CREATE : CONNECT : SAN JOSE
The City of San José Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art Program presents SHELTERING WING by San José artist Roger Stoller located in Japantown’s new park – Heinlenville Park. The 18-foot-high metallace stainless steel sculpture reflects the history of Japantown, and includes imagery that is culturally significant to both Chinese and Japanese traditions, interweaving representations of bamboo, peaches, koi, origami cranes, butterflies, and chrysanthemums. Experiencing the artwork is free and open to the public.
ISSUE 16.1
“Discover” Winter 2023
Cultivator
Daniel Garcia
Content Producer
David E. Valdespino Jr.
Editors
Elizabeth Sullivan, Grace Olivieri
Katherine Hypes, Virginia Graham
Samantha Peth, Katie Shiver
Samantha Hull, Danae Stahlnecker, David Ngo
Photographers
Stan Olszewski, Arabela Espinoza
Leopoldo Macaya, Alex Knowbody
Miguel Ozuna, Lauren Locquiao
Joel Bartlett, Jai Tanju
Cyntia Apps
Writers
Brandon Roos, Esther Young
Alyssarhaye Graciano, Michelle Rundowitz
Troy Ewers, Breanne Erb
Taran Escobar-Ausman, Priya Das
Interns
Nirvan Vijaykar
Publisher SVCREATES
As we enter our 12th year as a print magazine, I am overwhelmed with the continual need for a publication like CONTENT. Not merely because the South Bay creative scene doesn’t receive the recognition it deserves but because there are many people we have yet to feature and ongoing additions of creatives to the scene. This issue’s theme, “Discover,” has always been a theme for us. In the early days, we tried to be cute and call it “Seek” or “Find,” but the intention has remained the same: to showcase talented people right under our noses who might go unnoticed. Whether it is the growing appreciation of art in Los Altos, a privately owned gallery on a side street in Palo Alto, or the signs gracing your favorite restaurant, there is more to find, and the people behind this work and effort there to “Discover.”
Enjoy,
Daniel Garcia
THE CULTIVATOR
IN THIS ISSUE
Soulmat3s | Miguel Machuca | Arts Los Altos | Exhilo
To participate in CONTENT MAGAZINE: daniel@content-magazine.com Membership & sponsorship information available by contacting david@content-magazine.com
CILKER SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN
CREATE CULTURE CHANGE
Get a premier arts education at West Valley’s Cilker School of Art & Design. As a top transfer institution, we know what it takes to help you achieve your educational goals. With world-class art, design, and performing arts courses taught by industry experts and experienced faculty, West Valley College prepares you for the path you want to take!
ACCREDITED PROGRAMS
» National Association of Schools of Art & Design
» National Association of Schools of Music
Cilker is a Steinway School offering courses in Stage Technology (Performing Arts), CLO3D (Fashion), and Animation (Visual Art).
CONTENT
DISCOVER 16.1
Winter 2023
San Jose, California
ART & CULTURE
8 EPACENTER, Nadine Rambeau
12 Tai Zhan Bakery, Wendy Chan
16 Gallerist, Pamela Walsh
20 Artist, Ignacio “Nacho” Moya
26 Musician and Painter, Ben Henderson
32 Artist, Miguel Machuca
38 Arts Los Altos, Maddy McBirney & Karen Zucker
44 Clothing Brand: Exhilo, Curtis Ying
50 Ensamble Folclórico Colibrí, Arturo Magaña MUSIC
54 DJs, Soulmat3s
58 Musician, Will Sprott
62 Contributors
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
Soulmat3s, pg. 54
Miguel Machuca , pg. 32
Pamela Walsh, pg. 16
Arturo Magaña, pg. 50
C O W O R K I N G
C O M M U N I T Y
C R E A T O R E V E N T S
EPA CENTER
Nurturing creativity and community in East Palo Alto’s youth
Tucked between Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and the waters of the San Francisco Bay, EPACENTER is a unique East Palo Alto institution.
The nonprofit provides local youth with a safe place to learn, flourish, and grow in a modern and vibrant building and outdoor space. The primary goal of EPACENTER (pronounced “epicenter”) is to offer a diverse array of programs and resources centered around arts, culture, and technology to empower young individuals to hone their talents, express themselves, and acquire essential skills.
At its core is Nadine Rambeau, who has been EPACENTER’s executive director since 2017. She has spent 25 years finding ways to empower communities and youth across the United States to improve economic equity and bring about social change. Rambeau’s rich background and skills help ensure that EPACENTER successfully executes its mission and upholds its values.
Her extensive experience includes key roles in establishing accessible arts education programs for vulnerable youth at the Duncan YMCA Chernin Center for the Arts in Metropolitan Chicago. She’s also worked as the managing director of the community arts and education division at the California Institute of the Arts i n Los Angeles.
EPACENTER serves individuals ages six through 25, though it was initially designed for 12-to-25-year-olds. Rambeau explained how community feedback on letting younger children benefit from the center’s positive impact promoted a reevaluation. “We heard from families that there’s nothing else like this,” said Rambeau. “The families [said] if you don’t go younger, then the students are not going to develop the skills to make it so that they can get those levels of expertise,” she continued.
EPACENTER offers an extensive range of creative programming and classes that students can join. From cooking, painting, mural creation, musical lessons, theater and performance to various types of dance, costume design, and photography, the center offers something for every student.
Rambeau ensures that students have access to supplies and well-equipped spaces that are necessary for nurturing their talents. There are multiple stages for performances throughout the building. The highlight is their outdoor amphitheater, which doubles as an enclosed courtyard for students to enjoy in between classes. Seating around 250 people, the center uses the amphitheater to host music events.
The center also offers students a fully equipped kitchen, where a professional chef teaches classes that cover global cuisines. “We realized that it was important for them to get that international exposure.
Written by Michelle Rundowitz
Photography by Miguel Ozuna
“I
often say that creativity is a civil right...”
- Nadine Rambeau
Sometimes the students would say that they feel like ‘Oh, East Palo Alto is all I know, I can’t venture out,’ ” said Rambeau. “There’s kind of an internalized sense that they don’t belong. And so, partly what we’re trying to do is to break that sense down though food,” she continued.
Students can prepare extra food as a meal for their families, which Rambeau says may be one of the reasons cooking is one of the most popular classes.
While the classes are the focal point of EPACENTER, the building itself is an impressive feat. Funded by the John & Marcia Goldman Foundation and other organizations, the 25,000-squarefoot center took more than a decade to complete. Throughout the process, students were consulted on what they would want from this new building to ensure their voices were heard and reflected in the design.
Rambeau explained why they hired young leaders to help spearhead the project. “We’re trying to make sure that there’s that leadership opportunity for them on conceptualizing the project, seeing it come to fruition, and now kind of making decisions at a very high level,” shared Rambeau. One of the leaders who was involved from an early age joined their Youth Advisory Council and is now on EPACENTER’s board. “They’re my boss now,” said Rambeau proudly.
