Monday, May 30, 2016

SUMMER OF '09 ARCHIVES: Love Comes to Town

First of all, yes I did come up with that headline. I generally don't consider myself very good at coming up with those, but sometimes I get lucky, and I consider that to be one of my better ones. It's actually a reference to the U2/BB King collaboration from Rattle and Hum, but I'm not sure how many people picked up on it.

This was one where I had most of the story written but didn't publish it right away because I was still waiting to hear back from Edna Love. I finally did early in the morning on a weekend, but I was still willing to get that interview done, and I was quite happy with it. I always like writing stories about music, and this was no exception.



Saturday, May 28, 2016

SUMMER OF '09 ARCHIVES: Leaving a Mark

This was my interview with Fred Schlatter, a local artist most famous for developing many of the signs for businesses around town. His style is very unmistakable, so it was nice to put a face behind the man who'd been creating all those signs.
Probably the most interesting thing about covering this story is that when I went to interview Delando Pagan (Yes, I spelled his name wrong in the article) of The Rellik Tavern (which I think had been open for only a few months at this point), Christi had to go inside and bring him out because I was still under 21 at that point. All in all, this was a fun story to write. Fred was a very nice person, and as far as I know, he's still creating art, but I'm not sure if he's created any more signs.




Monday, May 23, 2016

SUMMER OF '09 ARCHIVES: Tannery undergoes major changes

This was one of three story ideas I pitched when I got the job. I don't remember what the other two were, but Christi suggested I flesh this one out. This was at a time when it felt like the historic Tannery building was really feeling the sting of the recession. A good number of its businesses had moved elsewhere on First Street or just shuttered completely. For a while it was looking like the Tannery would never recover and would be foreclosed upon at any minute. Thankfully, it seems to have bounced back. Char's moved back to its original location, and they've acquired a number of new tenants to keep it operational. However, the Tannery Grill that I kept mentioning in the article never actually opened. To this day, I still don't think that space had been filled.

This was the first semi-investigative piece I'd done, and I'm quite proud of how it turned out.




Saturday, May 21, 2016

SUMMER OF '09 ARCHIVES: Still probing, powerfully

   This is the first article I had published, and it ran on the front page below the fold. Of course, a lot of the paper's content is always slated for the front page, but that was a big deal for me at the time. I remember getting comments from people who didn't know I was interning there to say "Hey, I saw your story in the Herald!" I felt like a local star.
   Anyway, this was an article about an Arts Benicia exhibit. I interviewed the curator Mark Eanes, who I believe is still a member of Arts Benicia, but I haven't actually talked to him since. There's really not a whole lot to say about this one, except it was a good introductory piece for me.



But I'm not done with this blog yet!

   Yes, I've found a way to keep this blog busy.
   I'm not sure how many readers know this, but this is not the first time I've worked at the Herald. I was an intern right after I graduated high school. How did that happen? Let me set the scene.
   The year was 2009. Many countries were experiencing an economic recession, Barack Obama still had dark hair, and America just couldn't get enough of the Black Eyed Peas *Gag*. At that point, I was just wrapping up three years on my high school's student paper, The Paw, my senior year of which I had spent as one of two editors-in-chief. One day, my teacher Steve Gibbs (who has been a columnist with the Herald for more than 30 years) told me there was an intern position available at the local paper where I would be able to write stories. I told him I was interested, and he placed a call to then-editor Marc Ethier. Marc's response? "Send him over when he's ready. I'd like to meet with him."
   I went over to the paper's office with a portfolio of my strongest Paw articles to meet with Marc and the paper's then-assistant editor, Christi Chidester. We talked for a bit, and a few days later I got a call from Christi telling me that I had gotten the job. I was very excited to get my foot in the door at my local paper.
   The job was pretty straightforward. I wasn't paid, and I came in on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays while the other intern hired for that summer, Macy Williams- who I had worked with on The Paw the previous year- would come in on Tuesdays and Thursdays. (Macy now writes for the entertainment site PopSugar, by the way). I basically wrote stories that were assigned to me, which turned out to be good practice for the real world. On The Paw, I would write about whatever I felt like, and only a handful of my articles had t do with Benicia.
   The paper did not have a website at that point (They would finally establish one about six months after I left), so this is the first time the stories I wrote that summer will be appearing on the web. I've scanned all the articles that I had saved (There was one big one that I had only saved half of, and it was a big one. It was an interview with then-school board trustee Dana Dean, who was about to run for re-election. Maybe there's another copy of that paper lying around the office) and plan on posting them here. I'll be updating on Saturdays and Mondays (AKA, the days when the Herald doesn't publish) and posting attachments of my articles as well as brief preambles on the stories behind the articles, if I can remember them. I didn't save the dates in my clippings, so I can't remember exactly when these articles ran, but I have a good idea of when I was working on them.
   It's important to note that I was 19 years old at that time and had not started college yet. Therefore, my writing was not quite as strong back then as it is now, but that's to be expected. I still find this stuff fun to read, and if you were living in Benicia in the summer of '09, perhaps you will too.

Enough rambling though. Let's get started. 
   


Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

I started this blog back in October as a place to house my stories until we finally got the Herald's website back online. Seven months and more than 100 posts later, that has happened. That isn't the only thing that's happened: I have since taken the reins as the new editor. One of my goals was to bring the website back, and that's finally happened. Now readers can stay up to date on Benicia stories beyond what I write. Of course, I'm juggling several different things, so don't expect all stories to go up quickly.

