds, breathe life into characters, and pull their audience along on a journey. Artists also invite us into their universes. As a freelance illustrator and a San Jose State University student majoring in animation and illustration, Tamara Chang is in love with the art of spinning tales. “It’s always been about telling stories and building a world in the stories with my art,” Tamara says. Flip through the pages of Tamara’s sketchbooks, and you will find she doesn’t confine herself to a solitary subject— to discussing one single story or theme. That being said, her fascination with animals and fish can’t help but surface in her work. Sketches of leopard sharks, bat rays, and bigfin reef squids are the by-product of many visits— from birthday outings to all-year student passes—to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Besides the aquarium, Tamara believes her predisposition toward nature was also the result of a childhood spent in Santa Cruz, a place inhabited by its fair share of wildlife. But nature in Tamara’s art goes beyond being simply visually pleasing. “All the different relationships animals have, it’s all metaphorical to human life,” she asserts. During ninth grade, Tamara created a painting of selfrighteous zebras excluding a giraffe to show the very human theme of discrimination and bullying. A majority of these striped beasts huddle in the painting’s corner, but one zebra stands on top of another and calls up to the giraffe, “Spots are cool too!” The day after Tamara turned this piece in for her class, a security guard brought her a pink slip and escorted her on a golf cart to the office. As it turned out, the vice principal wanted to buy her painting. Tamara has come a long way from her high school art projects. She has had work featured in local cafes, including Coffee Factory, Social Policy, and Caffe Frascati. In June, Tamara’s exhibit Baby Canines was featured as part of the SoFA Art Walk. Animal fangs in striking black, white,

and gold represent Tamara’s insight into Psalm 58:6. The speaker in this verse cries out to God for deliverance from his enemies, forming his appeal through a colorful metaphor—tearing out lions’ teeth. “It’s a pretty intense and violent verse,” Tamara admits. “But it’s about asking God to remove your enemies’ ability to do evil, which I think is very powerful.” In sharp contrast to her depiction of the animal kingdom, Tamara has also engaged the digital world. Last spring, she displayed an installation at the Printmaking Show at San Jose State that focused on kids from what she calls the online generation. Tamara sees the internet’s benefits— such as sharing ideas, communicating more efficiently, and connecting with people all over the world—but this does not blind her to its destructive potential. These shortcomings are symbolically expressed in her work through pills and X-ACTO blades. “I’ve seen a lot of addiction to either the internet or to actual substance abuse,” Tamara explains. “There’s a lot of self-harm on the internet as well.” After graduation, Tamara hopes to become a visual development or concept artist for animated film. “In the animation industry, it’s a lot more collaborative,” Tamara says. “You’re working in teams all the time.” Her inclination toward communal work has been the result of many positive team projects, ranging from independent animated short films and zines to a video game startup called Pew Pew Studios, a group she cofounded and participated in for three years. “It's good to have multiple perspectives and to be able to bounce ideas off of my teammates,” Tamara says. Wherever Tamara’s journey takes her, she ultimately desires to express her Christian faith. “I don’t feel obligated to blatantly spread [my beliefs] in everything I do, and I will not shy away from making work about darkness,” Tamara says, “but I will always credit God for giving me this ability to understand the world and communicate through illustration.” For Tamara, the art of storytelling means sharing a story that is bigger than herself.

“IT’S ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT TELLING STORIES AND BUILDING A WORLD IN THE STORIES WITH MY ART.”

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

tamarachang.blogspot.com instagram: tamara_artduck

“I DON'T WANT TO SELL ANY OF MY ART FOR MORE THAN A HUNDRED DOLLARS. IT’S FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE ART, BUT CAN’T AFFORD IT. MY SISTER CALLS IT ‘ART FOR EVERYONE.’ ”

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

Apartment Art Andrea Melara Written by Tad Malone Photography by Daniel Garcia

ive years ago, if you had told Andrea Melara she would be making art for retail brands and coffee shops around the Bay Area, she wouldn’t have believed you. Born and raised in Milpitas—which she refers to affectionately as “this nowhere place between Fremont and San Jose” and “the smallest little nook built on a landfill”— Melara originally studied music, mostly jazz, intending to pursue a career in music after high school. But the creative winds blew her in another direction: she developed an interest in art. Though she was initially drawn to being an artist, she was also realistic about what a career in the arts might look like—and turned instead to graphic design. “You need some kind of safety net when you’re going down that road,” Melara says. And the safety net proved to be intrinsically interesting. “It’s really hard and competitive,” she continues, “but I liked the challenge of having to stay true to your own designs, concepts, and characters.” While she still designs and conceptualizes, it is her characters that have garnered the most attention. Synthesizing a tempered sense of color and an illustrator’s spare aesthetic, Melara anthropomorphizes everyday foods and objects, giving them a relaxed inner life. Sketched in contrasting tones and distinct textures, Melara’s illustrations are suffused with a scintillating earthiness, from which flashes of humanity are conveyed with charm and levity. In little less than a year, she’s had her characters featured at Chromatic Coffee in San Jose and at Red Curbs Skate Shop in Fremont. And she’s seen revenues that would impress even established professionals. Melara works primarily in ink, but she has also experimented with watercolors and acrylics to create her delicate, yet ebullient designs. And though technically a designer, she’s averse to most digital drawing, preferring to go old-school. “I would rather do it by hand,” she says. “I will use Illustrator or something if I have to scan and edit it, but staring at a screen for too long is just horrible to me.” Though Melara draws her influences from a range of

art styles and movements—including pop art great Roy Lichtenstein and techniques picked up in a De Anza screen printing class—it’s her family and childhood that have had the most impact on her work. The way she personifies legumes and vegetables is rooted in her early life. “Growing up, we ate beans...all these different beans,” Melara explains. “And when I was little, I had this weird habit of drawing beans with faces, these weird little kid drawings.” After getting more serious about pursuing art in college, she revisited those weird little kid drawings more than a decade later. This time with a touch of hyperrealism, Melara reimagined her youthful scribbles as fully realized humanoid plants—and the response was encouraging. “It’s just the weirdest thing, but I kept going with it and people responded to it well,” she says. She also credits her family, particularly her sister, with cultivating her artistic side. “I grew up in a family that wasn’t open—we presented a very bland face. Instead, we expressed ourselves creatively towards each other, so my sister and I have always been very connected in that way.” Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that her sister has become the de facto manager for Melara’s art career—or at the very least, a slogan machine. Terming Melara’s style “apartment-art aesthetic,” her sister also inculcated in the young artist an altruistic bent. “Even when I’m ‘known,’ I don't want to sell any of my art for more than a hundred dollars,” Melara says. “It’s for people who love art, but can’t afford it. My sister calls it ‘art for everyone.’ ” Currently, Melara works at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which has enlarged her artistic perspective, along with providing a never-ending supply of faces she can transform into food—or vice versa. While long-term she has her sights set on a career as a magazine art director, for now she just wants to produce her work. “I want to bust out as much art as I can, stay true to myself, and not let it stress me out,” she says. “But I love it and that’s why I do it.”

afmelara.bigcartel.com instagram: afmelara

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

NUMU

AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO EDUCATION AND ENTERTAINMENT Written by Kate Evans Photography by daniel garcia

new Museum Los Gatos 106 E Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 408.354.2646

ew Museum Los Gatos (NUMU) has taken apart a traditional art and history museum and put it back together in a fascinating and creative way. Despite technically existing in various forms for over 50 years, the current iteration of the museum is something very special. Its leadership thinks of it as a startup, and in that vision, isn’t afraid to take chances or to run lightly and efficiently. When NUMU’s current leadership inherited an archive room packed full with treasured artifacts, they found the vestiges of the people who have influenced this valley. Hats, both men’s and women’s, in a range of styles and varying levels of historical significance, are high on a shelf. A 1940s Los Gatos High School cheerleading outfit hangs nearby. In one corner sit seven taxidermic ducks and wild birds, holdovers from the early days when this was a natural history museum. A collection of Native American beaded leather and stone tools waits to be displayed in an upcoming exhibit exploring the legacy of the American Indian Urban Relocation Program. Facing the challenge of telling the stories of this

community in a way that engages and inspires, NUMU recently underwent a complete rebranding and developed a new gallery space. With fresh perspective and visionary leadership, this decades-old institution has evolved away from the weight and heft of traditional history telling (stuffed waterfowl included) to find a lighter, more modern way to connect with its audience. According to Maureen Cappon-Javey, the deputy director, they started by thinking about every person who might step through the museum doors. “We set out to organize it so that there’s something for every age, every person,” she explains. From there, they determined that each exhibit should have relevance to Los Gatos. Whether it’s a broad study of what was meaningful to people here (like a recent artistic survey on an Arcadian theme) or someone from Los Gatos with a wider influence in the world, everything is both locally connected and globally relevant. Lisa Coscino, executive director, has a vision that “everyone here sees themselves—feels a connection—sees that they’re part of the story.”

Left to right: Amy Long, Marianne McGrath, Gabriel Coke, Leslie Sanchez, Julie Harper, Kim Snyder (seated), Madeleine Crow (seated), Lisa Coscino, Shay Barnett, and Maureen Cappon-Javey

The museum has been transformed internally, but also externally. It now occupies the circa 1960s library, located in the downtown plaza across from the high school. The polished cement floors, pressure-sensitive temporary walls, and boxy, sparse Brutalist aesthetic creates a perfect blank canvas—a space that moves and adjusts and becomes whatever the curator wants it to be. In keeping with the rebrand and finely tuned mission, the rotating exhibits are the real stars. While traditional art and history museums can overwhelm visitors with visuals and information, this space feels light and effervescent. The exhibition design is so delicate that it feels like art itself. There is a creative use of negative space that lets the visitor’s mind feel clear and focused, ready to be taken to places it never expected. Just as the museum direction and design encourages the rethinking and reimagining of traditional disciplines, it also serves as an outlet for the creativity it inspires. NUMU offers classical instruction in drawing and painting through its atelier program, where students of all levels work with

an accomplished instructor. The studio offers open time, advanced training in classical techniques, visiting artist workshops, and a multifaceted MakerSpace studio that welcomes artists and explorers of all ages and abilities. It’s an incubator for area talent, and a chance for anyone to expand their boundaries of comfort and creativity. NUMU feels like a museum for real people. In the thoughtful examination of the museum’s mission, Lisa, Maureen, and their team considered their audience— scientists, engineers, doctors, experts of all kinds. “Silicon Valley is full of sophisticated people, and we wanted them to be wowed,” explained Lisa. “But,” she continued, “we want them to come back because it’s fun.” As plans evolve for a locals’ Make and Mingle Night, where participants will drink wine, view exhibits, and try their hand at a makers project, it’s certain that visitors will have fun. And as the museum continues to settle into its new identity and to excite with innovative exhibits, it’s certain, too, that visitors will be wowed. numulosgatos.org instagram: newmuseumlosgatos

“ART IS THAT LIGHT INTO OTHER PEOPLE’S CULTURES.” _Tamara Alvarado

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

SCHOOL

OF ARTS

& CULTURE Written by Johanna Hickle Photography by Daniel Garcia

et it not be said that the School of Arts and Culture is an unfrequented place. The countless activities held throughout the week ensure that there are constant signs of life within its walls. Here, classes are offered in everything from folklórico dancing to violin to mariachi music. Here, huge annual events are hosted, including the Cesar Chavez Commemorative March (to celebrate the life of this civil rights activist), La Ultima Parada (to celebrate the Day of the Dead), and Fiesta Navideña (to celebrate the holidays). Here, the community can rent the facilities for a wide variety of occasions. The woman behind the school is Executive Director Tamara Alvarado. With a strong team and an ardent vision, Alvarado has infused this place of learning with a lively spirit. The school’s mission is proudly emblazoned in its logo—a flying, feathered serpent called Quetzalcoatl. The Aztecs considered this dragon-like creature to be associated with learning and the arts, making it a fitting symbol for an institution that grounds itself in its Mexican heritage. However, this reflects only one aspect of the school’s mission. Quetzalcoatl also has ties to other Mesoamerican cultures, reflecting the school’s desire for a multicultural perspective in an area with diverse cultural backgrounds. “We can’t get our work done in a vacuum,” Alvarado says with passion. “We can’t just be talking to ourselves within our own community.” And yet she believes, too, that embracing the beauty of one’s own culture will encourage appreciation for the beauty of other cultures. “I think art is the catalyst that helps you see,” she continues. “It’s like when you’re looking at a crystal or a diamond, but you need light to shine on it in order to see all its facets.” The school seeks to celebrate both cultural differences and the commonalities of the human experience. “Art is that light into other people’s cultures,” she says simply. Alvarado’s main responsibility is to function as the school’s leader and voice in the community. “How are we impacting the world through our particular six-acre corner on the east side of San Jose?” is a question always on her mind. “I’m here to inspire the team and others to act,” she says, “to take ideas and concepts and to implement them.” She cultivates this call to action through collaboration and advice, helping the rest of the staff see their projects come to life. Despite being the visible leader of the school, she doesn’t let her influential position go to her head. Rather, she is grateful for the opportunity to be surrounded by the arts and to help make the school’s vision a reality. Along with a strong leader, the school can flourish because of its location in the Mayfair district of East San Jose. “I felt that San Jose had a lot to offer because