The exterior of the two-story building
boasts bright colors to create a fun and welcoming atmosphere for students and to be a visually vibrant building for the local community. In the entryway and throughout the campus, large windows are featured in almost every room, which Rambeau explains was an intentional aspect of the design, “The students were saying that there’s a lot of negative perceptions about East Palo Alto and the people who live here. So they wanted people outside to be able to see them doing beautiful things and to see that they...have innate talents that they were born with.”
From the inside, students can appreciate what Rambeau calls the center’s grand view: a clear line of sight over East Palo Alto’s skyline, all the way to the Santa Cruz Mountains. “What was really important to the students was that they could see their city,” explained Rambeau. “They said that ‘There are so many buildings in East Palo Alto that are just very short, so you don’t even know what things look like.’ ” Thanks to the center’s collaboration with the community throughout its design, students now have any easily accessible spot to look out over the Peninsula and appreciate their city.
In addition to its inviting views, the center is LEED Platinum certified with state-of-the-art sustainable design. The roof is equipped with solar panels, the materials and paints all have low
volatile organic compounds, and water is processed and reused as gray water for landscaping. The building proudly displays its rainwater recycling system behind glass, instead of a typical hidden utility area, so students and visitors can see and learn more about the sustainable system. This is especially important for the community, since East Palo Alto was previously home to many hazardous and toxic facilities that leached dangerous chemicals into the soil and groundwater. “It was just really important to the students to make sure that there was no more poisoning,” said Rambeau.
Rambeau is always looking for ways to ensure that the center, which opened in 2021, stays relevant to students. She explained, “I often say that creativity is a civil right, [meaning] that if you don’t have the ability or the skills to be creative, if you don’t know how to do it, and if you don’t have the investment of resources, then you potentially could be living in an environment that’s entirely created by someone else.”
Rambeau said that the facility prioritizes populations that can’t afford these opportunities otherwise. She’s excited for what the future holds and wants to give the younger generation more opportunities to expand their skill sets to be empowered to achieve economic success. C
Tai Zhan Plant Based Bakery 大
Written by Michelle Rundowitz
Photography by Cyntia Apps
In an area renowned for its love of sustainable and delicious cuisine, Tai Zhan Plant
Based Bakery is a small haven for vegan pastry enthusiasts. Wendy Chan, founder and baker of this Saratoga-based bakery, has carved a niche for her business in the local community with her commitment to crafting delicious Hong Kong–inspired baked goods free of animal products. From traditional favorites to inventive creations, Tai Zhan’s menu boasts a range of vegan treats, ensuring there’s something for everyone.
Chan’s journey to baking began unconventionally. With a background in art and experiences in city planning, farming, and volunteering abroad, she continually found herself looking to positively impact those around her. “I wanted to do something that was substantial and contributing to our human survival in some way,” said Chan. While traveling for volunteer work, she found herself dreaming of bakeries, and when she returned to the Bay Area, she realized she had to give it a try. She said, “I was always focused on bakeries, like, as a child…I feel like they’re really magical warm
places, and they bring a lot of joy naturally.”
Chan found work as a baker at various businesses—until she met the baker who started Manresa Bread at a farmer’s market and started working there during the bakery’s opening. Chan described her experience, “I didn’t know what I was signing up for, and it was very intense, and it was long hours, but I ended up loving it.” After a while though, she decided it was time to move on. “I realized it wasn’t exactly my style of baking,” she recalled. “I was missing my cultural roots, like the Hong Kong and the Asian styles.”
In 2017, while Chan was pregnant at home with her first son, she started to experiment with her own baking style. She found local vegan potlucks where people would meet up to share plant-based meals and meet others in the community, and she started bringing her baked goods there to get feedback. Then, in November 2018, her partner’s family in Paradise, California, lost homes to the devastating Camp Fire. Searching for a way to help, Chan and her partner organized their first pop-up shop to raise funds for
their family. That impromptu fundraiser ended up being the event that jump-started the business.
After that, Chan hosted pop-ups under the name Tai Zhan Bakery. “[It’s] essentially a phonetic play off of my grandfather’s butcher shop in Hong Kong that he had running for over 50 years,” explained Chan. “I have a lot of memories there because we went there every summer, and the butcher shop was right around the corner from my grandparents’ apartment.” Inspired by the treats she would see in Hong Kong, Chan bakes items such as sweet pineapple buns, rich coconut cream buns, light and fluffy green onion buns, and flakey croissants. However, achieving the flavors of her childhood with plant-based ingredients requires extra experimentation. “The main bread dough has definitely gone through many iterations,” she said. “I actually mix quite a bit of different things to get the right flavor profile. I’m literally blending milks and blending flours.”
While the exact location for each pop-up varies, Chan often prefers to host events in the East and South Bay, especially near Los Gatos where she was raised and currently lives. “I find that it really works well here because there’s a huge Asian population and a huge Indian population, or even [people] who are vegetarian for a few days of the week,”
said Chan. “So the vegetarian interest, and the openness to this type of food, is really great here.” The pop-up model also helped her successfully weather the pandemic. She said, “I was actually okay because I didn’t have a physical storefront, so I didn’t have the overhead, and I wasn’t affected in that way.”
Recently, Chan celebrated the grand opening of the new brick-and-mortar location for Tai Zhan in downtown Saratoga. While there will still be all the same staple offerings that make the pop-ups a hit, Chan plans to include more cake and artisan bread loaf options. “My baking journey started in sourdough breads. I would like to offer a little bit of that,” said Chan. She still plans to host pop-ups, though primarily in the East Bay. She explained, “We started this bakery operating as pop-ups. I would like to continue that to create more opportunities for folks who want to get our treats but cannot make it to the South Bay.” This new permanent location marks the next chapter for Tai Zhan and will create opportunities for more people to try Chan’s tasty treats. “I am equally as excited as I am nervous,” said Chan. “It’s a completely new part of our baking journey, and I’m doing my best to embrace the day-to-day moments and see where this path takes us.” C
The Art of Place PAMELA WALSH GALLERY
Awood-cut sign hangs from the eaves of a Spanishstyle balcony on Palo Alto’s Ramona Street architectural district. The sign reads “Pamela Walsh Gallery” in gold lettering. Inside, contemporary works of art hang neatly on the white walls of the historic building designed by Stanford architect Birge Clark in 1929. The gallery is named after owner, curator, and gallerist Pamela Walsh. More than simply managing a gallery, Walsh carefully orchestrates exhibitions, weaving together visual narratives that connect artists to space and viewers to artwork.
Curating exhibitions requires close collaboration with artists, pushing them to dig deeper into their craft, shaping themes, or relying on creative instinct to curate engaging experiences. Walsh explains, “That’s the part that I think is sometimes misunderstood. Real gallerists are artists. I attended art school and studied fine art in art history. I discovered that my art form was not creating art but bringing people to art and telling those stories [and] being a conduit for artistic expressions and the community that needs to engage with them.”