As for this blog, it will always stay up, but anything I write now will be posted over there rather than here. People will want to know what was happening in Benicia between October 2015 and May 2016,  but that site is more professional than this one, and it will have content from all the regular writers and contributors. Not everything will be uploaded to that site as we want people to still have a reason to subscribe to the newspaper, but now you can share stories, comment, etc. It's good to be back.

http://beniciaheraldonline.com

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Concert promoter aims to turn Solano into musical county

(Originally published in the 5/3/16 edition)

   As there are no big arenas in Solano County, a lot of people take for granted how much great music comes to the area. A lot of it comes courtesy of one man: Jeff Trager.
   Trager is a Glen Cove resident with almost 50 years of working in the music industry. In that time as an event promoter and booking agent, he has gotten to work with some of the biggest artists of all time: The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, James Brown, Joni Mitchell, The Eagles, The Bee Gees, Bon Jovi, Kiss, Tom Waits, the list goes on and on.
   Among other things, Trager is credited with kickstarting Tina Turner’s long and successful career by promoting her first hit with her then-husband Ike, a cover of Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.”
  “Backstage at a concert with Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, she asked me to come backstage and she grabbed my hand and said ‘Thank you. Thank you for what you did,’” he said. “When I broke her first record, it changed her whole life. From that record she probably made about $100 million in her career. I got her the Rolling Stones tour because of it.”
   Trager’s resume does not stop there. He also promoted Vangelis’ theme to the movie “Chariots of Fire,” which was a No. 1 hit in 1982, and he worked with legendary Bay Area concert promoter Bill Graham on Day on the Green, a series of concerts held at the Oakland Coliseum from 1973 to 1991. A big theme throughout much of the concerts he has put on has been charity. In 1971, he put on his first fundraiser concert after one of his friends was jailed in Spain.
   “We drew 3,500 people on a Monday night, and that was pretty incredible,” he said.
   Since then, Trager has put on concerts such as the Fairfield breast cancer awareness concert PinkFest, the annual autism awareness concert Voices of Latin Rock at Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco and concerts to help raise money for Crystal Middle School in Suisun City and its students whose instruments had been broken.
   “I think people should give back, especially if they have the opportunity,” he said. “To me, it feels good to be able to give back to people who may not have as much as others.”
   Lately, Trager and his company Jeff Trager Presents have been working to put on concerts in Fairfield, including weekly Saturday night shows at the Chinese restaurant Sticky Rice Bistro, Thursday shows at Mankas Steakhouse and several concerts at the various Suisun Valley wineries.
   Perhaps his biggest projects have been monthly shows at Fairfield’s Downtown Theatre, featuring either comedians or musicians. This Saturday’s show will be a tribute concert to the legendary country singer Patsy Cline. Joni Morris, who Trager has described as “the No. 1 Patsy Cline impersonator in the country,” and Lyndesy Elm, a Vacaville resident who was a contestant on the ninth season of NBC’s “The Voice,” will be performing some of Cline’s most popular songs, including “Walkin’ After Midnight,” Crazy,” “Back in Baby’s Arms” and “I Fall to Pieces.”
   “You’re gonna hear all the great songs of the true music icon,” Trager said. 
   Trager says his goal is to keep bringing quality music to Solano County.
   “I want to get people to understand that they can hear good music without having to drive to San Francisco or Oakland or even Napa,” he said. “You have quality music right here in your own backyard.”
   Moreover, Trager wants his concerts to cause people to leave with positive feelings.
   “I love bringing good, quality music to each and every venue that I book,” he said. “It’s all about having people tap their toes and smile and walk out and say ‘Man, that was a great show.’ That’s what Bill Graham was famous for. When you went to a Bill Graham show, you walked out satisfied that you got your money’s worth and that you saw a great show. That’s what I like doing.”
   “Tribute to Patsy Cline” will be held at 8 p.m., Saturday, May 7, at Downtown Theatre, located at 1035 Texas St. in Fairfield. Tickets can be purchased at siteline.vendini.com/site/downtowntheatre.com. For more information on this concert or any past or future Jeff Trager Presents concerts, visit JeffTragerPresents.com

   

Monday, May 2, 2016

Robert Semple Elementary to host murder mystery dinner theater show, "Death by Dessert"

(Originally published in the 5/1/16 edition)

We've heard of death by chocolate, but this is ridiculous.
Or maybe it is not so ridiculous. After all, the murder mystery dinner theater show, “Death by Dessert,” does go toward funding Robert Semple Elementary. It also will make for a very fun Friday night out for all.
The play centers around two families in Little Italy who own competing Italian restaurants. The families have long been at odds with each other, and this comes to a head when Maria, the owner of the building that houses these two restaurants, is found dead. With such bad blood between the two clans, everyone becomes a suspect.
Attendees will be able to cast their votes as to who they think killed Maria, and the winner will receive a prize and take photos with the cast. The cast will include members of Robert Semple, Mary Farmar and Matthew Turner Elementary's drama clubs as well as drama club alumni and Benicia Middle School advanced drama students. 
Since the setting of two Italian restaurants is sure to make audience members hungry, Robert Semple Student Council and drama club students will be providing an exquisite dinner for the evening. People who purchase tickets will get to choose from one of two entrees: baked ziti with Italian sausage or capellini pomodoro with garlic. Additionally, they will be able to choose from one of two delicious, non-fatal desserts: apple torte a la mode or cheese cake. Audience members will also get to enjoy salad and bread and butter with their entree. 
“Death By Dessert” will take place on Friday, May 13 at Robert Semple Elementary School, located at 2015 East 3rd St. Check-in will begin at 5:45 p.m. Tickets are $40, which will include one entree, one dessert course, bread and butter, a salad, coffee and a raffle ticket. They can be purchased at RSE.BeniciaUnified.org. For more information, call 747-8360.