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

there was room for me to grow,” Alvarado says of her choice to settle in the area after graduating. Unlike her experience of Oakland and San Francisco, San Jose didn’t feel “done” yet. This is also a community that rebels against passive consumerism. “They want to be the producer, they want to be the presenter, they want to be the dancer, they want to be the painter,” she observes. And that’s exactly what the school that Alvarado is shepherding offers, the chance to get clay on your hands, paint on your clothes. The chance to be a maker. The school benefits as well by its location in the Mexican Heritage Plaza, which is intentionally sparing in its use of decorations. This design simplicity by no means makes the venue plain, as can be seen by a quick look around its premises. Walk past the buildings painted in warm desert tones and natural adobe colors. Step inside the pavilion with its floor-to-ceiling glass panels that attract the sunlight. Take a loop around the Chinampa Garden—through the rows of palms, past the sanctuary fountain, and under the wisteria-laden trellis. These grounds have witnessed personal milestones from quinceañeras to graduations to wedding receptions, and their 500-seat theater has seen countless dance productions, plays, recitals, and concerts. The facility is like a blank canvas, waiting to be painted on. Your imagination is the limit. And as a location, the Mexican Heritage Plaza is particularly fitting because it is grounded in history. In the 1960s, it was the Safeway grocery store where Cesar Chavez held the first protest of the grape boycotts, fighting for Latino and Filipino farm workers’ rights. In 1999, to celebrate Mayfair’s predominantly Mexican American population, the plaza was built on this historic site. The School of Arts and Culture found its home here in 2011. The year the school opened was also the year that Alvarado became its executive director, but Alvarado had been a steward of the arts long before life’s journey led her to this position. Her childhood was spent in dialogue with dance, theater, and music. Tamara Alvarado grew up in San Diego, and her parents would take her to Chicano Park every year to watch the Aztec dance ceremonies. It must have made quite an impression on the young girl, watching the dancers in their embroidered costumes swaying their heads decorated with pheasant- and macaw-feathered headdresses and shaking their ankles adorned with rattles, or chachayotes, to the beat of the drum. When she grew up, Alvarado attended Stanford University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish literature. From there, she served various positions in San Jose, including the role of executive director at Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino America (MACLA). This was also the city in which she took up Aztec dancing for herself. “I was drawn to it because it was familiar to me,” she says. “It was part of my culture.” That was 17 years ago. Now Alvarado’s whole family participates and her dance group, Calpulli Tonalehqueh (“community of guardians who accompany the sun”), practices at the plaza. Though Alvarado has made certain that the school continues to stay true to its roots, it has also grown in some incredible ways. “There wasn’t a lot of activity going on here,” she says of the institution when it first opened. “It was like peeking out the door and asking, ‘Anyone want to play with us? Anyone coming to our party?’ ” But that feeling subsided pretty quickly. The community’s interactions with the school have gone from tentative to embracing. “They weren’t used to consistent programs,” she points out. “There had been amazing programs here before, but the community perceived them to be inconsistent. So I think now in our fifth year, the community knows we’re here to stay.” Since the school opened, the number of annual visitors to the plaza has almost tripled. “So, yeah, people are coming to our party,” she chuckles.

schoolofartsandculture.org instagram: schoolatmhp

Curator, Jianhua Shu

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

Silicon Valley

Asian Art Center Written by Kate Evans Photography by daniel garcia

AN ART WINDOW INTO CHINA

ianhua Shu pours green tea into a shallow bowl and pauses in a busy day of preparing for an exhibition opening. The Silicon Valley Asian Art Center and Narx Gallery is hosting Canadian artist Lew Yung-Chien, best known for his collection of witty one-liners and accompanying illustrations, Sixty Fortune Cookies. With help from his deputy director, Xinru Xu, Shu puts on about two exhibitions a month. They’ve shown the work of hundreds of Chinese and Chinese American artists in the past decade, and in the complex art world of the Bay Area, these two are legendary. It’s been a long road to this point in time for Shu. He followed his engineer wife from Zhejiang province to Silicon Valley in 2000. In his first few years in this country, he was surprised at the dearth of quality Chinese artwork. One afternoon, interviewing the CEO of BroadVision, Pehong Chen, Shu noticed a small but important calligraphy poem hanging on the wall. Chen laughingly admitted he’d purchased it at a boutique in an airport. Like many executives, he had an eye for fine art but not the time to hunt it down. Chen then suggested that Shu open a gallery. Shu’s background is literature and public relations, but he has a natural affinity for the artwork of his native land. He’d both studied and practiced calligraphy, and he has a strong sense of what’s valuable and what’s popular. With that particular blend of business acumen and love of art, he ventured forward with plans to create the Narx Gallery. Around the same time, Shu met Saul Yeung, president of the Central Computer Group and noted collector of fine Chinese art. He and his wife had started the Silicon Valley Asian Art Center, and in 2004, they brought Shu in to run it. The gallery occupies the entire top floor of a nondescript office building on busy Stevens Creek Boulevard. There’s

no sign advertising its location, which adds to the sense that this gallery is something hidden and special. When the 2008 recession hit, Shu saw tremendous opportunity. He became a trusted agent for families wanting to sell their collections, managing the sale of treasures across the Bay Area. One piece in particular stands out for him, a Ming Dynasty calligraphy work. He advertised the piece and it was sold at auction in Beijing for $1.4 million. The buyer turned out to be an executive at Yahoo, and so the work ended up back across the Pacific in Silicon Valley. As his work with fine Chinese art took him across North America, Shu began noticing the quality and the quantity of Chinese American artwork. Second- and third-generation artists were blending Chinese style and aesthetics into fresh and innovative interpretations. Shu created a partnership with the Asian Art Museum, the Chinese Culture Center, and the San Francisco State University Museum to conduct a nationwide academic survey of Chinese ink painting. This 10-year project culminated in a series of exhibitions in four locations, all celebrating the same theme: The Moment for Ink. This was a tremendous feat, one that brought this narrow slice of the art world to the forefront. It also showed a slight shift in Shu’s energy. He was transitioning from art dealer to patron and champion of Chinese American artists. His instincts aligned with those of famed art historian Michael Sullivan, who has said that “many of the most important Chinese painters during the second half of the 20th century lived in America.” The Moment for Ink exhibitions demonstrated another shift in Shu’s approach to the gallery and his work in the art world, this time a significant one. He began to see the gallery as much more than just a commercial enterprise. This was an opportunity to connect Chinese Americans to

their culture. One of the best illustrations of this mission is Shu’s uncovering of the cache of artwork from famed Chinese artist Zhang Shuqi. In the 1920s and 1930s, Shuqi studied under Liu Haisu and became well known for his naturalist paintings. In 1942, he moved to the United States and as his life progressed, his fame faded. At his death in 1951, his art was locked away in a storage container and his family had little idea that he was a prominent and beloved artist back home in China. But Shu knew. Shu was from the same province as Shuqi and knew that he’d settled in the Bay Area, so he started searching for the trove of artwork. Eventually, in 2012, after years of searching for the family and then convincing them of the art’s worth, he was able to host a large exhibit. Several works were donated, several were sent back to China, and now there are even a few in Stanford University’s collection. Thanks to Shu, the family began to understand the value of Shuqi’s works, not just to them or even just to the Chinese American community, but all the way back in Zhejiang province, where he is celebrated as a native son. These days, Shu travels back and forth to China four times a year. He acts as a bridge between younger generations of Chinese Americans and the China of today. He tells the story of China’s struggles, its past, and its hopes for the future through art. He hosted an exhibition on the 70th anniversary of the Rape of Nanking. He celebrated the 70th

anniversary of China’s victory over Japan. He has plans to mark the 50th anniversary of the Cultural Revolution in May. Unlike many major Asian galleries and museums, he feels unrestrained. He can offer art and culture from an unapologetic Chinese perspective, without fear of upsetting prominent Japanese or Korean donors. He is also unafraid to proffer a progressive version of Chinese culture and history. He knows that he might annoy the Chinese General Counsel, but he presses on. His mission is not about revenge or anger. Instead, Shu says, “We need to learn. We need to remember and keep the lessons of our past.” Shu holds up a scroll desecrated in 1966 during the Cultural Revolution. Half of the ink characters are almost obliterated by angry strokes of black paint. The older, higher quality of the ink shines through just enough to make out the shapes. Shu is angered by the wholesale and wanton destruction of beautiful art that took place three years before his birth. But today, when he travels back to China, he sees progress. People are happy, open-minded. They have access to more resources. “No one,” he says, “wants to turn back.” Xinru Xu, the gallery’s deputy director, explains her philosophy: “Art is a shortcut. It opens a window that is direct and visual.” And through it we see Chinese art, history, and culture, and the strong, sustaining bonds between China and California.

3777 Stevens Creek Blvd, Fourth Floor, Santa Clara, CA 95051

artshu.com

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

RetailNext

Alexei Agratchev Interview by Brandi Stansbury Photography by daniel garcia

PIONEERING MODERN RETAIL

f the handful of companies currently developing in-store analytics technology, RetailNext is on the cutting edge, with offices around the world. But Alexi Agratchev is not the CEO in a corner office. Rather, he’s a hands-on leader who sits among his employees in their collaborative work environment. A visionary in his industry, Alexei is the kind of person whose insight is infectious. Born in Moscow, Alexei came to the United States thanks to a scholarship to an independent high school in Massachusetts. From there, he went on to study international relations and economics at Claremont McKenna College, a private liberal arts college in Southern California. After working for a time as a consultant, Alexei landed a job at Cisco and started to plant roots in the South Bay. After almost a decade at Cisco, Alexei found himself on vacation with a former coworker in the Virgin Islands and they outlined the idea for a new kind of company, one that would develop analytics in the brick-and-mortar retail space. RetailNext was born.

we were very familiar with what ecommerce businesses were doing and their ability to measure everything—every click, every color on the page, every user. Physical stores didn’t have this ability. It was a complete black hole from when a customer entered to when they left. It seemed like the right time to take the kind of data available online and bring it to retail stores. That was the extent of the thought process. We didn’t do a huge business outline. We understood the industry and the problem we wanted to solve. How do you see the brick-and-mortar store experience changing? Our view from the beginning is that brick-and-mortar stores are not going to go away. They play an important role in certain categories like apparel, cosmetics, accessories, and some electronics. It’s actually a much better environment to go and experience products. Brick-and-mortar stores have to compete differently now. A few years ago, it was all about merchandising—availability and price. Now it has to be about experience. If it’s going to be about the customer experience, you need to be able to measure and improve that. You need to have tools to measure and respond to your customer’s needs. You’re not going to be able to survive without a product like RetailNext. If you’re not going to be able to respond to the changing needs of your customer, you’re going to fail. A lot of brands that never had direct-to-consumer retail outlets are opening their own stores. Brands that sold exclusively online or through department stores understand their customer for the first time in a physical space. A store is an environment where you can truly differentiate your brand. If you create a good experience, that’s something someone will remember, and so they’ll think positively about that brand. The value of that is massive.

What sort of company is RetailNext? What does it offer consumers? We use technology to help retailers measure and improve the in-store experience. We put technology systems in the store to measure how many people walk by displays, how many people are coming in, what their demographics are, and how they shop the store—where they go, what they buy, if they visit fitting rooms, if they work with customer service associates. We collect a lot of that data through different sensors. We turn that data into actions that retailers can do something with. It is enabling retailers to truly understand what is happening in their stores. How did the idea for RetailNext come about? We were working with similar technology at Cisco. We created sensor technology to help casinos catch bad guys. At the same time,

retailnext.net social media: retailnext

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

ZURB BRYAN ZMIJEWSKI: CHIEF INSTIGATOR Interview and Photography by Daniel Garcia

Running steeplechase led Bryan Zmijewski to discover his own crazy professional path. He just missed making the Olympics trial cutoff by 10 spots in his second year at Stanford. So he focused on blending his creative and logical/mechanical interests in product design, which in 1993 was a cuttingedge program at Stanford.

hat was your early experience with design thinking? It's a concept that emerged in the late ’60s from Stanford’s engineering community. They began pushing into fuzzy areas that didn’t have a complete, logical explanation. Product design was relegated to a corner on the fifth floor of an engineering building, along with its misfits. David Kelley, my professor at Stanford, was a visionary. He helped found IDEO in the ’70s and realized design thinking had a commercial application. This was right before the d.school emerged.

with people at a very high level is really important. You learn to let go of control. Second, you work together to solve problems that are never really defined. But there’s always this commitment to excellence that keeps you working harder, getting better. I’ve learned that failure is a natural component of working. I went into business thinking there are no perfect answers— only better answers than what you did before. You start running, the butterflies go away, and you focus on what’s important.

You must have been part of that transition? Watching the concept unfold and mature has been really interesting. In my first real application, I pursued these ideas with no practical experience. As toy inventors, we moved through lots of ideas because the industry basically needs a 50 percent overhaul every two years. I really sharpened my teeth on iterating and bringing concepts and ideas to a market. We didn’t work in production, but only in front-end conceptualization where people could understand why we should make this thing.

Can you talk a little about Zurb’s success? I’ve found that people who fail a lot are also talented at letting go, that you’re actually moving forward. The difference between discipline and motivation is finding where you create the most impact and enjoying that based on your commitments. Being professional and really good at something requires tons of discipline. What you put into your head has the greatest impact on whether or not you can perform. You’re very much a doer. As a leader, what’s your greatest advantage and also, as they say, your weakness? Sometimes my own abilities don’t fit with what I think a leader should be. I’m not one who uses only words to influence others. As a creator, I see four or five chess moves ahead of everyone else because I’m so immersed in the process. Perhaps that creates blind spots, but it gives me a perspective on how things work and how I can help people provide a better solution.

In ’98 you started Zurb. I started Zurb to help me figure out what a business is. This crazy internet thing was wild. You have ideas, you make things, and all of a sudden you have a global audience. There are two components to running a business. One, as an athlete on a track team, I competed against the highest talent in the US. So knowing how to work

“There’s always this commitment to excellence that keeps you working harder, getting better.” _Bryan Zmijewski

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

“The difference between discipline and motivation is finding where you create the most impact and enjoying that based on your commitments.”