Walsh’s journey to owning her gallery has been a puzzle of self-discovery, business, and inspiration. Originally from Tennessee, she developed an interest in painting during high school, eventually pursuing a degree in art at university. After college, Walsh moved to California, hoping to break into the art gallery business. She was determined to get her foot in the door as a woman in a male-dominated industry. When she did—essentially paying to work on a draw against commission—she took a gallery job at Franklin Bowles Gallery in San Francisco. She worked her way up the ranks, creating a career over two decades. “I’m deeply grateful for that because [Franklin Bowles] really believed in me and taught me so much about the business…and when I was ready to go, he had three galleries in San Francisco and one in New York. It was a big company with many employees. I ran three locations and had 25 salespeople working under me. [That experience] has informed me about what my path [would] be as a gallerist,” she says.
Before opening Pamela Walsh Gallery in 2019, Walsh explored running her own art advisory business to free herself from the
Written by David E. Valdespino Jr.
Garcia
Photography by Daniel
“I discovered that my art form was not creating art but bringing people to art and telling those stories [and] being a conduit for artistic expressions and the community that needs to engage with them.”
– Pamela Walsh
overhead of operating a brick-and-mortar location. Before long, she realized the importance of space. “Having worked in another gallery space for many years…I was coming out of that experience, wondering at the time [in] 2017, ‘Do you really need space? Is space important?’ ” She continues, “What I found is that space is precious. What space allows you is not only what artists really, deeply desire, which is a place to exhibit art and put together meaningful exhibitions that tell stories that you can’t tell otherwise, but it also allows you to build relationships with your community.”
Opening in November 2019, Pamela Walsh Gallery aimed to forge a new path, transforming the Palo Alto art scene by creating a destination for art buyers and enthusiasts on the peninsula in a region outside of San Francisco’s bustling art community. Sensing the absence of many thriving art galleries in the area, Walsh envisioned fostering an ecosystem of contemporary art in the heart of Palo Alto. Originally planning to open the gallery with partner and renowned gallerist Michael Schwartz, Walsh came as close as signing term sheets before Schwartz became ill, forcing him to pull out of the arrangement. Walsh recalls, “It was a tough moment. We had come so far, and I had spent so much energy and money figuring out how this business would work. And I had to think it through. Could I do it alone? And I just decided to go for it.”
Pamela rounds out that conversation by honoring Michael, who passed away in 2020. “He was a lovely, wonderful man. He was really somebody who believed in me in a way that was so powerful that it compelled me to do something that I was supposed to do. And I hope to return those gifts to someone in the future. Sometimes, you meet just a couple of people along your path who are the people who change your course.”
Even though the gallery opened just months before COVID-19 shutdowns, the pandemic underscored the importance of physical spaces for art. Walsh recognized that without space, she had nothing to offer potential art buyers, and coming out of the pandemic, she witnessed firsthand how people longed for in person art experiences. Galleries, museums, and art were pivotal in providing solace and inspiration during trying times. Walsh’s commitment to fostering art and community was reaffirmed.
In the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary art, Walsh remains a steadfast advocate for artists, their work, and women in the art business. As a mid-sized gallery, she is a crucial element of the arts ecosystem that provides a platform for emerging talents, curates impactful exhibitions, and serves as a link between art and community. C
Written by Troy Ewers
Photography by Lauren Locquiao
Stop Chasing and Start Attracting
IGNACIO “NACHO” MOYA is an artist that doesn’t chase accolades and bright lights, instead attracting them with an infectious smile and motivational attitude—on top of his beautiful and impactful art. Born in Mexico and raised in Gilroy, California, Nacho Moya wanted to make art that had a timeless impact. In the sixth grade, he knew he could create art when he entered an art contest to create a piece about saving the environment. Moya drew two kids on a boat fishing, but instead of catching fish, they were catching trash that was in the ocean. Moya’s creativity won the contest, and the prize for winning was a backpack with school supplies in it. To a lot of kids, the prize might not have seemed like a big deal, but for Moya, it was everything because he had never owned a backpack before.
“I didn’t own a backpack until I earned it,” says Moya. Prior to the contest, Moya carried his school supplies in either a random tote bag, a plastic bag, or his own two arms, so winning the backpack felt equivalent to getting a commission of one million dollars for a painting. Moya felt like a millionaire when he was a kid and he still does. “You’re a millionaire when you do what you love” is the mentality he embodies and hopes to instill in others.
As an artist, Nacho Moya has never chased money, fame, or notoriety. Although he attended movie premieres with actors such as Richard Montoya and Eva Longoria, galas, and fundraisers, and has been a keynote speaker at events to tell his story—all these experiences were never something he chased. He says, “If you want to go hard, go harder, go even harder, because every day you have an opportunity to be better.”
Top to bottom:
Feeding America
Unsung Heroes
Cesar Chavez
Hope
Opposite page:
The Visitor
Following page:
Frida
Moya attracted these opportunities over the years, but it was a grind. Ten years ago, he was living in a shelter with his children, believing in what he could achieve. “I didn’t want to be the one getting the presents in the shelter; I wanted to be the one giving the presents.” Since then, Moya has remained in service to his community. No matter how many red carpets he walks or keynote speeches he gives, he is always an artist first. He is an artist that thinks about motivating people to be better, even if it’s just a smidge better than they were a day before. He connects with people because his passion is genuine, or as he says, “You can see the soul through my eyes.” Nacho is an artist who enjoys classical music when he’s creating, gardening to relax, and a chipotle chicken sandwich with jalapeno chips and a strawberry banana shake as a satisfying meal. It’s these everyday pleasures, aside from his family and his art, that make him smile from ear to ear.
Moya’s motivation, passion, and energy are infectious and will have any person believe they could do anything, because he believes in himself and can attract anything he wants. His first retail job was for Polo Ralph Lauren and now, as a full-time artist, it is a goal of his to collaborate with the company. “I was so attached to the brand and the vibe that I told myself I was going to collab with Polo Ralph Lauren,” he says. This collaboration, however, would be a true partnership, unlike a different high fashion designer brand that offered to work with Moya more as an employer, commissioning designs under existing structures and issuing a check with no intention to really grow the relationship. There was no end goal for Moya, in his own words, “Every top of the mountain is the bottom of the next,” so even though he dreams of partnering with Polo Ralph Lauren, he doesn’t chase it like it’s the be all and end all. He’s currently opening a second studio, a new mountain for him to climb and a challenge he embraces. “Relax, don’t stress, and do your best” is a phrase Moya lives by and one he wants to spread among others. “I want to send a message to be kind to yourself, then you can be kind to others.”
Since the sixth grade, Nacho Moya has believed that if you continue chasing material and shiny objects, you’ll be running on a treadmill your whole life, waking up one day with everything passing you by. Moya is an example of how rewarding art and life can be when you stop chasing and start attracting. Moya attracted the life he dreamed of for himself, and it’s a feeling he wants to spread to others through his art. C
“If you want to go hard, go harder, go even harder, because every day you have an opportunity to be better.”
-Ignacio “Nacho” Moya
BEN
HENDERSON
Ben Henderson has soared enough of the sparkling sky to pick out the stars of highest importance—mental health over stardom, family over fame, and art that is slow in the making.
Written by Esther Young
Photography by Jai Tanju
If you have gone downtown for any of life’s simple delights—grabbed a coffee or pastry, sipped a beer while DJs spun vinyl, bought tickets to the jazz festival, joined a bike party, or booed a performer off the stage at the Go Go Gone Show—chances are you showed up because you saw Ben Henderson’s artwork.
A painter and designer by trade, Ben’s collective resume of posters, signs, and murals tell a unique history of the ways we gather in the South Bay. His custom designs welcome both first-timers and old-comers to the unique atmospheres of Park Station Hashery, Chromatic Coffee, O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub, and SoFA Market.
From an elegant reproduction of Hotel De Anza’s famous Diving Diva on its windows, to the vintage lettering on Palo Alto Fine Wine & Spirits; from the hip facade of Good Karma Artisan Ales & Cafe, to the cherry-red exterior of Sweetdragon Baking Company, Ben’s handiwork identifies cherished local businesses and brightens the streets they occupy.
In 2017, Ben started Brush House, a catch-
all name for projects that he was increasingly sharing with other artists as they scaled in size and overlapped in timelines. As he continued to direct designs, he brought in team members who could also achieve that remarkably clean line, such as Andrew Sumner and J.Duh.
Ben was the type of boy who grew up drawing whatever, whenever he could. “I especially loved drawing logos of all my favorite heavy metal bands—just blowing through a stack of computer paper with the little dots in the edges.” He put full effort into displays for his class assignments and enjoyed afternoons drawing Simpsons characters alongside his older brothers.
From any angle, Brush House seems like a dream business for the kid who took his first “commissions” from admiring elementary school classmates. “I was actually getting made fun of quite a bit for my weight and other things,” he shares, “so being able to shine with art and get praise and acceptance from my fellow classmates and teachers—I’ve always been drawn to [art] for so many reasons.”
“I have reclaimed my music as my fine art.”
-Ben Henderson
But by middle school, he found himself devoting hours to playing guitar or jamming on drums and bass. “I was always such a ham, and I wanted to perform for my friends, my family, my community,” he says.
In this way, music became the impetus of his artwork. “I was making a ton of graphics in the way of band merch and promotion for my band and my friends’ bands,” he recalls. Between playing with one of his first bands, Delta Activity, and working at Coffee Society, he took on his first gig as a graphic designer. Funny enough, that commissioned art piece traveled the world before his music did. While touring with newer band Good Hustle, Ben spotted his “Make Coffee Not War” design, modeled after a wartime propaganda poster, on a T-shirt he didn’t recall printing. He asked the wearer how she’d gotten it. “She’s like, ‘I just ordered it from some guy in Australia.’ ” His poster had risen into paper virality, appearing in bastardized versions of itself on T-shirts, mugs, and wall decals sold globally.
a long time to get where they are. And they’re not even stoked.”
The joy of live performance dwindled. “People could come up to me after a show in tears and be like, ‘That was so amazing. Never stop what you’re doing. You touched so many people’s hearts tonight,’ and inside I would just feel like, ‘I wish you were right.’ ” It was a far cry from the way he played music through junior and high school, jamming for hours on guitar, every single day, hopping from drums, to bass, to the mic, all because it was fun and brought people together.
And not soon after, his music followed. Ben’s first band, Delta Activity, toured with alternative metal band Dredg. His duo, Brother Grand, supported indie-folk band the Wild Reeds. In 2012, Ben quit a job designing graphics for the county to join a nationwide tour with indie rock band River City Extension as their bass player.
For 15 years, Ben’s music career was on constant rise, as he and his bands accepted invitations to play bigger shows, festivals, and tours. In his life’s nebula, performing was at the center—stardom was likely, but it meant having to endure the collapse in other parts of his life. And some of it couldn’t be earned back.
“I realized that being out on tour as much as I was, I was missing weddings, funerals, birthday parties, baby showers—all for people I really love and care about.” Additionally, the economic demands of performing had changed the experience for him. Whereas he once reveled in the endless possibilities of one line in one song, his mind was now more of a calculator. He habitually concerned himself with what the next concert would pay or how the band’s merch would sell.
And he wasn’t alone in the anxieties. From his vantage point, Ben noticed the struggles of even more established performers with record labels, booking agents, and sponsorships. “They were struggling to pay their bills, take care of their health, be happy, be satisfied, and grateful,” he says. “I realized, it’s going to take me
So Ben made a deal with himself. “I said, ‘For the next year, I’m going to focus on art only.’ ” The commitment was quiet—Ben told no one— but the change was clear: he simply stopped performing in public. He turned down shows and put all the touring and recording on hiatus. Only a few weeks in, he realized it was the best decision. “For the first time in a while my bills were paid. I was not falling behind. I was getting so much done.” Ben soaked it all in: time with the people he loved, space to reflect on his relationships, and the inner peace that a younger version of himself lacked. “It took me identifying my values,” he explains. “Before, I didn’t have any of that. It was just like, whatever the next biggest thing is, that’s what I wanted.” Those closest to him—especially his wife, Erin— share his values of health, family, and friends. “We’re just remarkably mellow and happy together,” he says.
Freed from the need for his musicianship to generate money or sense of self-worth, Ben states, “I have reclaimed my music as my fine art.” It looks like coming right back to the beginning, when he composed without an agenda.
“I will sit there and play with one song idea for months on end, overly obsessing about the minutiae of one song—because I’m allowed to, and because I allow myself to. And that’s exciting,” he says.
That’s fantastic news for anyone who’s heard Ben perform, whether 20 years ago or just last month on a stage somewhere downtown. He’s also planning to record this winter. We can look forward to definitive versions of beloved Ben Henderson classics, as well as newer experiments reflecting this phase of his life.
“I’m going to be still performing whenever I want, whenever I can, and have fun with it,” he promises himself, “and be relentlessly creative and experimental with it, because I can and because I should.”
Miguel Machuca UNBREAKABLE
Surrounded by floor-to-ceiling artwork, being in Miguel Machuca’s studio is like being in his soul. Records are stacked to the side. Eras of his artwork adorn the walls, dark and looming yet simultaneously inviting and hopeful. He shares a studio space with several San Jose artists as part of the Dream Daringly, Execute Fearlessly collective.
In 1987, at the age of nine, Machuca immigrated to the United States from Jalisco, Mexico, having applied for citizenship through his Philadelphia-born grandmother. He and his family made their way across the border via train and plane, just a month after losing his father due to a car accident. From a young age, Machuca has become familiar with the dark twists and turns life can take.