You’re the Chief Instigator, right? How did that come about? I think I pissed enough people off that it was a nice way of saying, “Watch out for this guy.” [Laughs] Hopefully, it’s an endearing term, but now I realize that if you live on the edge, trying to create more opportunity for people and create that big impact, you’ll never instigate with such purity that people don’t get offended.

experience or how product services work, I’d say the future is in “How do we work through this together?” We’ll see a huge shift to how teams work together. What was once all about the magician is now this screwed up dynamic around how the whole damn thing works. The creative misfit, symbolized by Steve Jobs’ black outfit, is gone because the designer has to facilitate the corporate agenda.

Do you think being in the trenches builds good rapport? There’s confusion—you’re bucking the norm. Here’s your boss, rolling up his sleeves next to you, asking you to perform at your highest possible expression. He can see what your faults are, where you’re hindering yourself, and is pushing you in ways you’ve never been pushed before. That can be harsh if you’re not experienced in an environment that supports failure.

What’s your consulting aspect? We put ourselves a bit further out to make the near future more tangible and practical. Some people are trying to work that into a company environment. And others still resist open-source ideas. It took a while for people to say this is an easier way to solve problems. In your business now, what totally surprises you? Foundation for emails. The framework we created Foundation on was based primarily on websites. A few years ago, we started playing with our own emails. We started building templates, then put them online, saw that people were downloading them, and then they realized the templates were limiting, in how they fit on their phone. So we built a framework around that, which is Ink. We developed this engine called Inky with a language that lets you construct emails like you would a web page—similar to Foundation in that you’re building blocks of components. It’s growing because people realize how important dialogue is with customers. Given all the ways you can communicate, email is still really comfortable. Now that it fits on and works well with a mobile device, yeah, it’s really hot.

Where’s that come from? Some people get it very early on. Other people take a lifetime. I believe it mostly comes from the discipline of finding a path you can commit to. People find that when they can connect lots of dots and things start to make sense, even briefly. Everything just seems to happen, and we keep finding that pathway. Then you reach that little moment of ecstasy... Oftentimes, there are more dips. The challenge in living a life like that is that it’s very unstable. What’s changing the design dynamic? I was writing a blog post recently about Steve Jobs wearing black. He simplified what he wore to free his mind, to focus on what would bring these powerful ideas to the world. Yet this era of the big reveal, the idea that some secret design component makes these amazing things happen in a surprise-and-delight way, is ending. It’s going to be rough as we sort through how this will work. And design’s the same. Customers can see beforehand where to go with a map and the digital component—all in real time. A designer isn’t just creating something that the company puts into the world. The whole creation process is unfolding in front of the customer. Whether you call it user

Do you have a guiding philosophy, something you keep coming back to? Self‑reliance. What you’re doing has to make sense, and if it doesn’t, you have to reconcile what’s going on. And you let your people own some of the pieces. Talented people, those with lots of skills, always find their role and place. With all the hats you wear, what really jazzes you? I like riffing off of ideas so that what starts as a random idea materializes into something where people say, “Oh yeah, I totally see that thing.” That’s what I look forward to every day. zurb.com twitter: zurb

Founder and Chairman of Specialized Bicycle Components, Mike Sinyard

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

SPECIALIZED

BICYCLES Written by DIane Solomon Photography by Daniel Garcia

THE TECHNOLOGY OF SUCCESS

ike Sinyard is the Silicon Valley innovator you probably haven’t heard of. However, like the founders of Apple, Cisco, and Google, he changed something significant: bicycles and the technology of bicycling. Sinyard is the founder and chairman of Specialized Bicycle Components, a privately held American manufacturer of bicycles and their parts and accessories. He was among the first to mass-produce bicycles that fit and functioned like custom-built bikes. He made better mountain and road bikes, and he made them more affordable. His radically improved rims and tires and Allez and Sequoia bicycles brought high quality within the reach of modest budgets. And following Nike’s lead, Sinyard made bicycle advertising dazzling for the first time. In 1988, Sinyard was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, and in 1994, his Stumpjumper mountain bike was added to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s collection, joining President Lincoln’s top hat and the first Apple computers. Headquartered now in Morgan Hill in massive and gleaming modern buildings, with some 1,600 employees and approximately $1.2 billion in annual sales worldwide, Specialized is worlds away from its 1974 beginnings in a trailer that Sinyard’s grandmother lent him—parked at a blighted corner at Monterey Road and Curtner in the Paradise Trailer Park, near General Electric’s nuclear plant, the Oak Hill cemetery, and Accent, a toxic MSG-based spice factory. But the road to that trailer was itself strewn with bicycles all the way. As a student, Sinyard bicycled to San Jose State, where he worked his way through the School of Business buying beater bikes at the Berryessa Flea Market and selling them through the Penny Saver, the Valley’s print version of today’s Craigslist. In 1972, after graduation, Sinyard worked for Wilson Gomes, a wholesale distributor of bicycles and parts, and he was part of the Valley’s road bike scene, riding alone or with friends to Santa Cruz, the Los Gatos hills, and events like

the annual Mount Hamilton Challenge. In 1974, he sold his VW bus to tour Europe by bike. In Italy, by a stroke of good fortune he met Cino Cinelli, whose bicycles and components were among the world’s best. And so Sinyard became Cinelli’s California distributor. Following the bike tour, he returned to his trailer, where he peddled European components and Blackburn pannier racks to Bay Area bike shops on his makeshift cargo bike. Seeing demand for better quality tires and rims led him to manufacture and improve them, which led him to custom components and eventually to the manufacturing of complete bicycles. Now one of the world’s largest bicycle companies, Specialized has its own bicycle-specific wind tunnel that’s paired with computational fluid dynamics, enabling Specialized to develop aerodynamically sound bicycles, and the company has filed hundreds more patent applications than its competitors. Specialized is a bike company like no other, but its success has been hard won. In the mid1990s, after early triumphs and what seemed like a sweet future, the company weathered a series of devastating lows—battling competitors, patent infringements, and plummeting sales. Specialized was at a juncture that Sinyard calls “near death.” Flush with the success that steady bicycle sales had brought, the company’s focus had shifted to maximizing sales and away from satisfying cyclists. The result? Near bankruptcy and a negative net worth. Sinyard reached out to Peter Moore, a cyclist who was also CEO at Adidas and a creative director at Nike, for advice. Sinyard had read a magazine piece about Moore and sent him a Specialized helmet along with a note that said, “Wow, I’d like to talk to you some time.” Moore advised Sinyard to get back to basics, which led Sinyard to clarify Specialized’s mission and vision and to codify a set of operating principles designed to reconnect the company with who they are at heart. With these principles, Mike Sinyard has not only nailed the technology of bicycles. He’s nailed the technology of success.

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

SPECIALIZED’S EIGHT PRINCIPLES 1. The rider is the boss “Mike is not the boss, the retailers aren’t the boss—the rider’s the boss. As the company grows, people can get confused about who’s the boss. Are we trying to serve each other or are we trying to serve the riders?”

2. Seek to understand “One of the attributes of the most successful people is that they’re curious. Stay curious. Embrace the unknown and chase it down until you understand it with insight and empathy. That’s the key to improving riders’ lives and gaining their trust.”

3. Innovate or die “Envision possibilities. If you don’t innovate and adapt and work in new ways, if you don’t seek to understand and really evolve, you’re going to die. Who would have thought years ago that the phone companies would be challenged, or General Motors, because they didn’t adapt?”

4. Adapt immediately “I love the Chinese symbol for danger. It has two parts: the first is danger and the second is opportunity. Embrace whatever challenge is in front of you and transform it into an opportunity.”

5. Simplify and go “We say ‘simplify and go’ to try to end endless debates. An opinion is not a decision. Commentary is not commitment. Observation is not action. A lot of times when we’re making a prototype, proving an idea, or going out and verifying, it’s really important to simplify and go.”

6. Design drives us “When we lead with design, it elevates everything that follows. Design is the way things are structured to be really effective. Design not just to ‘pretty it up’ but to improve performance and to create an emotional connection. People think that design is just the shape of something, but it’s much more.”

7. Attack for progress “Attacking for progress is to be aggressive and to take immediate action to win. Don’t wait and don’t choose to be confused. When you’re confused, it’s convenient: you don’t have to do anything. Seek clarity and act with urgency. Experiment. Try something and see how it works. This is, like, the whole Silicon Valley thing: launch, learn, adjust; launch, learn, adjust. If you do this, you can learn a lot, yet some people make it so complicated that they never get going.”

8. Do the right thing “Act with courage and integrity. Be transparent and consider the long-term effects of your actions on the earth, on relationships, and on people. Make decisions from this point of view. We’re also doing the right thing for the world. I think this intersection of performance and sustainability is really a big one.”

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

specialized.com instagram: iamspecialized

Owner of GrandView Restaurant & Venue, Maurice Carrubba

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

GrandView Written by Kate Evans Photography by daniel garcia

From Pasture, Barn, and Seed to Table

t’s a 20-minute drive from downtown San Jose to the Mount Hamilton GrandView Restaurant, one that takes you along a winding road through East San Jose neighborhoods, past open pasture and farmland, until the road levels off high above the valley below. From the terrace of the restaurant, the Santa Cruz Mountains turn violet as the sun dips and the waters of the San Francisco Bay shimmer. San Jose and its surrounding villages look calm and peaceful. The planes glide below on their way to Mineta, and birds drift lazily on the thermals. As the sun disappears over the mountains, the lights of the city dance below. The dining room, cleanly decorated with white tablecloths, lets the landscape take center stage. The tables are arranged on varying levels, affording every diner a unique view. The waiters, many of whom are career servers, are dressed in classic tuxes and pride themselves on being exceptionally welcoming, knowledgeable, and sensitive to the diner’s needs. Maurice Carrubba, the proud owner, begins his tour of the restaurant by explaining his vision of an Italian steakhouse with a hint of Hollywood glamour, “a little old-school love,” as he puts it. Diners are ushered into another time, another world up here in the highlands. Maurice never planned to buy the GrandView. He was in the market for an investment property when he met a persistent realtor who was able, after a month of regular phone calls, to convince Maurice to climb the winding road up Mt. Hamilton to see something special. Maurice was the ideal buyer: a successful Silicon Valley restaurateur, with a background in catering, who might just fall in love with this unique property. Maurice listened to the history of how a stagecoach hotel and tavern built in 1884 evolved into a restaurant that had served the community for decades. The original building had burned, its replacement had burned, the building itself needed work, but the view, even in the rainy mist and faint light at dusk, was spectacular. As he pondered the purchase, he began to hear stories from longtime San Jose residents. It seemed as though everyone he talked to had some connection to the GrandView Restaurant. Some remembered a prom that was hosted there, or an engagement, or a special dinner. “I saw the potential, I heard the stories, everything seemed to connect,” he explains. He bought the property with his brother and partner, Giuseppe Carrubba, and began an extensive remodel. As he worked, Maurice left the gates open, and locals wandered in, wondering about his plans. Maurice had envisioned an event space, rented out for corporate events or weddings. Yet as more people came to tell their stories and to beg him not to close the restaurant to the public, Maurice’s vision began to shift. “Through the remodel, I started telling people, ‘I’ll keep it open for one year, and you support us. If I see that you’re here, we’ll keep it open for another hundred years.’ ” After the tour of the restaurant, packed on a quiet Thursday evening, Maurice hops onto his John Deere Gator to show off his farm. When the 50-acre parcel, just yards from the restaurant, came up for sale, Maurice didn’t hesitate. He again saw potential: this old cattle farm, its soil packed and dry from decades of grazing, could one day supply the restaurant with everything it needed. He quickly scooped up the 100-year-old property and, with the help of lifetime farmers, began giving it new life and purpose.

Cocktail: Lavender Collins Bummer & Lazarus gin Meyer lemon juice, GV Farms Spanish lavender agave, club soda.

Salad: GrandView Farms Harvest Salad Roasted Bosc pears, Tuscan kale, escarole, salted walnuts, whipped gorgonzola.

Entree: Herb-Crusted King Salmon Red yam puree, shitaki mushrooms, GV Farms kookaburra spinach, soy balsamic reduction.

Dessert: Cannoli Freshly baked pastry shell filled with whipped citron-infused ricotta, GV Farms heritage berry coulis.