Machuca’s nine-to-five has been working with youth as an applied behavior analyst in San Jose’s Evergreen School District. Machuca reflects on his own experience in school, being pulled out of class for one-on-one time for his ESL classes. “It brings me joy to work with students in that same way and provide tools for them to navigate their own learning capabilities and differences.”
When done with work and with caring for his mother, Machuca takes refuge in his studio. “For me, my work is a constant reminder that I can get through this. I can go through anything so long as I stay true to myself and continue searching for the light, for the creator, for the universe that helps me find those better days.”
His larger-than-life charcoal drawings have allowed him to express himself through a series of artworks, giving meaning to every symbol and every marking in his work. Each gesture brings Machuca closer and closer to the light, both mentally and physically. Using a vintage electric eraser given to him by his uncle, Machuca carves out the peace and light in his work, allowing himself to heal.
Alyssarhaye Graciano
Machuca shares his process and how he is able to work through both his creative ideas and emotions. “I start each of my four by eight pieces with hope, priming the board with three layers of white. Then, whether I freestyle or have a sketch planned, I silhouette it in black. As you get older, you begin to experience life and that darkness begins to taint you a little bit. After, I use my electric eraser to etch the highlights, creating the light through the layer of charcoal. It allows me to draw the light from the darkness. I create dark images but the light is the hope behind them.”
While not religious, Machuca’s spiritual beliefs can be found within his work, expressed through numerology and symbolism. His influences are eclectic, drawing inspiration from his
Written by
Photography by Stan Olszewski
“For me, my work is a constant reminder that I can get through this.”
–Miguel Machuca
“I decided I wanted to give a year of my life in service to the community as a thank you for helping me get through tough times.”
–Miguel
Machuca
upbringing around the early ’90s, airbrush art, ancient cultures, elders’ wisdom, and mysticism. His artistic visions are firmly grounded in self-taught talent, his macabre candidness conveying his personal perspectives on the world that surrounds him and tying in his spiritual beliefs.
Machuca’s most recent works detail his battle with cancer, each piece allowing him a space to process the turbulent experience. During this time, the artist community showed up for him and helped pay his rent and other bills, leaving him eternally grateful. While his battle was triumphant, the journey guided Machuca to rethink how he lives his life. “I decided I wanted to give a year of my life in service to the community as a thank you for helping me get through tough times.” Machuca volunteers with the local gallery 1Culture, installing monthly exhibitions that feature artists from across California. The experience allows Machuca to assist artists on their creative journeys and brings him a new sense of fulfillment.
“Art has always been healing for me,” Machuca explains. “The reason I do charcoal is a metaphor for me. I work with black and white because black, to me, is the darkness that everyone carries. The highlights are the light that we all search for on an everyday basis. I can’t have one without the other. It’s a collaboration between the colors, but also me as the creator. These three points—black, white, and me—create a triangle. A triangle is one of the strongest shapes throughout human history.”
Machuca is quick to note he is not solely a charcoal artist. His artistic career has been marked by evolution, progressing from crayons and pencils to pens, airbrush, spray paint, and most recently, paint brushes and charcoal. He is an artist who will take up the medium that helps him share his message in that moment.
Today Machuca remains an active figure in the vibrant San Jose art scene. His contributions include collaboration with emerging talents and established artists alike, as well as participating in various local galleries, charity events, community festivals, and even the prestigious Triton Museum of Art located in Santa Clara. Machuca’s multifaceted endeavors in both the art world and community service reflect his unwavering dedication to making a meaningful impact on the lives of others.
Machuca’s intentionality and way of living guide him through the dark times and into the light. Nothing can break Miguel Machuca. C
–Maddy McBirney
“I started attending public art conventions in cities like Chicago and Nashville, and it was enlightening to see people creating spaces and public art and placemaking.”
ARTS LOS ALTOS
MAKING SPACE FOR ART IN LOS ALTOS
If you are lucky enough to connect with mixed-media artist Maddy McBirney, she may be inspired to create an art piece for you. McBirney explains, “I was always the kind of artist that just made things for other people. I didn’t sell or market my work. If I visited someone abroad and connected with them, I would make them a painting and ship it to them. Same with family. I do things like that. It’s kind of an emotional, inspirational way to work.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, McBirney became interested in printmaking during high school and later studied graphic design at the University of California, Davis. Inspired by teachers she encountered throughout school, McBirney pursued teaching for a short time before professionally practicing graphic design and settling in Los Altos to raise her family. During that time, her passion for art never faltered, and much like with her personal art, she became inspired to bring art to the community with which she felt a deep connection.
Written
David E. Valdespino Jr.
As a long-time resident of Los Altos, McBirney has been a persistent arts advocate for the city, volunteering as an arts educator with the Los Altos Art Docents, collaborating on grants to secure specialized arts education in elementary schools, and serving on the art commission for seven years. During her tenure, she facilitated the implementation of artistic bicycle racks downtown despite falling short on percent-for-art initiatives and systemic funding for public art. While progress within city government was slow going, her time in the arts commission connected her to the community and local business and taught her much about public art. She explains, “I started attending public art conventions in cities like Chicago and Nashville, and it was enlightening to see people creating spaces and public art and placemaking.”
After resigning from the art commission, feeling like she could only achieve her goals related to public art with legislation, McBirney was determined to spend more time in the studio.
by
Mural Photography by Joel Bartlett
Portrait Photography by Daniel Garcia
Opposite Page: (L to R) Maddy McBirney and Karen Zucker
Top Right: Floral Therapy by Nora Bruhn
ß Top Left: Mandahlia by HYBYCOZO
Bottom: La Cosecha (The Harvest) by Rocca Luis César
Top: You Are Here. You Are There. by Jose Di Gregorio
Bottom: California Birds, Stewards of our Environment by Roan Victor
Top: 200 Main Street [An Inventory of Time and Place] by Martha Sakellariou
Middle: Apricot Blossoms by Roan Victor
Bottom: Main Street Movie Theater Remembered by Emily Fromm
However, it took only a short time before friends and members of a newly formed downtown coalition encouraged her to attend meetings, citing her enthusiasm for public art. In her first meeting, members inquired about what it would take to bring art downtown. McBirney forged ahead, working with that coalition to devise a plan to use private property and private funding to facilitate public art installations. She recalls, “I asked my friend who was on the commission and now codirects with me, Karen Zucker, if she would be interested in starting a nonprofit to create public art and placemaking on private property with private funding. It was inspiring because there was interest, and it was something we were asked to do. It wasn’t like we were looking for these projects ourselves.”
The tree-lined village of Los Altos has served as a residential community in the heart of Silicon Valley since its incorporation in 1952. While Los Altos may not be the first city that comes to mind when considering a destination for arts and culture, there has long been an undercurrent of art appreciation exemplified by institutions such as the Los Altos Art Docents, Gallery 9, and the city’s Art Without Walls, a sculpture loan program. Volunteer-led Arts Los Altos, codirected by McBirney and Zucker, was formed in 2020 to elevate the cultural identity of Los Altos to front of mind. The arts nonprofit is working to implement public art that creates connections among diverse community members and local businesses while creating space and drawing visitors.
In the three years since Arts Los Altos was founded, the organization has facilitated over 12 public art projects, including the California Birds, Stewards of the Environment mural by Roan Victor on the Comerica Bank on 3rd Street and the HYBYCOZO Mandahlia sculpture located on the corner of State and 3rd Streets. Arts Los Altos hosts public art walking tours on the first Friday of every month, meeting at the Mandahlia sculpture and leaving at 5pm sharp. When asked what the future holds for Arts Los Altos, McBirney immediately discusses plans to transform a small private plaza and recalls a separate augmented reality project. McBirney hopes to balance volunteering and spending time creating her own art by keeping public art projects to a manageable one to two per year. She recently held her first solo art exhibition at the Los Altos Library, and when asked how her work with Arts Los Altos has impacted her artwork, she shares, “It’s not changed my work, but it’s made me realize that I want to do more of it. I work with other artists, and seeing their work inspires me to create my own.” C
Top: Be The Change by Cameron Moberg
Middle: Luminous Waveform Bench by Phil Spitler and Victoria Heilweil Bottom: Arts Los Altos Mural Map
Curtis Ying Exhilo
Written by Breanne Erb
Photography by Arabela Espinoza
Exhilo is short for Creatio Ex Nihilo:
Creation From Nothing
As a young boy, Curtis Ying always reached for the pen tucked away in his mother’s purse. Anything his five-yearold imagination would dream up, he could magically translate into mini masterpieces on restaurant napkins with his mother’s pen. Filled with awe and wonder, Curtis doodled anywhere, so long as his mother remembered to carry her pen.
But his fascination with creation didn’t stop there. Curtis’s mother read Biblical nursery poetry every night, which captured his heart. From very early on, Curtis found inspiration and faith through stories of God’s mysterious and miraculous creation of the universe. From mountains to music, from skyscrapers to sea creatures, Curtis became enamored with how the universe came to be.
Curtis’s parents immigrated from Hong Kong when they were teenagers, and he was born and raised in the Bay Area. Growing up surrounded by California’s beautiful landscapes and Silicon Valley’s renowned tech industry, Curtis became fascinated by how each was uniquely creative and continues to find inspiration in both. This led him to pursue a degree from San Jose State University (SJSU) in graphic design and photography. Throughout his time at SJSU, he decided to use his gifts and knowledge to not only grow in his craft, but to help others grow as well.
“It’s about community over competition.”
As Curtis expanded his skill set, his imagination and fascination with creation expanded along with him. “There’s a magic and wonder with everything we create,” says now 28-yearold Curtis, creator of the Exhilo clothing brand. Exhilo (pronounced ex-he-low) is a faith-based brand made for creatives, by creatives. Each piece of clothing is “unique and limited edition,” and the brand has “grown to collaborate with artists all around the world.” Curtis explains why he chose a clothing brand. “The symbolism of clothing—it speaks to one’s identity. The images you wear can speak to your values.” Curtis’s values are built on his faith in Jesus, and he desires to represent the Creator through creative expression. “There’s so much beauty in creativity, and self-expression is such a gift.”
He is passionate about creativity and blank canvases. His fascination with the creative process from imagination to final product is what keeps Curtis creating. It’s what inspired him to name his company, Exhilo.
Exhilo is a condensed word for the Latin phrase creatio ex nihilo which means “creation from nothing.”
Beyond creating clothing apparel, Curtis builds up creatives within his community through Exhilo Creative Meetups (ECM). “The initial desire for the creative meetups was for people to study together…but we changed the direction to be a place to inspire, grow, and encourage each other,” Curtis says. He shared how ECM has helped both him and others grow in confidence
and help guide one another through their creative journey. Curtis is thankful that ECM provides networking opportunities, which has led to referrals for jobs and collaborative projects. Though the culture of the Silicon Valley is exceptionally competitive, Curtis refuses to let that seep into his own. “It’s about community over competition,” he says. It is important to the passionate leaders of ECM that their community is built on creativity, love, and inclusivity.
Outside of ECM, Curtis and his team organize other hangouts such as rock climbing, bowling, or watching anime films. Curtis says, “I love the feedback, because people say they feel loved and accepted…and that they can be their natural selves.” Curtis explains that this is how both he and his team can show love for their community while working out their faith.
Exhilo may be a brand, but it has expanded beyond T-shirts, hats, and duffle bags—it has become a family. Regardless of faith, experience, or background, Exhilo welcomes anyone and encourages everyone, uniting one another in creativity and purpose.
Over the last several years, Curtis has used both Exhilo’s successes and failures to help other creators within the community. A colossal component to social media culture is burying
failures and exalting successes. Curtis, on the other hand, shares both on Instagram. “I had to throw away over 300 license plate frames that I ordered from China…I had spent about a year dreaming and designing, and it all ended up in the trash.” He adds that although it is extremely uncomfortable admitting defeat, sometimes that is where some of the most valuable lessons are learned.
You will find creativity, community, and cohesivity in all of Curtis’s creations. He is constantly searching for ways to grow beyond apparel and relate new forms of creativity to Exhilo. Some of those forms include photography, dance, and music. Although it is challenging finding ways to relate these outlets back to Exhilo, Curtis invites the challenge and relies heavily on his community for feedback and support.
Curtis’s curiosity and creativity cannot be contained. Though now an adult, he is still as full of awe and wonder as he was as a child. He may not doodle on restaurant napkins with his mother’s pen anymore, but he will always be inspired by his faith and the wonder of creation by the Ultimate Creator. C
Arturo Maga ñ a
Art as an expression and a responsibility
“I felt powerful on the inside. But on the outside? I used to feel small,” reminisces Arturo Magaña, artistic director of Ensamble Folclórico Colibrí. Continuing, he shares, “That’s why I chose the hummingbird as our mascot. It also fit because the hummingbird is a messenger in Mexican culture…there was so much I want to say and to share.” The company today is known for being nonconforming and is inclusive of all shapes, colors, sizes, and genders; it’s an ambassador of Mexican folk traditions.
Arturo’s journey into his sense of self started as flag bearer, literally, before his family immigrated to the US. When he was very young, he was chosen to bear the flag during the Independence Day celebrations in his hometown of Zacatecas, Mexico. His life until then was spent behind an actual and metaphorical curtain where he would dance, sing, and be the hero to an audience that was comprised of El Chato the dog, Paquito the parrot, and at times his siblings and mom.