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

Maurice dreams of an Arcadian paradise, a place that not only supplies his restaurant with the highest quality produce, but offers refuge for those who have lost their connection to the land. The views from the farm, which is perched on a higher hill, are even more spectacular than from the restaurant. Maurice gestures over the expanse below. “This is the San Jose we want to share with people.” He turns back towards the barn and climbs onto the Gator. It’s clear that this is not a gentleman’s hobby farm—it’s a working farm with dirt bikes, country music blaring on the shop radio, and hunters out in deer season. Though Maurice has never been a farmer, he’s not dabbling—he knows the name of every obscure heirloom bean variety in the raised garden beds. He is proud of his restaurant, but his face beams while he is at his farm. Eager now to show off the purebred goats and black and white speckled hens, he races across the fields, slowing down so as not to startle the horses grazing along the fence or the kittens tumbling out of the barn. The horses, long retired from their rodeo days, remain unperturbed. The kittens, recent rescues, are drawn to the activity. At the highest point of land are rows and rows of kale, beans, peppers, and tomatoes. Maurice points to the tomatoes. “This is the end of the tomatoes—they’ve been left on the vine a little long, so we’ll use them to make sauce.” Everything is planted with a purpose in mind—to create a seed-to-table experience, connecting the land and the food. Even the fruit from the orchard will find its way onto a menu. Freshly cut mint from the lush herb garden goes to the bar for signature cocktails; basil and parsley go to the kitchen. When asked who comes up with the menu, he looks up from the rows of kale, surprised. “We all do! It’s a joint collaboration between the chef and me, but everyone, from the servers to the bussers, everyone has input. It keeps us all creative. It’s all done by committee.” This is a theme that he returns to again and again. The running of his restaurant and the farm— everything is done as a community. He is proud of the team he has assembled and is quick to give them their credit for his continued success. A full moon rises, giving the land an ethereal quality. Maurice seems to know that this is a special place and that it’s not just his enthusiasm that makes guests smile as radiantly as he does. “Everyone who comes up here says, ‘Wow!’ ” Maurice explains. “They can’t help themselves.” The bucolic spot sits above the stresses of the valley below and offers a connection to a nostalgic vision of the past. Maurice dreams of an Arcadian paradise, a place that not only supplies his restaurant with the highest quality produce, but offers refuge for those who have lost their connection to the land. He envisions one day hosting a farmers’ market and growing Christmas trees. He wants to welcome school groups, show children that there is more to our great wide world than iPad screens. The people of East San Jose, those in the neighborhoods at the foot of these hills, and the farmers, ranchers, and others who carve out a life in the sparsely populated countryside, are proud people. Many of them can trace back their families’ ties to the land for generations. On the slopes of the steep hills, there is a connection to the California that existed back when Silicon Valley was the Santa Clara Valley—the Valley of Heart’s Delight. As Maurice worked to bring back the legendary GrandView, perhaps it was these people of East San Jose who helped him find his real passion—forging an indelible connection to the land—finding the peace that is so easy to lose in the frantic valley below.

15005 Mt Hamilton Road San Jose, CA 95140 408.251.8909

grandviewsanjose.com instagram: thegrandview

Mike Shin

Michi Shin

Raphael Shin

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

MICHI SUSHI Written by Nathan Zanon Photography by Daniel garcia

Michi Sushi has been a mainstay of quality Japanese fare in the South Bay.

ounded in 1990 by Michi Shin, a Korean immigrant who worked from the bottom up in East Bay kitchens, Michi Sushi first opened in Campbell in 1990. It soon established itself as an innovator, expanding on the traditional rolls and fish plates and incorporating the flavors of California and the diverse Bay Area population. “Chefs with ambition in their craft had an opportunity to start expanding and making interesting rolls,” says Raphael Shin, Michi’s son and current owner of the franchise. “Now, you see sushi restaurants popping up with crazy sauces and deep fried dishes, things that are really unique and specific to those restaurants. Michi was definitely one of those first movers on the scene and we’re really proud of that.” Today, the business is run by both of Michi’s sons. Older brother Mike Shin is the director of operations, while Raphael, who turns 23 this year, oversees partner relationships and manages the business. Michi still works on the culinary side, creating new recipes and working with chefs to ensure that the food meets his high standards. “Michi is really, really particular in every aspect,” Raphael says. “He drilled that into us. We’ve been well trained.” The Shin brothers grew up in Los Gatos and learned every aspect of the restaurant world, from interactions with customers to working in the kitchen, at an early age. “Every Sunday, our family would go to church—and then we’d go back and make sauce all day,” Mike recalls. The family is still in charge of sauces for the restaurant. “With the exception of soy sauce, every sauce we serve is made by hand by Mike, myself, my mom, my dad, and my younger sister,” says Raphael. “The only way they’d pay for my college education is if I learned how to make these sauces to a T. And long story short, they did pay for my college…and now I know how to make a great sauce.” After finishing culinary school, Mike first bought the business in 2007 and expanded the original restaurant to a location at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga. They operated at concerts and events for three years before transitioning into a primarily catering business. “The thing about restaurants is that the time comes and goes. There’s no reason to continue something beyond its time,” Mike explains of the decision to close their brick-and-mortar operations in 2014.

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

Sushi Tips

Start by selecting quality ingredients and acquiring the proper tools: short-grain rice, roasted seaweed, bamboo rollers, and a sharp knife.

Be unique! The sushi should exemplify your culture and personality. Sushi is truly an art, with no rules or bounds.

Take pride in the craft and, most importantly, have fun! Whether it is your first time or the hundredth time, it is imperative for you as chef to believe in, and be proud of, your product.

Selecting Quality Fish

Fish is naturally filled with many beneficial antioxidants and omega oils. For this reason, the product should have a very distinct and shiny finishâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not be dull and unappetizing. This goes hand-in-hand with the subtle yet pleasant aroma of fresh fish. Fish that has been overly processed and that is subsequently old will have a pungent, unpleasant smell.

Don't let the color of the fish fool you. There are many different types of sushi-grade fish, each with its own distinctive flavor, mouthfeel, and color. Each respective fish has distinct areas and regions (loin, belly, collar, and so on) that all have different characteristics and aesthetics. It is more important to gauge the quality of a product, especially fish, with your palate and nose.

Distinguishing between different grades of product can become a fishy situation (pun intended). Your local sushi chef is also a great resource. Ask him/her where the fish is sourced from and when the product was delivered. This vital information, combined with the tips provided here, will improve your chances of selecting a great product.

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

With the catering side of the business in full swing, Mike sold ownership to his little brother, who was still a senior at Loyola Marymount University. Though young, Raphael is smart and savvy, full of energy, and eager to steer Michi in the right direction. One of his first moves was opening a new restaurant location inside Casino M8trix in 2015. While the fast-paced environment of the casino keeps everyone busy (hours are 11am–3am daily), the catering side sends them on gigs from the Bay Area to Carmel—often in the same weekend. It’s a rigorous workload that can take a toll. “As a young person, someone in your 20s, you’re thinking, ‘I’m gonna own my own business’…it’s really thrilling,” Mike says. “But you have to invest your entire life into it. There are a lot of sacrifices made. You don’t get to hang out with your friends as often, you don’t get to build cultural relationships, it’s much harder to have a romantic relationship…but at the same time, you get that gratification of being able to do something on your own.” Ultimately, they both think it’s worth it. “We have an awesome team that happens to be our family,” Raphael says proudly. “It’s an incredible honor to be able to wake up every morning and work together. My brother and I are best friends. And it wasn’t always like that.” Another source of pride is the restaurant’s relationship with the community, whether with regulars who hit the Texas Hold ‘Em tables every day, workers from nearby North San Jose office parks stopping in for lunch, or supportive partners around the South Bay. “You deal with so many people on a daily basis where you have an opportunity to affect their days and their lives and impact them positively or negatively,” Raphael says. “Food is able to break barriers —” “Bring people together…highlight friends and family…,” Mike interjects. “Yeah, and you get to mesh cultures and share stories with people. That’s something that food can do more so than anything else. It’s great that we have an opportunity to share our culture with others through a product that we’re proud of. We’re really blessed.” michilife.com instagram: michi_life

Joseph Heilman

Jeffrey Heilman

“WE WANT THE BUSINESS TO PAY FOR ITSELF, AND THEN WE WANT THE BUSINESS TO FUND US DOING FUN STUFF.”

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

THE

COOKIE BOYS Written by Johanna Hickle Photography by Daniel garcia

TWO BROTHERS. ONE SWEET BUSINESS.

hat would we do without cookies? Maybe we’d be healthier, but life would fade a little without cinnamon and powdered sugar. Some things make cheating on that diet worthwhile. A warm plate of cookies alongside a frothy, cold glass of milk is the textbook afterschool snack, the ideal antidote to a rotten day. It’s easy to share with family, friends, and coworkers. And heaven forbid there be a cookie-less Christmas. Chocolate chip, snickerdoodles, butterballs, oatmeal raisin—The Cookie Boys can satisfy all your cookie cravings. The Cookie Boys is run by 18-year-old Jeffrey Heilman and his 16-year-old brother, Joseph. The idea for their business had come many years before, indirectly, from Joseph. At eight, he was already quite the serial entrepreneur—he had tried his hand at the classic lemonade stand and then moved on to peddling toys, books, and candy bars around the neighborhood. After he appealed to Mom for a new business plan, Jessica Heilman brought out a semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie recipe. Joseph and Jeffrey trekked door to door armed with a basket of two dozen cookies. They returned 20 minutes later with an empty basket and 30 dollars. This success fueled similar outings the following two weekends. When they took the fourth weekend off, neighbors showed up on their doorstep seeking their next sugar fix. A business was born. Later, the Heilman brothers expanded beyond exclusive door-to-door deliveries to selling cookies for Christmas gifts, parties, and company break rooms. To improve their kitchen skills, both boys decided to delve more deeply into the culinary world. Jeffrey interned (and later worked) at bakery Flower Flour and catered and cooked on the line at the M Lounge in downtown San Jose. Joseph honed his skills at Main Street Burger. These experiences taught the boys how to transform their home kitchen into a restaurantgrade commercial one. Furthermore, Jeffrey’s new baking knowledge bolstered his baking techniques—which ingredients to add and in what order, how to roll and mix the dough, how to economize and not end up with extra (leaving no leftovers for Dad to nibble on). Though both brothers are comfortable handling all the

different aspects of the operation, each specializes in a separate role. Joseph’s business-minded mentality allows him to handle the advertising, logos, graphic design, and website, while Jeffrey’s enthusiasm for baking motivates him to contribute in a more hands-on way in the kitchen. In fact, Jeffrey’s culinary passion earned him a place on a September episode of Chopped Teen Tournament. Jeffrey reveled in the experience, especially for the opportunity to meet other kids who shared his affinity for cooking. “I’m real good buddies with them,” Jeffrey says. “The other guy that was on the show, we were actually texting each other on the night it was airing.” More recently, the Heilman brothers have tackled challenges such as registering their business name, launching their website, and obtaining permits for baking out of their home kitchen and for offering interstate shipping. Their business has become a well-oiled machine: 8 to 10 is devoted to making the dough, 10 to 4 is reserved for baking, and nighttime is dedicated to deliveries. They have even started the first of what they hope will be many opportunities to speak at schools, events they call “Meet, Greet, and Nibble with The Cookie Boys.” Drawing on their own lives, they talk about the value of passing recipes down through the generations in a family, and the experience of turning a dream into reality. The Cookie Boys have big plans for the future of their business. They want to keep their stores local—in Los Altos, Santa Cruz, and Willow Glen—in order to remain centered in the community. They want to open up a homey brickand-mortar store where kids can hang out after school and be served by people who ask them how their day was, people who get to know them as individuals. “We want the business to pay for itself, and then we want the business to fund us doing fun stuff,” Jeffrey says. “Fun stuff” would include Jeffrey’s dream of attending a culinary college in France and Joseph’s dream of participating in the 2020 Olympics in springboard diving. With their personal approach and a tasty product, the Heilman brothers will no doubt be able to support the sweet life. thecookieboys.com social media: thecookieboys

“I LIKE THAT HISTORICAL ASPECT, WHICH IS WHY I LIKE THE MORE TRADITIONAL METHODS. RESPECT THE PAST.” _Mark Denari

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

NEW WORLD

ALES Written by nathan zanon Photography by Scott MacDonald

INNOVATING WITH OLD WORLD BREWING TECHNIQUES

n an age of brewing that produces IPAs overloaded with hops, funky beers made from questionable strains of yeast, and flavor combinations that sound more like a meal than a beverage, San Jose’s New World Ales is trying to carve out a niche for beer fans who like things made the old-fashioned way. Their mission, “to bring back truly artisanal ales”—ales made in the same way as they were in the early years of this country—means they aim to produce finely crafted beers that use natural ingredients and traditional flavors. Founder Mark Denari came to brewing through a long and winding path that includes pre-med classes at UC San Diego and a teaching stint before he landed at the UC Davis Master Brewers program, from which he graduated in 2014. Brewing, he says, is “95 percent science and cleanliness and 5 percent creativity. The part of brewing that I like is that 5 percent.” He pauses. “Well, I like the science, too.” A native of Morgan Hill and Saratoga, Denari nearly opened his new venture in Jamestown, Virginia, where there was an opportunity to take over a former water bottling facility to use as his own brewery. The name and branding sprang from the history of that location, but the costs of opening there were simply too high. He ultimately decided to remain in San Jose, keeping the name but starting with small batches in a shared space at Lincoln Court Brewery. The first New World Ales beers, released in February of 2016, were bottle conditioned, meaning that, as Denari explains, “there’s a fine layer of yeast in each beer that actually helps protect it over the long run, a little bit of help from oxidation in the beer.” He adds, “A lot of people are freaked out by that, apparently.” Denari also uses gravity brewing, transferring the liquid using simple physics instead of mechanical pumps. “People have been making beer for thousands of years. Why do we need to screw things up? Gravity never breaks down; pumps can damage your beer.” The resulting beers are crisp and complex, but not overbearing in their flavors. “I think beer should taste like beer,” Denari says. It’s sort of his motto. If the beer names (Discovery, Godspeed, Deliverance) sound like they were cribbed from an ancient mariner’s

ship log, it’s because they’re all derived from 17th-century pilgrim vessels. “There’s an archive of pilgrim ship names,” Denari says, rattling off options for future brews. “There are some really good ones out there.” In his effort to keep things artisanal, Denari has striven to source local ingredients whenever possible. To that end, he planted a hopyard in Morgan Hill, where a family friend had some land that needed to be put to use. “It went along with the old-school, hands-on approach,” he says. “My main drive, I think, was I wanted to make a wet hop beer, meaning straight from the hopyard directly to the brewery—nothing in between, no drying or anything like that. I was growing five, ten plants in barrels, but I wanted to do something larger scale that could support the brewery’s needs.” A Bay Area hopyard is not without precedent. In fact, San Jose was once home to hundreds of acres of hop farms, supplying breweries all over the West Coast—including in San Jose—prior to Prohibition. “It’s a fun thing,” Denari says. “It’s a part of San Jose’s history. I like that historical aspect, which is why I like the more traditional methods. Respect the past.” He’s also got plans to encourage visitors to the hopyard. “I would love to do some sort of farm-to-table thing there— have dinner at the hopyard, come visit and see how the plants develop. They grow up to 25 feet: it’s a sight to see. It’ll be, I’m hoping, a good tourist attraction.” New World Ales beers are currently available by the bottle in several Bay Area grocery stores, and on tap at limited locations. As business grows, Denari is trying to ramp up production. He recently moved his primary fermenting space to Santa Clara Valley Brewing, where he can brew a lot more beer to put into kegs and distribute. Growth has been slow and steady. Denari is happy about his progress and is already thinking of ways to expand. “I’d love to have some sort of small taproom in downtown San Jose,” he says. While that might be a few years down the road, he hopes New World Ales can remind us all of the value of tradition. “If it works, then don’t mess with it. They’ve been doing it for a long time!” newworldales.com instagram: newworldales

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

NIGHT.SHOOT

Photographer: Mark J. Chua Art Director/Stylist: Eric Belladonna Model: Emily, Stars Management Model: George, Scout Models Hair Stylist: Ivo Skilj, Limรณn Salon Hair Stylist Assistant: Heather Buantello, Limรณn Salon Make-up Artist: Renee Batres Producer: Kristen Pfund Production Assistants: Elle Mitchell and Arabela Espinoza

Pg. 53 Emily | Metallic Long-Sleeve, Leather Fringe Skirt, Fur and Leather Gloves, Multicolor Faux Fur Scarf - Nordstrom Valley Fair | Laser-Cut Tank Top, Woven Platform Heels - Crossroads Trading Co., San Carlos St. | Necklace - Classic Loot | Crown - Natasha’s Attic | George | Turtleneck Sweater, Leather Shoes - Crossroads Trading Co., San Carlos St. | Additional Costumes - Natasha’s Attic

Pg. 56 Emily | Velvet Dress, Beaded Top, Creepers Boots, Faux Fur Coat, Handbag Crossroads Trading Co., San Carlos St. | Crown - Natasha's Attic | Green Gloves - Nordstrom Valley Fair | Necklace and Earrings - Classic Loot | George | Fur Collar Jacket - Nordstrom Valley Fair | Henley, Leather Shoes, Skinny Pants - Crossroads Trading Co., San Carlos St.

Pg. 57 Emily | Cream Blouse, Beaded Sweater Dress, Black Heels - Crossroads Trading Co., San Carlos St. | Black Skirt, Fur Gloves - Nordstrom Valley Fair | George | Tropical Black and White Trench Coat, Button-up, Leather Shoes - Crossroads Trading Co., San Carlos St.

HERITANCE Crafted Goods Written by Tad Malone Photography by Daniel garcia

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The things I make are quality items that can be passed on. Tying together the notion of tradition, quality, and security creates a good aesthetic that can bridge the gap between generations.â&#x20AC;? _Kevin Asuncion

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

hen you imagine a leatherworker, what may come to mind is a dedicated, but humble craftsman working in a remote country cabin. This is Kevin Asuncion of Heritance Crafted Goods in spirit, if not detail. Rather than in a bucolic, apprentice shack next to a babbling brook, Asuncion works primarily out of the garage of his childhood home in the foothills of East San Jose. But the dedication is there, the craftsmanship is there. Using allnatural, un-dyed leather, Asuncion creates elegant and stylish leather accessories like belts and wallets that rival even top brands in both price and quality. An electrical engineer by trade, Asuncion worked for Broadcom fresh out of college at Cal Poly. After being laid off, he chose the entrepreneur route and co-ran a restaurant with friends—Saiko Sushi in San Jose—for a few years. Then, after returning to engineering, Asuncion felt the call of a different destiny. “I wouldn't say I was really into fashion, but I was into making stuff with my hands,” Asuncion recalls. “I was always into cooking, making food, so working with my hands was a big factor.” The idea for leatherwork germinated early, even if at first he didn’t realize its full potential. A hardcore, if not obsessed, purveyor of raw denim—a boutique, neverwashed style of jeans—Asuncion was drawn to the material not just because of its quality, but also because of its freshoff-the-loom consistency, the denim capturing in folds and wrinkles every movement the wearer makes. “It creates unique fades according to your body. So all the lines are from my leg movements,” Asuncion says, pointing to the colorful ripples in his jeans. He saw similar patterns, literally, in leather: the longer one wears Heritance Crafted Goods, the deeper the leather patina. “The natural leather gets darker the more you use it out in the sunlight,” says Asuncion, as he inspects a row of belts. “Like the rub from your jeans or the oils in your hand, it keeps getting darker.” After creating stamps and other templates, Asuncion’s manufacturing process is surprisingly simple, usually

taking him no longer than an hour to cut and complete a belt. Ranging in color from cream to deep blue, Heritance Crafted Goods represents the highest quality of DIY craftsmanship. As for the name, Heritance, it arose from the idea of timelessness: goods that last. A word no longer in common use, “heritance” is synonymous with heritage and inheritance, which for Asuncion means both that he is part of a long tradition of leather craftsmen and that he is dedicated to producing timeless products. “The things I make are quality items that can be passed on,” he says. “Tying together the notion of tradition, quality, and security creates a good aesthetic that can bridge the gap between generations.” Asuncion began with some practice projects in 2013, and within a year his leather business was in full swing. With the help of high school friend and designer Morgan Smail, Heritance got a logo to reflect the brand’s ethos. Once he had an official logo, Asuncion went live. Though his primary market is on Instagram, Asuncion also sells his goods through local shops consistent with the character of his brand, such as Redemption in Campbell and Headliners in San Jose. Besides a few craft fairs and other collaborations, Heritance remains a solitary business. But Asuncion has found clever ways—such as enlisting fashion bloggers for more exposure—to get his product out there without a lot of back-end work. Sending out samples to bloggers is worth it, Asuncion says. “What they also do is curate all the brands they wear. The brands I kind of want to be associated with they are in›to too, so it’s a cool thing,” he explains. What does the future hold for Heritance Crafted Goods? Asuncion is not certain, except to know that it will be careful and measured. Aiming to focus solely on belts and other accessories—wallets, keychains, straps, even San Jose baseball caps—Asuncion plans to hone his craft before hyping it. “At this point, I want to really build the brand to get a bunch of stuff out there,” he says, “and then let the quality and durability speak for itself.” heritance.us instagram: heritancegoods

IT’S ALL FINE

SIRDowntown FINLEY Barber Written by Brandi Stansbury Photography by daniel garcia

“I SEE DOWNTOWN REBOUNDING… I SEE PEOPLE IN MY PEER GROUP OPENING BUSINESSES AND REIGNITING THE ECONOMY.” _Terrance Finley

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

Frank De Barber | 11 South Third Street | San Jose, CA 95113

barber’s influence extends beyond the chair and shop, serving as a connector in the community. Nothing could be truer when it comes to Terrance Finley. “Back in the day,” he explains, “the barbershop was the watering hole. It’s where the community came to find out what was going on, especially males. It still is. I’m the type of person who feeds off of that. I’m a connector.” Nearly every downtown center possesses its own set of tastemakers. In San Jose, this crew brands themselves with the humble credo “It’s Fine.” As a part of this crew, Terrance Finley (aka Sir T Finley, The Giant, or T Fin) wears this principle tattooed on his forearm, though he’s quick to give the credit to those who came before him. “I am one person in a close-knit group of smart and sophisticated, relevant, and extremely insightful people who are all ‘DTF’— downtown famous. I can tell you what it signifies for me, which is a mindset that no matter what the drama or issue is you may face or have to deal with in life, trivial or major, it’s fine. In short, nothing's as bad as it seems. But I must make it clear—I was accepted into the fold! This is nothing I created myself.” There is an energy Terrance exudes that mirrors the positive progress in downtown San Jose. A man about town, Sir T gains most of his clients through connecting with people at local restaurants, bars, and events. “I see downtown rebounding,” he notes, “As I’m maturing with downtown, I see people in my peer group opening businesses and reigniting the economy. The circulation of revenue downtown is awesome. That’s why I like supporting local businesses. Being downtown is a supportive community.” Raised on the east side of San Jose, Terrance got his first job at his family’s barbershop, Giants, the oldest blackowned barber shop in San Jose. He went to San Jose Barber College, which he playfully refers to as “Carlos’s College,” giving the nod to owner Carlos Romero. “I’m an African

American who’s migrated from the traditional black barbershops to this more diverse place with a myriad of clients. This is a full-service business. You have to be able to cut all different types of hair. You have to be able to wield a razor and that’s one of the things I pride myself on. Being downtown, you see all different types of hair and you have to be able to adjust.” Terrance left San Jose for New York and Las Vegas before eventually returning and settling in as a barber at Frank De Barber’s shop in the heart of downtown. Walking into Frank’s shop makes you feel suave as a De La Soul music station plays on the radio, or maybe it’s switched up to metal. The walls are adorned with posters of classic men’s hairstyles, skateboarding, and the occasional retro beer ad, while the conversation ranges from beer to community gossip and is littered with general male humor. “These six chairs are a golden pocket,” Terrance explains. “This is an industry that relies on customers within a certain radius. What’s the deciding factor that keeps you coming back? It’s the aesthetics in this place. It’s the people in the shop, the way that we vibe.” Terrance’s clients range from tech employees to city councilmen and San Jose Sharks—and he’s especially fond of the shop’s San Jose State University student discount program on Wednesdays. “I love seeing these kids come in as freshmen and going through the years with them as they mature and make their way.” He laughs when asked if he has any good stories about any of his clients, “What happens in the chair stays in the chair!” Things are definitely more than fine for Terrance, these days. Stepping outside of Frank De Barber’s shop on a warm summer day, Terrance looks up at City Hall and smiles, “My goal is to get at least one client from each floor.” As his client base grows, the city thrives and he embraces his place in the downtown scene. instagram: sirtfinley

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

PJ Ciraulo Written by Brandi Stansbury Photography by daniel garcia

Bedlam beauty and barber 200 South First Street, Spc 70 San Jose, CA 95113

IT’S NOT THE TOOLS, IT’S THE HANDS

hen you think about the cultural fabric of downtown San Jose, PJ Ciraulo is a dynamic needle threading so much of the city’s history and people together. Ciraulo’s salon, Bedlam’s Beauty and Barber, is a case in point. The shop is an extension of Ciraulo’s punk rock soul, his commitment to San Jose, and to family and tradition. It is only fitting that Ciraulo’s hair salon sits smack-dab in the middle of downtown on the Paseo de San Antonio just off of First Street. Ciraulo himself has deep roots in downtown San Jose. Ciraulo’s family were Sicilian immigrants living in the historically Sicilian neighborhood around 13th Street and Empire. Speaking of his childhood conjures up memories of gnocchi carts, bocce in the park, and the true working-class heritage of San Jose. From downtown, his family moved south, and he spent most of his childhood near Pioneer High School in South San Jose. Ciraulo’s foray into hair styling began at an early age. “I started cutting hair in the garage when I was 15 years old, doing garage cuts on my buddies. We were running a hustle, telling our parents we needed money for haircuts, and I’d do them for free. We used to skate the curbs right by the liquor store and use that money to get a stranger to buy us beer. We were just punk rock kids in the early ’80s having fun.” After graduating from high school in the mid-’80s, Ciraulo went to beauty school and from there began his career as a stylist and barber. Getting a start at a number of salons in the area, Ciraulo finally opened his own in Japantown in an artist-in-residence building. Eight and

a half years later, he wanted to make things bigger and better and, with the encouragement of numerous people, including downtown business owner Chris Esparza, he opened his present shop. “Ajax nightclub was a big part of my youth,” Ciraulo says. “Being surrounded by all of that creativity was inspiring.” The idea of opening next door to Esparza’s then Blackbird Tavern and now Social Policy coffee shop seemed like a perfect symbiotic relationship for the two businesses, and Ciraulo welcomed the idea of opening up shop near an old friend. “I’ve known him forever. He’s taught me so much about business. I was psyched at the chance to be down here near him. It gave me more confidence to make the move downtown.” He feels there is a push to get downtown going, and as more businesses start to show longevity, he feels he made the right decision. Ciraulo names the Bank of Italy Building as his favorite piece of architecture in the city, and the decor of his shop reflects that. His idea for the interior came from a meditative creative process. “I wasn’t sure when I got the space, because it was a yoga studio. It was plain walls, oranges and yellows, concrete floors,” remembers Ciraulo. “I spent some time in the empty space. I was just lying on the floor looking around and thinking about how the building was old. I liked all of the windows. There was a little tiny piece of crown molding that went around the top of the ceiling, and I just thought, ‘That’s it!’ This is an historic building built in the early part of the 19th century, so let’s take it back to something that won’t go out of style.”

“I TEND TO DO WELL WHEN ALL IS MADNESS AROUND ME. SOME DAYS, WHEN IT’S SO BUSY, IT FEELS LIKE I WORK IN A NUT HOUSE, AND I TOTALLY DIG IT.”