Written by Priya Das Photography by Lauren Locquiao
folcloricocolibri.com
Arturo remembers clearly how he only wanted to be a performer—not a male or female artist, just an artist. His mom saw his passion and had him try various art forms. Like many dancers, Arturo was enrolled in ballet classes, which he hated. It was during that time that he encountered a live performance by a folklórico maestro. “I was struck by how untouchable he seemed when he was in front of an audience. It made me want to be an artist—not just learning to be one,” remembers Arturo. But it was only when he was cheered as the flag bearer that he understood what being a culture-bearer meant: that art was not just expression, but also a responsibility. Years later, he was reminded of this again as flag bearer at the Mexican consulate in the US.
However, the ensuing years, which saw the family immigrate to San Jose, California, were challenging. As a teen, with Arturo coming to grips with who he was, giving up dance meant erasing
himself. He found himself following the path of priesthood in a country that did not seem to have a place for his art or for him.
It was a strange twist in his destiny that had him on the road a few months later, when he asked for the car to be stopped so he could use the restroom at a club, and while walking out, he saw a flier inviting people to experience folklórico at the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center. For the first time in the US, he felt like he was looking in the mirror and liking what he saw—people he could identify with, performing what he loved.
“Owning one identity gave courage to own the other, to my own self. I came out to my mom when I got back in the car,” shares Arturo fondly, continuing, “Of course, she was not surprised.”
He signed up with ProLatino and later Los Lupeños as their lead dancer. He then stayed on as one of the company’s artistic directors for several years. In 2013, Colectivo ALA, a social and support group for non-hetero-conforming Latinos and Latinas, invited Arturo to present folklórico at their anniversary event; this catalyzed the idea of forming his own organization.
Today, Colibrí has an academy, welcoming youth to embrace who they are while getting rooted in Mexican culture. “I am humbled that we are now on the mainstage, not just LatinX
or LGBTQ+ stages. Colibrí is part of Pride parades of course and recently was invited to SF Symphony and San Francisco Opera,” remarks Arturo. He continues, sharing that Mosaic America embraced them as part of Silicon Valley’s mosaic from the start. He says, “When we share our culture at their event, we are part of the broader community we are helping to build. I believe in their process that ensures that we need to only show up as ourselves to be American. After all, that is how I, and therefore Colibrí, came to be, by just being brave enough to be our whole selves.”
In times when bravery is not easily summoned, he channels his mother’s poem that reminds him to stay strong:
Recuerda que eres tan fuerte
Como una delicada lirio
Que aunque sea plantada en el desierto Se mantiene firme y ni el viento más fuerte la puede arrancar Pues sus raíces son su fortaleza.
Remember that you are as strong as a tender and delicate lily
And even if it was planted in the desert, It remains firm and strong, not even a strong wind can yank it out of the ground, for its roots are its fortitude. C
SOULMAT3S
Mike and Charlene Alcanices share their love for music— and each other—by playing back-to-back dance floors throughout the Bay Area.
Just don’t ask if they can play your upcoming wedding.
“There was a point yesterday where I was like, ‘I just need to be off my phone for good,’ ” admits Charlene Alcanices (Charl3y Beats) with a laugh over a spread of paninis, Thai tofu, tequila and sparkling water inside Momstera Lounge in downtown Campbell after hours.
What’s on the calendar? Monthly DJ residencies at 55 South, Five Points, and Nomikai in San Jose; Cardiff & Cocktails in Campbell; and the Nighthawk in Redwood City, organizing future bookings at 55 and Cardiff, where she and her husband Mike (YouCantStopMike) serve as music directors. Then there’s the event flyers to create, the social media posts to organize, Mike’s day job, Charlene’s small business—and their three kids.
Written by Brandon Roos
Soulmat3s (the name is a nod to their love of soulful house music, with the “3” an ode to their children) wasn’t conceived with an intent to take over South Bay nightlife. They were simply sharing a hobby to rediscover one another and mend a strained marriage. “Charlene and I were only supposed to play once every two or three months,” notes Mike. “We were house dancers. We never really dreamed of being DJs.”
“It’s a lot. We’re workhorses,” adds Charlene, crediting their relentless work ethic to their parents. Both grew up the children of Filipino immigrants. Charlene spent her early summers driving with her father as he dropped off wholesale goods to clients throughout the Bay Area. Mike’s parents first supported the family working marathon shifts at a Banana Republic T-shirt factory.
Photography by Alex Knowbody
If Charlene’s life was considered sheltered, Mike’s could be characterized by an almost rogue independence. The two met the summer before Charlene’s junior year in college when her brothers invited her to City Nights, an 18-and-over nightclub in San Francisco. Mike spotted her downstairs, turning down any guy that asked her to dance. He told his friend if he got her name, he’d spend the rest of his life with her. After bringing her into the 21-and-over room (he was underage too, but he had con nections), she experienced the frenetic pace of drum and bass music for the first time. “It opened up my senses to nightlife,” she recalls. At the end of the night, they exchanged contact info on coat check tags.
Their relationship moved quickly. The two were married in six months, and they soon welcomed their first child. Charlene loaded up on units to graduate as soon as possible. Mike’s skills as “phreaker” helped him hack pay phones so they didn’t go broke keeping in touch long distance. To bring in extra cash, Mike sold his turntables. He had no idea a trip to the Tech Interactive years later would reignite his interest in DJing.
During a visit around 2010, their three chil dren were drawn to an exhibit that manipulated sound and triggered visuals. Mike bought a friend’s digital DJ controller to fuel their curios ity. As with most kids, they lost interest after a few weeks; Mike, on the other hand, was hooked. There were no expectations of him becoming a club DJ, but the opportunities started coming. A live-streamed DJ set for fun landed a gig at a graduation party, which led to playing house parties. During one marathon set, Mike casu ally threw out an idea. “I remember him [saying] ‘You know,
“It’s a reminder for us that loving or commitment to anything you do is about finding the way.”
-Mike Alcanices (YouCantStopMike)
it would be great if you could relieve me for 30 minutes ” recalls Charlene. She never considered stepping up to the decks; she also had to fight cultural stigma, believing being a DJ isn’t something a Filipino mom does. After honing her skills, she made her official DJ declaration in 2016, performing at her own “Charley Palooza”
The two began floating the idea of performing as an official duo, but before Soulmat3s truly excelled, the couple’s marriage nearly crumbled. Charlene admits the comfort and advice she received from Mike’s mom during this time “really saved us.” On January 7, 2018, they re-committed to one another. “[We decided] if we do this together, we could [create]
Mike and Charlene are also guiding forces for Ladies 1st DJ Club Bay Area, a collective that unites female DJs, fosters sisterhood, and offers a safe space for those interested in learning more about the DJ craft (Mike advises, but does not run the operation). What started as a means for Charlene to find her tribe has become an empowering regional movement and monthly party that now includes their daughter, Jazz.
Despite the bounty of opportunities, they are still keenly aware of the setbacks that accompanied them. Mike notes that a dynamic is engrained in their “heart maze” logo pins, a sequence of black and white lines that form a heart from a series of twists, turns, and dead ends. “It’s a reminder for us that loving or commitment to anything you do is about finding the way,” he shares. C
Written by Taran Escobar-Ausman
Photography by Leopoldo Macaya willsprott.com
WILL ROTT
Finding Beauty in the Mundane
When the world appears to be bursting at the seams, turning to the simplicity of everyday phenomena may just be the panacea we need to rekindle our hope. What was seemingly mundane can suddenly become a hologram of sorts, reflecting and revealing new concepts, understanding, and realities.
For musician and songwriter Will Sprott, relocating from Los Angeles to the small, rural town of Grass Valley—just north of Sacramento—set the stage for his own holographic experience. Instead of the glow of streetlights, it became vultures, rattlesnakes, and coyotes howling at the moon that reflected his new state of mind. Plants in the area caught his eye especially. He stared at them, and they would stare back, “The more you look at plants, the weirder they get and the more they reveal… Plants are just like people.”
The juxtaposition between his life in urban centers and the rural countryside was heightened by the chaos swirling around him like a raging storm. “There were a lot of wildfires. You couldn’t go outside for long periods of time because of smoke,” he recalls.
“People who had been hiding away from one another flooded into the streets to protest police murdering Black people. We had a crazy ass president, and he was doing and saying crazy ass shit every day. QAnon and other conspiracists were having a moment.” Once the pandemic became the eye of the storm, the natural world gave Will a new way to process the upheaval outside. This served as the catalyst for his new recording project, Natural Internet.
Born and raised in San Jose, Will was drawn to music at an early age. Always healing from consecutive skateboard accidents as a kid, he would use the idle time to go through his mom’s record collection. Those records inspired him to start writing his first songs on piano and guitar. After moving back from college to San Jose, he corralled a ragtag group of fellow musicians and started the band the Mumlers. The band’s eclectic style and live shows earned them accolades among the indie folk scene and strong support from their hometown of San Jose. After recording two albums and embarking on a national tour, the band came to an end. However, Will’s musical and geographic journey was just beginning. Over the next eight years he recorded two solo albums, lived in three different cities, and joined another band.
Will moved to Oakland where he recorded his first solo album, Vortex Numbers . The album further refined his soulful vocal
“I was processing all kinds of dark realities with the writing of these songs and trying to make medicine.”
-Will Sprott
approach—one that seemed filtered through the ghost of a vaudeville song-and-dance man crooning his way through space and time. Will left Oakland and moved on to Seattle before finding himself in Los Angeles with his partner, La Luz front woman, Shana Cleveland. During his journeys, he recorded his second album, Tree Fingers, and became a member of the surf-psych doo-wop band, Shannon and the Clams.
While in Los Angeles, city life began to lose its luster, and he made the decision to try the quiet, rural life. In 2018, the move to Grass Valley was one of the biggest shifts he embarked upon, and he was a little nervous. Fortunately, he thrived in that transitional phase—a motif which shows up in his lyrics quite a bit. In the song “Strange Lines,” from his album Natural Internet, he sings, “Going to the next phase / With the gleaming eyes / Fading off of your face / Into another life.”
Natural Internet came to fruition during the pandemic. Like so many of us, Will took in the world through the rotating prism of the internet and felt the alarming disquiet. To combat this feeling, Will simply looked around to his immediate surroundings, finding the beauty in the mundane. Everyday things began to reveal so much more to him, and he remembered the internet wasn’t the only place to connect with others. Becoming a father after his move to Grass Valley shifted him to look through a new lens. “I see so much through [my son’s] eyes now. He’s just figuring out so much every day and is full of hilarious and beautiful observations.”
From the first track, Natural Internet plays heavily into the contrast between the dread from current events and the intention to feel fantastical wonder. Each song is a salve that eases the listener into different worlds—where light whimsical melodies parade around introspective lyrics that carry substantial weight. On the slow, dreamy “Bumblebee,” we follow a bumblebee around the garden, but the bee makes clear, “It’s important that you understand / I don’t intend to sting your hand / I’m only working for the queen.” The spooky and spectral “Tear Gas” speaks more directly to police brutality and the violence it perpetuates, “Out in the open / They do all of their crimes / Mash up my brains / And mess up your minds.”
Will is a masterful lyricist and naturally bridges the old with the new—the perfect recipe to concoct his own remedy for negative feelings. As Will says, “I was processing all kinds of dark realities with the writing of these songs and trying to make medicine.” However, just because he is living a tranquil life now doesn’t mean he has slowed down. Will has been touring frequently—recently opening for the Flaming Lips, finishing a new Shannon and the Clams record for a spring release, and writing profusely with a healthy dose of inspiration.
Oh, and he is raising a toddler… C
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 sponsorships and memberships.
Be a part of the CONTENT community.
Contact us at: editor@content-magazine.com
BREANNE ERB
Breanne is a Bay Area native, creative writer, and spoken word artist. She contributes her time and expertise to building other creatives within her community.
Instagram: breerb wg.creativecollective
COVER ART
This issue’s handpainted cover is by Ben Henderson. The article about Ben and his journey as an artist/musician is on page 26.
LAUREN LOCQUIAO
Lauren is a creative from San Jose. Her work consists of documenting people’s “moments.” When she’s not behind the camera, she’s juggling other hobbies.
Instagram: photaglauren
CYNTIA APPS
Cyntia is a commercial and food photographer from Panama based in Silicon Valley. She specializes in brand elevation services for businesses through compelling and visionary storytelling.
Instagram: cyntiaappsphotography
JOEL BARTLETT
Joel is a retired computer scientist turned photographer, shooting for Arts Los Altos. He enjoys meeting the artists and capturing them at work.
Instagram: joelbartlett49
SAMANTHA HULL
Samantha is an arts administrator by day and a hopeless wanderer at heart. In her spare time, she is almost always exploring the great outdoors.
Linkedin: samantha-hull-art
TARAN ESCOBAR-AUSMAN
Taran grew up in East San Jose where he has become a father, educator, freelance writer, and avid record collector. He finds joy in discovering any meaningful and serendipitous patterns among the arts and in his life that make the world even more wondrous.
Instagram: taran_ea
VIRGINIA GRAHAM
Virginia is a community builder. The San Jose native grew up performing with Children’s Musical Theater and is a proud River Glen and Berkeley graduate.
Linkedin: graham316
CONGRATULATIONS
CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL
2023 INDIVIDUAL ARTIST FELLOWS
Central California Region
The Santa Clara County Fellows
ROY HIRABAYASHI Legacy Artist PILAR AGÜERO-ESPARZA Established Artist
IVAN DEL ACORDEON Established Artist
HIBBS Emerging Artist ALICE HUR Emerging Artist
LE Emerging Artist
To learn more about all the California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellows from the Central California region, visit bit.ly/CACIAF_ArtistFellows23.
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