Ciraulo enjoys that his shop is a place where guys and girls feel comfortable and Bedlam’s classic vibe is inviting to all. The shop feels like a 1920s speakeasy with brocade wallpaper, tufted leather couches in the waiting area, and dark wood floors. Though PJ and his staff are skilled in the now-trendy classic cuts, they also specialize in providing color and cuts for everyone. “We do it all, from straight razor shaves to balayage. We can cover a lot of ground.” Though stylishly rough around the edges, Ciraulo is a family man with a wife and a son. He is also a father figure to his salon employees and runs the salon accordingly. “We’re not a commission salon. We’re one of the last rental shops.” Ciraulo explains, “I like the rental model because it helps people grow and learn business. A lot of times, hairdressers and barbers aren’t kids that come from money.” Ciraulo gives aspiring hairdressers and barbers a boost up. “We have an assistant program where we have young stylists train for two years, and then move them to their own chair. We’re teaching stylists to manage their own businesses. We’re teaching them how to pay their taxes, balance their books, and hope they’ll, maybe, open their own shop.” Clearly he’s very proud of this. With a broad smile he brags, “A few of my assistants opened their

own shops, and it’s pretty neat to see my little saplings grow up!” Ciraulo is easy to talk to. Stepping into Bedlam’s Beauty and Barber feels immediately familiar. It’s this sense of comfort that helps Ciraulo maintain client relationships. He laughs as he talks about some of his long-term clients. “I’ve had some clients since the garage-cut days. It’s not about just doing hair, it’s about building the relationships behind the chair, making connections and good friends.” And the name? The salon borrows its name from the storied asylum, of course, and although named for disorder and havoc, the shop and its owner are as smooth as a clean shave. No matter how chaotic it all may seem, Ciraulo handles the day-to-day business with a cool, stylish approach. “I tend to do well when all is madness around me,” he says. “Some days, when it's so busy, it feels like I work in a nut house, and I totally dig it.” When asked what it is about San Jose that he loves, Ciraulo lets down his punk rock guard and gushes, “When I start driving back into the area after a road trip, and I see those golden hills, those rollers in the distance, I know I’m home. This is where I belong.” bedlambeautyandbarber.com facebook: bedlambeautyandbarberinc

“I CAN TAKE MY WRITING SKILLS AND LEND THEM TO A PUBLIC SERVICE—AND THEN MY LIFE WILL HAVE MEANING.”

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

RACHAEL MYROW Written by Brandon Roos Photography by daniel garcia

KQED’S VOICE IS FINDING THE SOCIAL IN STORYTELLING

f you’re an avid listener to Bay Area NPR affiliate KQED-FM, chances are you’ve come across Rachael Myrow’s voice. As she playfully shares, though, it’s okay if you can’t quite pinpoint how you remember it. That fascinating pairing—an emotional closeness tied to a disconnect with what first established that intimacy—is a phenomenon Myrow is well aware of. It’s been humbling, but she says she’s learned to face it with humor. That’s the inevitable consequence of broadcasting to people while they’re handling other things. “Most people are listening to the kind of work I do passively,” she explains. “They flick on what they think is NPR. They’re getting KQED or The California Report and may not even be aware it’s a separate thing, or may or may not be able to remember what it is you’re talking about because they’re thinking about their dry cleaning.” This last point elicits a lighthearted laugh, indicative of the poise she’s developed during her 20 years working in public radio in both Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Over a career that’s seen her work with KQED institutions like Marketplace, The California Report, and Forum, Myrow has maintained a focus on stories in the public interest with a fierce belief in both informing the residents of— and celebrating—the places she inhabits. Growing up in the greater LA area, she developed an outsider’s perspective that’s helped her foster a passion for bringing visibility to overlooked perspectives and communities. It’s led her to become an advocate in the newsroom, most recently in her role as South Bay arts reporter, where she believes her presence has brought editorial attention to an aspect of the Bay Area that used to be passed over in the newsroom much more than it is now. Myrow spent her earlier years moving frequently, constantly chasing cheaper rent with her father, the late film

composer Fred Myrow, perhaps best known for his score to the sci-fi film Soylent Green. Those constant shifts placed the two in communities like Koreatown and Highland Park, where teenaged Rachael was a magnet student and “a member of a very small minority,” one of a handful of white kids at Franklin High School. This led to culture shock when she headed north to attend UC Berkeley—she simply wasn’t used to seeing so many white people. Her modest upbringing also left her with a feeling of status shock, which may help explain the base from which she approaches stories. “I was living in a private co-op for most of my undergraduate years at Berkeley, and I was in a minority there, not necessarily in the sense of being white, but because I was there on financial aid,” she says. “I took out the maximum number of grants, but I was working one to three jobs all the way through college. I was living with people whose mom and dad could pay the bills and who didn’t graduate with debt.” These formative experiences helped guide her journalistic intuition. “It gives you a different kind of appreciation for that sense of alienation and confusion that follows somebody who feels that they are moving in circles they haven’t been invited into,” she adds. However, although Myrow had been actively involved with the school paper while at Franklin, she shelved the idea of journalism in favor of studying English lit. Her plan was to write the Great American Novel. But as her schooling advanced, she realized she didn’t find the career prospect of writing literary theory compelling. With a degree but no motivation to further it, Myrow moved back in with her father, recalling that at the time, she was “totally at a loss.” She found inspiration by watching PBS. The documentaries of Bill Moyers and a particularly

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

touching profile of conservationist Rachel Carson helped her discover storytelling with a social purpose. A light went off. “I can take my writing skills and lend them to a public service—and then my life will have meaning,” she thought, laughing now at how she framed the epiphany then. She returned to Berkeley, this time to earn a graduate degree in broadcast journalism. After graduation, Myrow, the film lover and composer’s daughter, landed her first job as an associate producer with Marketplace, NPR’s nationwide program covering the world of economics. “That was a fascinating education,” she notes, “because I had grown up being able to talk about cinematography and what makes for a successful film score, but I had no idea what was going on at City Hall.” After four and a half years, she transitioned to KPCC, one of the LA area’s two NPR affiliates, to become a fulltime reporter. There, she covered everything from public transportation to religion. In 2007, she returned to the Bay Area to work with KQED as host of The California Report. As she’s found, you often have to leave to try something different, and she wanted to try her hand at hosting. A little over a year ago, she entered her latest role as KQED’s South Bay arts reporter, a position created as part of a top-down decision by top KQED staff to better reflect their donor base. Alongside Queena Kim and Beth Willon, Myrow is tasked with covering the Silicon Valley. She feels their collective presence in the newsroom has done much to help the South Bay gain more attention with KQED’s readers and listeners. “In the past, when it was people who were not familiar with the scene arguing for the story, they just didn’t have the same level of commitment,” she says.

“You need to build it in structurally, and you need to make the argument for it. When that happens over and over and over again, you start to change opinions.” Asked how this functions in her daily reporting, she says it’s recently come into play countering the tech-bros-areconquering-us hysteria that is becoming a metanarrative for the region. While she admits “there’s some truth” to the perspective, she adds, “It’s also true that there are a lot of amazing people who are joining us, or who are functioning within Silicon Valley, who deserve to be humanized for their neighbors.” Expanding her perspective, she explains that the emotional storytelling she’s continued to pursue is an outlook baked into the framework of NPR and its affiliates. “You’re writing to help engaged people make sense of the world around them—to politically empower them, to culturally empower them,” she explains. “This is different than just looking for the latest scandal to leap onto or fan the flames of, or trying to define ‘cool’ to people.” But as she’s all too quick to mention, her format has its limitations. “One of the things about broadcast is it’s always the haiku version of a story,” she admits. “For people who are really intimately connected with some topic, they want more. And it’s like ‘I had four and a half minutes! I couldn’t get that in there,’ ” she adds, laughing ruefully. Those working in the South Bay arts may wish there were more than one Rachael Myrow to go around, but given her track record for shining light on underexposed narratives, they can trust she’ll be fighting to share the same compelling stories that first inspired her to begin this journey.

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

social media: rachaelmyrow soundcloud: rmyrow

VILLAGE HOUSE OF BOOKS 21 West Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 408.354.7100

Cheryl and Steve Hare

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

AN ECLECTIC HOMETOWN BOOKSTORE BRINGING EYE-CATCHING READS TO LOS GATOS Written by Michelle Runde Photography by DanIEL GARCIA

ever judge a book by its cover, so the saying goes. But the truth is, covers hint at the story within, and covers are often what first hook a reader. At Village House of Books, Cheryl and Steve Hare know that first impressions matter. And so they knew from the beginning that they wanted a shop that would catch the eye of any passers-by, drawing them in. With a cheery yellow and white striped awning outside, and the books on the inside framed by an eclectic decor—lacy chandeliers, stone statuary, fluted-top pedestal tables, antique-style bureaus and bookcases—the Hares’ bookshop is one of the most inviting in the South Bay. Cheryl and Steve first met in 2009. Steve was a high school football coach at the same school Cheryl’s children attended, and the two met at an end-of-the-year banquet that Cheryl coordinated. They hit it off almost immediately, became an item, and eventually settled down in Los Gatos, where Steve spent a lot of time coaching. Steve was also commuting to Monterey to teach at the time, but the couple knew that they wanted to make Los Gatos their home and that they wanted to create something there together. One day in May of 2013, as they were walking their dogs in downtown Los Gatos, they came across an office building

just off Village Lane that looked remarkably like a cozy brick house. They’d been talking about the lack of bookstores in the area, and in a flash they knew what they wanted to do. Inspired by the warm, homey appearance of the building and the name of the street, they decided to call their future shop Village House of Books. The couple wasted no time. Within a month, they’d signed the lease to the building and gotten married. They spent their honeymoon researching and ordering books. “It was actually really fun,” laughs Cheryl. Using websites such as Good Reads, Amazon, The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other notable authorities, the Hares scoured lists of best sellers, new releases in various genres, and timeless classics. “We didn’t know anything at first about how to order books. But with the internet, we were able to get started,” says Steve. “We just went with what we knew, and what people were buying,” Cheryl pipes in. “Then we’d fill in the rest as we went along.” Eventually, their stock was spilling off the shelves, and they moved to their current location, keeping the name in honor of the original store. If the bookshelves at Village House of Books reflect the nation’s reading tastes, they mirror the community’s

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

“YOU HAVE TO FIND THE PULSE OF YOUR TOWN AND WHAT THEY’RE READING.” interest as well. “You have to find the pulse of your town and what they’re reading. Otherwise, you build inventory that won’t sell,” says Cheryl. The couple find that pulse in various ways, including direct orders, which help clue them in to the community’s current reading preferences. Then there’s the store’s display style, which invites browsing: books are lined up, stacked, and displayed on the various available surfaces, not merely the bookcases, and the covers beckon. “When ordering, we factor in what the book looks like,” says Steve. “We wanted a totally different look from other bookstores.” Cheryl agrees. “Covers now are more spectacular than ever,” she says. “It really complements what we’re doing.” In addition to books, there are gifts and trinkets scattered throughout the store. Perfume, jewelry, clothing—it’s the perfect place to find a gift for any occasion. And the

bookstore is designed for all ages and tastes. There’s a children’s nook in one corner, lined with books and toys. There’s a pet-friendly patio outside, where browsers can relax and read in the company of four-legged friends. The Hares also host visiting authors for book signings, with a focus whenever possible on local authors. “Our goal is to bring more authors,” says Cheryl. “We’re still a relatively new bookstore, so we’re not first on the map for major tours. But every time we’ve had a signing, the town loves it and asks for more.” With something for everyone, from devoted bibliophile to casual browser, in a warm and welcoming setting, Village House of Books is a community gem.

villagehouseofbooks.com instagram: village_house_of_books

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

Hip-Hop Nasty Ray

Written by brandon roos Photography by daniel garcia

AIMING FOR EFFORTLESS

he DJ scratches in, introducing the drum break from Henry Mancini’s theme to the show Police Woman. Nasty Ray strolls directly toward his opponent, Taiki, playfully mocking him before starting his round-one routine. Supporting his whole body with his two hands, he showcases a series of poses and kicks. Then magic strikes: he reaches down to plant both hands on the ground and then immediately pushes his arms to full extension, propelling himself skyward, turning one arm up and out in perfect timing, his body stretched statuesque in the air. It’s a champion b-boy stance, and the crowd goes nuts. According to some of the YouTube comments, Taiki had no chance after that first-round slaughter. You can see it for yourself by searching “Nasty Ray All Nations Jam.” Asked if there’s one standout memory throughout his 15-plus-year career as a b-boy, this is the one Raymond “Nasty Ray” Mora points to. “I literally hit every beat,” he recalls. “I don’t even know how I did it, but I destroyed that guy. That battle echoed around the world.” What’s even more incredible is that none of it was planned. That’s because Mora freestyles, relying on whatever moves come to him in the moment. He’s completely dependent upon what he calls “unsuspecting movement,” movement he doesn’t see coming, doesn’t plan, but as Taiki learned that day, when Ray finds magic in that moment, there’s no stopping him. Mora grew up on San Jose’s East Side, where he first came across breaking at a middle school dance. A longtime wallflower (he says he’s only recently started feeling comfortable talking a lot), he was drawn to the cheers and

screams he heard from the girls that night. He wanted that same adoration, and so he went about discovering how to learn the moves he’d seen that night out on the dance floor. He found his first breakdance tapes at Mr. Rags in Eastridge Mall and began to study them obsessively at home, rewinding, pausing, and observing the moves in slow-mo before trying to emulate them himself. His mother noticed his interest and enrolled him at Dance Academy USA in Cupertino. After finding fellow dancers and joining up with a crew in high school, he got his first professional break while attending De Anza College. He’s still not entirely sure how he got the call (he believes an older dancer forwarded his name), but Red Bull contacted him to compete in King of the Ring, offering him a flight to Toronto, full accommodations, and $1000 for appearing. He placed second. “When I got second place, the whole world noticed,” he recalls. “That’s when I kept getting flown out.” This soon led to a dilemma: continue attending class, or seize the chance to travel to places like Russia and South Korea and get paid to compete? As he reasoned, school could offer consistency, but it would also always be there. He looks back fondly on that time, saying those experiences were “more important than any school I’ve ever been to.” Each new opportunity seemed to further reinforce his love for dance culture and its ability to bring people together despite any cultural barriers that might stand in their way. One interaction with Russian b-boys in 2007 had a particularly significant impact. “They showed me how they would walk miles just to go practice in a little space,” he

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

“THE DANCING WORLD IN LA IS VERY COMPETITIVE, BECAUSE EVERYTHING CONNECTS TO WORK. OVER HERE, YOU CAN DANCE WELL AND STILL TALK TO YOUR FRIEND AT THE COFFEE SHOP. THERE, [IT’S] ARE YOU OR YOUR FRIEND GOING TO GET THE JOB?”

says. “They had, like, two outfits. They were super poor, but they were amazing at dance. Here in America, I was complaining about how practice costs three dollars, or I have to drive all over. That’s when I realized ‘Why am I complaining about anything? This country has nothing, and they’re better than me.’ ” There came a moment when Mora decided he wanted to tackle the Hollywood behemoth, and he left San Jose in the late 2000s for a stint in LA, parting with early crew Head Hunters to join up with the Boogie Brats. He hired an agent, then went about spreading his style by dancing at local clubs and entering area competitions. He was consistently placing but rarely winning. While his old-school approach to getting his name out there was proving problematic in the Hollywood realm, it did land him a six-month stint on Justin Bieber’s My World tour, which launched the then-unknown singer into the stratosphere of pop stardom. The gig took Mora to the East Coast, London, LA’s Staples Center, and theaters everywhere, where he appeared in Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. He speaks with a certain amount of disdain about his time in LA, likely because the scene was a far cry from the camaraderie and respect he was used to. “The dancing world in LA is very competitive, because everything connects to work,” he says. “Over here, you can dance well and still talk to your friend at the coffee shop. There, [it’s] are you or your friend going to get the job?” He speaks of dancers having moves blatantly stolen at audition. In the neighborhood he grew up in, that would merit a heated confrontation. He says Hollywood didn’t care as long as it looked good. Feeling disillusioned with Hollywood, he moved to Las Vegas with his girlfriend at the time. Aside from cheaper rent, Vegas provided little change. Going broke and seeing

his girl falling deeper into the pitfalls of club culture, he knew he needed to get away. He woke up one morning, told his girlfriend he had to go, and drove straight back to San Jose. That was in 2013, and he’s been back ever since. Learning firsthand the pitfalls of trying to maintain the life of a professional b-boy, Mora stands as a transitional figure for the scene. He tells sad stories of breakers from the generation before him who never found a footing in another profession. It’s something he’s struggled with himself, and it’s a point he works to drive home with his students at FutureArtsNow! by encouraging them to stay with their passion, yes, but not lose sight of the long-term importance of education. “I’ve done everything just to keep doing it,” he says of his own path. Despite the insecurity, he pushes on. Having discovered the worldwide passion for a culture that runs deep in his veins, he knows he can’t retreat to a standard nineto-five. It is music that drives him. “Everything changes,” he says. “If I heard a song outside, a song I really like, it would change my walk.” Now, he takes a moment to ponder a sentimental, slow-tempo soul song playing throughout the coffee shop, then singles out the bassline before improvising subtle hand and shoulder moves to match the song’s pacing. “I don’t have a filter when I dance, and living the way I do, I make anything work,” he explains. “You just make everything work, no matter what.” A seemingly effortless demo, but much as with jazz musicians, the magic that Mora unleashes in the moment isn’t left to divine intervention—countless hours went into making such slick moves appear effortless. And as with art, life. This b-boy might not know what move is next, but he trusts that, no matter what, the answers he didn’t see coming will show up at the right time, just as they did when Henry Mancini honed his soundtrack to perfection.

social media: nastyray

Paul Kimball

John Blatchford

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

waxmoon Interview by Giselle Tran Photography by Daniel Garcia

Two voices, two guitars, and happenstance.

here’s something so enchanting about the simplicity and vulnerability of just a voice and a guitar, but sometimes, with a bit of luck, something a little more comes along and a group like Wax Moon is born. An acoustic vocal duo founded in the summer of 2013, Wax Moon comprises Paul Kimball and John Blatchford—two friends set up on a musical blind date that became their new harmonic project. Together, the duo delves into the indie-folkAmericana tradition, striving only to find truth and humanism. With their new EP coming out this fall, they sat down to talk about the joys and challenges of shifting from work in rock bands to becoming an acoustic duo.

It might be as small as a strange reflection in the room, so we need to sing out louder, and it changes the song. Being able to do that without saying or planning it is the magic of music in motion in a moment. I think we try to seize those moments in the set. Is that why you prefer playing the smaller gigs and spaces? JB: Totally. The first two or three gigs that we booked, unknowingly, were club gigs, like rock ’n’ roll club gigs at bars. It almost felt like we were trying to compete with the ambiance of the room, so we had to make this conscious effort and realize that wasn’t a fight we were ever going to win. We decided to tailor ourselves to the spaces that allow for us to have that performance and concentrate on that moment. PK: After being in rock bands for the majority of our lives, we realized we had to avoid the path we thought we should go down, and we had to whack away at a new path. Our first gig along this new path was a house show out in Saratoga, and it was awesome. It was intimate, yet packed. It was a big party at a small gathering. We touched the wire there and found where the current was.

You both came from bands with a much more filledout sound. What’s that like, stripping down suddenly? PK: It’s both challenging and really freeing. All the atmosphere you create has to come from two voices and two guitars, and it’s really fun to have to pay that much attention. When you’ve got a drummer bashing away behind you, if you drop for a little while, the song is going to continue. When it’s just two people, there’s a lot of responsibility, and that’s fun.

What’s it like to explore this new path? PK: It’s hard. It’s challenging. We’re spending more time out meeting people and trying to find places. We did an open mic up in San Francisco at this place called the Bazaar Café, and it was great. We knew it was a spot we could work with, and we were very stoked to get an invitation to gig there shortly after that open mic. JB: It’s like relearning something you thought you already knew. Still, I feel engaged in what we’re doing. I think the challenges of this group make it the most worthwhile. It’s not easier, it doesn’t just happen. You really have to try to make it. We’ve been in touring bands for a long time, so we know the musician circuits and culture in the Bay Area, but this has opened up our world to this whole network of people we didn’t know existed. It’s cool to discover something we’ve overlooked.

What are the challenges of that? PK: Keeping it lively. You want to create some room for happenstance. You want to create some room for something to happen in the moment that is unplanned, so that’s the balance, trying to have it orchestrated to the place where we feel very confident that we know what we’re doing, but listening to each other enough to be aware when that unplanned moment shows itself. You’ve mentioned “the moment” in the past. How do you work to create or be in the moment? JB: When you’ve made all these conscious choices, then allow yourself, say when we perform, to be free—and, like Paul said, listen to each other in the moment—it allows freedom.

waxmoonmusic.com instagram: waxmoonmusic

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

APRIL GEE Written by Nicole Tindall Photography by daniel garcia

CONTAINHER

ith the vision of empowering artists through greater exposure in the marketplace, April Gee's Petite Galleria offers carefully curated, individual, handcrafted art. April seeks people whose art embodies that passionate maker spirit, so it is unsurprising that her work at Petite Galleria empowers April to pursue her own passion: making music as Containher. “Music is about transcending and evolving and hoping to share a beautiful thing that all people can connect with,” April explains. Her new album will unfold in a series of music videos, the first of which is completed. In this first of the series, The Seams, April as Containher paints a soundscape of haunting vocals mixed with the dreamy stylings of indie-electro-pop that takes the listener to places found only in the imagination. While April writes, performs, and produces the music herself, this latest work has allowed her to take up the mantle of art director and work alongside expert filmmaker Jeremiah Hutchens. The video they have crafted weaves a stunning fantasy with the help of Alan Chen, a member of the string trio that plays on the album-cum-soundtrack, and dancers Ryan Walker and Naomi Sailors from The New Ballet School, as choreographed by Dalia Rawson Hughes. The evocative and magical sets are the work of Asiel Design. Hair, makeup, and costuming elements were provided by artist-stylist Ming Schipper, whose work is featured also at Petite Galleria. The result of talented friends from different disciplines coming together to create art, this project serves as a perfect example of April’s mission for San Jose. April is a multifaceted, highly connected artist evangelist who encourages people to explore their own artistic voices and, in so doing, fosters creativity in her hometown. She believes that momentum is brewing within artistic “beacons” of the community and that bringing those beacons together makes for a stronger community. She asks artists to reach out, to get to know each other, to create

lasting ties between disciplines. “There is a need to connect, to get to know what resources and amazing people are out there,” April urges. “To thrive, fellow artists need to realize they are all part of a greater family in San Jose—and in the world.” Along with connecting artists from different disciplines, April wants see more venues in which artists can congregate. “We need to make room for everyone to create. Having a consistent physical space will allow everyone to rise together,” she explains. “These kinds of spaces work when everyone is welcome, and the more diversity the better.” As part of her mission to empower artists, April wants also to remind them to have fun. “We toil in our creative sectors and there’s a bit of competitiveness, which is fine as long as we all realize that we’re all part of one family and that we can have fun together,” she says. “We should be driven by our wildest dreams. That’s the kind of city I want to live in.” The new album is pure April, celebrating creative diversity and artistic collaboration, creating a space for local artists who shine in their own disciplines—but who don’t typically work with each other—to come together to create something entirely new. These are high-concept stories, painstakingly scripted, filled with the creative synergy of artisans of music, dance, the visual arts. April is crowdsourcing the funding for the video series, hoping in this way as well to draw the community even more closely into the creative process. That creative process, that creative impulse, imbues all that April does. With her work in music and video, with her passion for creative diversity and collaboration, with her curation of the art of many makers, April herself is one of those artistic beacons, helping to strengthen the community of makers here in San Jose. If you ever find yourself on Jackson Street, stop by Petite Galleria and say hello. Who knows? You might find your next treasure waiting for you there—or be inspired to create something of your own.

“TO THRIVE, FELLOW ARTISTS NEED TO REALIZE THEY ARE ALL PART OF A GREATER FAMILY IN SAN JOSE—AND IN THE WORLD.” containher.com social media: containhermusic

petitegalleria.com instagram: petitegalleria

MOTHERS WORRY Written by Giselle Tran Photography by ARABELA ESPINOZA

Playing Outside the Labels

“A story falls on your lap like a block. And with that block that has been mysteriously given to you by the cosmos, or whoever, whatever—it’s up to you to carve that block. And sometimes it’s jagged. Sometimes it’s soft. Sometimes it’s rough. Sometimes it’s hot.” _Michael Hale

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

Ryan Strader

Michael Hale

ust minutes from the heart of downtown San Jose, a huge, dark, haunting sound escapes from a small beat-up shed. At first, only a solemn, gritty guitar plays along with the steady boom of a bass drum, rocking you, luring you, as an organ slides underneath to fill the empty space. Then, a deep bass joins the brew, settling into a gentle sway, before the guitar howls out, and the sound explodes into angular rhythms and a relentless beat. Suddenly, you find yourself in the midst of some great tension in the dark, and the only thing you can do is shake and rock with the music of Mothers Worry. Most often seen playing at The Ritz or the Caravan Lounge, Mothers Worry was founded in the summer of 2014 by guitarist and vocalist Michael Hale along with keyboardist and brute bassist Amanda Mikaelsson. The band played a few shows with a stand-in drummer before longtime friend and drummer Ryan Strader joined them permanently in early 2015, solidifying Mothers Worry as a band based on deep mutual respect and friendship. Now, pulling from their collective range of influences, the trio drifts between rock and electronic, punk and goth, garage and surf—resting on a feeling only long enough for you to get comfortable before throwing you into something unexpected yet familiar. “We had a little thing between us,” says Hale. “We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if we had a band that could play with a metal band, a ska band, a punk band, an indie band, and anything bad?’ ” “And so far, we’ve been able to jive with all those bands,” says Mikaelsson, jumping in before Hale could finish. “We’re definitely different from those groups, sort of, but we have a little bit of something everyone, anyone can relate to,” adds Strader. Still, for Mothers Worry these labels hardly matter. Unconcerned with fitting into a genre, they emphasize the lyrics and the tension of a song. According to the trio, the story almost always flutters to the top of Hale’s head first—before any melody is conceived—swiftly followed by a feeling, then some words. Before too long, the group

Amanda Mikaelsson

fleshes out a new song as Mikaelsson patches in her parts seamlessly and Strader accentuates the drama. “A story falls on your lap like a block,” says Hale. “And with that block that has been mysteriously given to you by the cosmos, or whoever, whatever—it’s up to you to carve that block. And sometimes it’s jagged. Sometimes it’s soft. Sometimes it’s rough. Sometimes it’s hot.” The trio explores death, lost love, inner demons, that goading voice in your head—struggles that everyone encounters and must face. For instance, “S.O.S,” the title song of their upcoming EP, touches on themes of drug abuse, mental illness, and suicide. But perhaps even more interesting is the way their stories move—not through actions, not through characters, but through images. In “Riverside,” another song off the EP, Hale writes: “Broken legs in a sea of snipers. Kill a dove just to watch it go. Take a bow behind a wall of flames. It’s your opus from above, dedicated to your love.” He leaves it up to the listener to piece together the narrative behind the images he conjures. “What’s more vulnerable than broken legs in a sea of snipers?” Hale asks and chuckles. “That’s a feeling. You put them in a feeling, you know? That’s helpless. That’s helpless when you’re waiting for the first bullet to hit.” It’s that helplessness, that universal feeling of struggle that Mothers Worry tries to embody and share with its audience among the noise of the wailing organ, the lonely guitar, the fierce bass, and the thoughtful drums. Though the trio may paint a dark picture, they refuse to neglect the beauty of these universal struggles. “If Mothers Worry had one theme we keep returning to,” says Strader, “it would be that dichotomy between dark and light, that yin and yang that everybody has.” Mothers Worry will be releasing their debut EP, S.O.S, near the end of 2016. The trio describes the six-track collection as the best representation of the sounds and themes they are trying to explore. facebook: mothersworrymusic

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

COntent Calendar

Jan/Feb #ContentPick

Open Mic at Red Rock Coffee

The second floor is set up for local artists to come and display their talent at this open mic, hosted by barista Jake Wichman, every Monday. 1/2 Red Rock Coffee redrockcoffee.org

Content Meet-Up

Learn to pitch a brand, a company, or an individual at this seminar and networking event. Hear from professionals in the industry what they are looking for and how to formulate a winning pitch. 21+ only. 1/19 WeWork San Jose content-magazine.com

Virgin Landscape

A Day in Hollywood, A Night in the Ukraine

The photographs in this exhibition will reveal multiple perspectives on women in the 19th-century American West, featuring images of, about, and by women. 1/20–3/19 de Saisset Museum scu.edu/desaisset

Two one-act musicals provide a “double feature” of classic 1930s Marx Brothers’ humor that was nominated for five Tony Awards. 1/20–2/5 Lucie Stern Theater paplayers.org

05 The Changing Same

21 The Burning Tale

Keeping time with the future of soul, R&B, and jazz, this weekly excursion features guest DJs and live performances curated by Universal Grammar every Thursday night. 1/5 The Continental Bar thecontinentalbar.com

This is a comfy, intimate open mic where everyone is encouraged to share their words—be they well-crafted poems, stories or songs, or spontaneous anecdotes. 1/21 Studio-Bongiorno facebook.com/groups/burningtale

The Life and Death of David Bowie Weird & Gilly, Sit Kitty Sit, and DJ Basura will honor music icon David Bowie. Enjoy hits, like “Ziggy Stardust,” as well as lesser known songs, like “Moonage Daydream.” 1/10 The Ritz theritzsanjose.com

16 Downtown Ice

Artists, arts workers, arts educators, creative entrepreneurs, independent designers, and creative thinkers are invited to envision the future of the arts at this special convening. 1/23 School of Arts & Culture @ MHP cciarts.org

01 Manual Cinema

For a true San Jose winter experience, ice skating under palm trees is hard to beat. Head downtown before the 16th for one last skate before the ice melts. 1/16 Circle of Palms downtownicesj.com

Future Arts Forward

A gothic melodrama, a puppet show, a slide show, a shadow play set to live jazz, and a behind-the-scenes look at how the magic is made: Ada/Ava presents all that and more. 2/1–2/4 Bing Concert Hall Studio live.stanford.edu

To have your event considered for listing, submit event to LiveSV.com 88

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

San Jose Jazz Winter Fest

09 Engage(dot)Next 4.0

9.1 Pick-Up Party

09 Cirque du Soliel’s Luzia

DJ Latinidad’s Latino Dance Party

11 The Ultimate Wine Run

37th Annual Day of Remembrance

11 Silent Night

Silicon Valley Reads 2017 Kick-Off

Cinequest

South First Fridays

This art walk is a self-guided, nighttime tour through galleries, museums, and independent creative businesses featuring eclectic art exhibitions and special performances. 2/3 Downtown San Jose southfirstfridays.com

Matt Lehrman presents “Audience 2020: An Arts & Culture Futurecast,” as well as his “Meet the Patrons - LIVE” panel and breakout sessions on loyalty, metrics, and more. 2/9 School of Arts & Culture @ MHP svcreates.org

Presented as a waking dream, this visually stunning, contemporary circus production transports audiences into an imaginary Mexico. 2/9–3/19 Taylor Street Bridge E Lot cirquedusoleil.com

A wine tasting and a fun run meet in a festival atmosphere. Runners can feel fit and sophisticated with a glass of wine in hand at the finish line. 2/11 Arena Green theultimatewinerun.com

Kevin Puts’ Silent Night recounts a miraculous moment of peace during World War I. This contemporary, multilingual opera won a Pulitzer Prize for Music. 2/11–2/26 California Theatre operasj.org

Hamlet

ShakesBEERience combines beer, food, and a staged reading. Professional actors will unpack the language of Hamlet in a unique and accessible way. 2/13 Cafe Stritch facebook.com/buckhillproductions

This intimate concert series showcases jazz giants and leading-edge artists, featuring Roy Ayers, Kim Nalley, Donny McCaslin, Mary Stallings, The Cookers, and more. 2/14–2/26 San Jose, Palo Alto, Saratoga sanjosejazz.org

There’s nothing wrong with friendly competition. Enjoy music, games, drinks, and bites when picking up the latest issue highlighting the places and people of the South Bay. 2/16 AFK Gamer Lounge content-magazine.com

Conceived and directed by Mark Valdez, this theater piece asks what the Latino identity is today and features commissioned works by local and national writers. 2/17–2/19 MACLA maclaarte.org

This event commemorating Japanese internment during World War II aims to bring different communities together in order to build trust, respect, and understanding. 2/19 San Jose Betsuin Gymnasium taiko.org

Silicon Valley Reads asks everyone in Santa Clara County to read selected books around a shared topic, then invites the community to explore that topic through author talks, art exhibitions, film screenings, and more. 2/23 VPAC at De Anza College siliconvalleyreads.org A showcase of premier films, renowned and emerging artists, and breakthrough technology, this festival empowers connections between creators, innovators, and audiences. 2/28–3/12 Various San Jose Theaters cinequest.org

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

Contributors The production of Content Magazine would not be possible without the talented writers, editors, graphic artists, and photographers who contribute to each issue. We thank you and are proud to provide a publication to display your work. We are also thankful for the sponsors and readers who have supported this magazine through advertisements and subscriptions.

MAGGIE MOORE A big fan of dogs and tacos, Maggie is a graphic designer who, along with two other women, runs a creative design studio. instagram: maggiesayswhat

MARK CHUA A photographer in love with fashion and street photography, Mark was born in Manila, but has spent half his life in San Jose. He picked up his first camera when fashion first called to him. His primary focus is his family and documenting the lives of his wife and two daughters. instagram: mark_j_chua

ANNETTE GARCIA Annette is a professional figure skating coach, with a BFA in design and marketing from the Academy of Art University. Her passion is creating the nonprofit SK8SiliconValley, in which local tech companies provide skating lessons for underserved youth. instagram: annette.renee.garcia

VILA SCHWINDT Vila is a freelance editor and writer based in Oakland. Client list includes Apple, Google, Symantec, and Teachscape. A Mills graduate and BAEF member, Vila has published poetry and short stories, loves good food, jazz, and the natural world. Vila

BRANDI STANSBURY Brandi is a writer, marketing strategist, and cultural maven. New to the San Jose area, her quest for adventure and discovery is neverending. instagram: brandeezworld

EMILY WENZL Emily is a writer, editor, book nerd, marketer, designer, and teacher. She holds two bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degrees, one in English and one in journalism, and sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actively becoming an expert in digital media. twitter: emilywenzl

NICOLE TINDALL Nicole is an arts, culture, food, and design fanatic. She is fond of learning about the people and events who have made the Valley's rich history and are making the present and future of San Jose. twitter: wonderosity

NATHAN ZANON Nathan works in social media, devotes much of his time to nonprofits, and is an advocate of the arts, community activism, and great movies. If possible, he will take a picture of your dog. instagram: nathanzzzzzzz

Want to be a part of the Content community? Contact us at: Editor@content-magazine.com

___ Celebrate 9.0 ___

Thank You

This issue is made possible with the support of our partnersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;companies and organizations who share our desire to support and develop the creative community of the South Bay. We are grateful for their contribution and support and for actively taking part in the betterment of our region.

For more information on becoming a mission partner, contact kristen@content-magazine.com

Filco Events has been working on festivals, fundraisers, and events in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1988. Each event is individually tailored to the special needs and goals of the organization. While fundraising is always a significant part of festivals, other priorities include media attention, corporate support, and volunteer building, as well as the opportunity to showcase specific programs and services to the community. In all cases, advancing long-term goals while still raising significant revenue gives each event purpose and recognition for many years into the future. From logistics to concessions to volunteer coordination, we can coantract key elements of large festivals, provide consultation, or actually direct the entire production. We are also available for national and multi-city events.

filco.com

Proud Sponsor of Content Magazine Pick-Up Parties for 2016

THAnK YOU

Telly Award–winning Tabrizi Productions is downtown San Jose’s leader in event and commercial videography. Led by Farran Tabrizi, the company has expanded quickly since its introduction to San Jose’s SoFA district. Combining a creative eye with expert editing, Tabrizi Productions excels at capturing what makes your product or event special. Our team has produced online advertisements, instructional videos, music videos, and TV shows, and covered weddings, nonprofit events, festivals—and everything else in between.

tabriziproductions.com

THAnK YOU

As a boutique-style catering company, Organicopia is best known for multi-course food and wine pairings with complete customization of menus. Starting as an in-home private chef, founder Molly Bravo cooked for busy families who had no time to shop or prepare nutritious meals for dinner. Over time, she became known for her warm hospitality and her genuine love of the craft. In 2015, Bravo was approached by FoodyTV to host a cooking and lifestyle show. The first season recently wrapped up production in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The second season is slated to begin filming in early October 2016.

myorganicopia.com

instagram: organicopia

THAnK YOU

Lion Ranch Vineyards and Winery grows Rhone varietals, using sustainable farming to reflect the area's terroir. Our vineyards are within the area once known as Lion Ranch, originally a Spanish land grant from the 1800s. Family-owned and handcrafted, the wines of Lion Ranch are a modern expression with a nod to history. Visit us the 1st and 3rd weekends of the month in our outdoor tasting pavilion to taste our Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Lion's Share, and Grenache Noir.

In the local world of landscape design, Bay Maples is known as a leader in sustainable garden strategies and water conservation. The full-service landscaping company was awarded the 2016 Silicon Valley Water Conservation Award in the business category. Bay Maples has also hosted more than 30 workshops on rainwater catchment, greywater installations, rain gardens, composting, and aquaponics. They are truly committed to our local communities.

baymaples.com facebook: baymaples

lionranch.com instagram: lion_ranch

THAnK YOU

wgi o r c

rier

bike c l

n jose, ca

Professional courier service promoting sustainability and empowering women through cycling in the heart of Silicon Valley.

WWW.COWGIRLBIKECOURIER.COM

Lodge and Camp 2001 Rossi Rd at Hwy 1 Pescadero, CA 650-879-1100

www.costanoa.com

Banking with your best interests at heart. techcu.com

ÂŠTechnology Credit Union. Federally insured by NCUA.

WINTER FEST February 14-26, 2017 Downtown San Jose, Palo Alto & Saratoga “San Jose Jazz heats up the season with Winter Fest” – San Francisco Chronicle

Roy Ayers

Kim Nalley

Donny McCaslin

Ella Fitzgerald’s Birthday Centennial with special guest Kalil Wilson

The Cookers Wallace Roney

Mary Stallings Ben Allison & Think Free

John Abercrombie Quartet

Troker

Ron E. Beck Soul Review

International String Trio with Emily Day

San Jose Jazz Festival All Star Big Band with Dan Gordon Sonido Clash

2nd Annual Jazz Organ Fellowship Summit with Akiko Tsuruga and Tony Monico

Silvestre Martinez

South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk at MACLA on March 3

sabado de Carnaval Gala featuring the Villalobos Brothers Saturday, February 25 | Hotel De Anza Save the date to celebrate Mardi Gras Vera Cruz style! Dinner, dancing, music and more. Proceeds benefit San Jose Jazz music education programs.

TICKETS ON SALE IN DECEMBER

sanjosejazz.org • 408.288.7557 • #sjzwinterfest OSHMAN F A M I LY

J E W I S H COMMUNITY C E N T E R TA U B E K O R E T C A M P U S F O R J E W I S H L I F E

915-CITY SAN JOSE.qxp_Layout 1 8/21/15 5:08 PM Page 1

Photo: Yvonne D. Williams Lupe, 2015 Artists: Greenememe - Freya Bardell and Brian Howe Fabricator: Paramount Roll and Forming Commissioned by the City of San Jose Public Art Program Office of Cultural Affairs

www.sanjoseculture.org

Sal Khan

Founder, Khan Academy

Learning better ways to manage your money doesn’t have to cost a thing

The more you understand how your money works, the more confident you’ll feel about your financial decisions. That’s why we created Better Money Habits® in partnership with Khan Academy—an independent, nonprofit organization with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone anywhere. Better Money Habits is a one-of-a-kind online approach to financial education that’s customizable and answers tough financial questions in practical ways. Get the financial know-how you need at BetterMoneyHabits.com

silicon valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

INNOVATIVE & CREATIVE

CULTURE made in sanjose, ca

CONTENT NEXT ISSUE

Find 9.1 SAN JOSE 2017

WWW.CONTENT-MAGAZINE.COM social media: contentmag annual subscription

PRINT $42.00

join subscribe www.content-magazine.com

Celebrate 9.0 digital

Articles inside

April Gee - ContainHer