S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition. On today's show , the arts and culture shaping San Diego. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. It's a low brass instrument you rarely see under the spotlight , but a new book explains how the tuba has been keeping the tempo in much of the music we enjoy. Then a preview of the latest edition of the Turner Classic Movies book series , plus your weekend preview. That's ahead on Midday Edition. For years , writer and journalist Sam Quinones has covered America's opioid epidemic , documenting its devastating and deadly impacts across American communities. But after writing a pair of renowned books on that crisis , Sam felt like he needed a change , and that led him to interviewing tuba players and band leaders all over the country. And he's compiled all those inspiring stories into his latest book called The Perfect Tuba Foraging Fulfillment from the Bass Horn Band and Hard Work. Sam , welcome back to Midday Edition.
S2: Well , it's great to be with you. Thanks so much.
S1: Yeah , well , so your last books , Dreamland and the Least of Us , tackled America's opioid epidemic , which you covered for years.
S2: It's been to me , too , that this was kind of part of our American economy these days , where we're constantly being told how happy we will be if we buy this or that. And , and I , I really was wanted to write about people who were , you know , were finding themselves or finding realizing their own capabilities through honing skills and through working hard at something without the promise of , of , of fame or fortune , but just because they truly , beautifully loved it. And I had worked for the Los Angeles Times number of years before , and while I was there , I wrote two stories about the importance of the tuba in Mexican Los Angeles. Um , and , uh , after that , and the importance of the tuba in , in , in the Mexican immigrant world. And after that , I just began interviewing tuba players. Right. And and I just began. Why ? I couldn't really tell you at the time. Just that in journalism. I've been a reporter 38 years. I know that if you follow people who are doing something because they truly love it , and for the pure love of doing it , you will eventually find great stories. So as I was writing those other two books about opioids , about OxyContin and heroin , and on the other one about fentanyl , and I still kept interviewing tuba players just because I thought someday I may be able to make use of this. Something is going to come of this. And when this was when the last book was finished , my agent said , you might want to look into how what book you might write. Now , about that whole tuba project. You've been doing kind of part time without much focus. And then so with that , I did and I just began to focus on these stories and these stories. It was doing these stories about about band directors , about two of the players that just kind of like brought the project to , to , to , to fruition. Once they had to really focus on it , it became this book that I realized I should have been doing the whole time. Wow.
S1: Wow. And what a what a great pivot as well. And you mentioned your story with the , the L.A. times about the popularity of the tuba in Mexican American culture. In fact , it played an important role in banda music. And we're listening to Alma Enamorada by the singer Chileno Sanchez.
S3: Corazon de la. La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la y también.
S1:
S2: Tuba is the the foundation of that music. And Selena's songs , many of them were recorded with Banda. Banda that are very , very popular in Southern California. And and he began to that song was not one of them , but he began to record , uh , songs about , uh , drug traffickers back in his native Sinaloa , which was the center of , of drug trafficking in Mexico. And as he began to do this , uh , he , he became kind of this underground phenom in particularly in Los , in the Los Angeles area. All his shows began to get thousands of people coming. People began to put his funky little cassette tapes back then , cassette tapes on their on their trucks. And he kind of along he became enormously famous. He was then murdered in 1992 back in Mexico. His fame just shot skyward. And with that hee hee , his fame , he took the tuba with it. And so now in Mexican Los Angeles , the tuba is a huge , very important instrument in backyard parties. People want to hire bands that have tubas in them. You hear trumpet players switching to the tuba because you get paid triple. You know , it became this very central instrument , largely because Charlie Sanchez made the tuba hip and dangerous through his music. Wow.
S1: Wow. It really had a moment there and is having won this book. It took you all over the country , and one place is the Rio Grande Valley in Texas along the US-Mexico border. There we meet Al Cortinas. Tell us about him and and why you wanted to share his story.
S2: I wanted to share our story because I wanted to write about band directors as well. I felt band directors were doing the same things the tuba players were doing. That is to say , focusing on something they truly , truly loved , yet without any real expectation of fame or fortune , but merely because they loved seeing the light go on. As I would say in the in the eyes of their kids. When the kids finally got it , and Al Cortinas really had the belief that band marching band in school was was a lifesaver. It saved his life. It transformed his life. During his his youth , he became a band director and then he was transferred to a. He took a job at a in a small town Roma in along the Rio Grande Valley River in in Texas. Roma. It really didn't have much of a band. They didn't really know how to march. His job was to transform this band into a real competitive , statewide competitor , which he was able to do with kids who really , they could barely afford their instruments , and almost none of them , I them. I think really , none of them could afford music lessons. And so what he what he did was he was able to install a system that supported by the board , the school board and the superintendent in which the the school in that district hired ten band directors , each one with a specialty and , say , teaching clarinet or teaching trumpet or trombone or percussion or whatever , tuba and all that. And so each of these kids from sixth grade until 12th grade had a specialized teacher in their , in their specific instrument. And that allowed kids to really make huge leaps. The court system allowed these kids without music lessons , without private lessons , which they couldn't afford to make huge leaps in music ability. And so at the end of his tenure , he he he retired after about 7 or 8 years at in Roma , Texas. Um , the band was ready to begin to compete head to head with some of the wealthiest bands in Texas. The bands in the suburbs of the high tech suburbs of Austin , the suburbs of Dallas and Fort Worth and Houston. In fact , what you find is nowadays that frequently most of the finalists in band competitions are from those areas. And then there's also Roma , Texas. Way , way , way , way down at the south. 11,000 people. Very one of the poorest towns in Mexico. Doing competing head to head with these bands is one of them. As one of the directors said , we we compete with bands whose kids get their lessons from the symphonies of Texas , and it's one of the it's kind of almost a stand and deliver story , but for , for marching band. And it begins with , with Al Cortinas down there in Roma , Texas.
S1: Yeah , that is an amazing story. What ? It's a powerful influence Cortinas has there. Another tuba player you write up right about is Jim Self , who really sort of devoted his life to his instrument. Right ? Yes.
S2: Jim had just died recently , about a month ago. Sadly , was one of the titans of tuba playing in Los Angeles. He was a USC tuba professor for many years. He was also a very big in the soundtrack world. He did Close Encounters of the Third Kind that the the music for for for that. What I loved about himself was he was constantly searching for the liberation of his own tuba creativity. And this became a theme in the book because the tuba , unlike almost any instrument , has really been constrained and limited largely by the expectations and the and the the ideas of other musicians of what the tuba can actually do. It's a limited instrument. So tuba players are really limited musicians. Band directors frequently feel this. Jim was about liberating his his own creativity and so and to do that The amazing thing , the amazing story about Joe himself was that he had his house in a small little house on the Hollywood Hills. He realized that if he removed part of a hill that was next to him , he could build an enormous tuba practice hall. That was , he told me it was 38ft long , and he wanted it to be 38ft long because the long , the longest sound wave of the lowest register tuba is 36ft long. He wanted a hall that he could finally allow his tuba sound the room to prowl. It was long enough for the for the largest , the lowest bass tuba sound wave to to fit it was. It was just kind of the halls. And he built this hall. Normally in the Hollywood Hills , people were building tennis courts and swimming pools. Right. He builds this 20 , this 38 foot long , 19 wide , 19 high scuba practice hall because he's tired of practicing in little ten by ten rooms at USC that are really built for clarinets or or trumpets. He wants a place for the full creativity , his own creativity , but also the the sound to allow its room to to move and so on.
S1: And I just must have been amazing. Yeah , yeah , that.
S2: Took me a while to understand that that's what he had done. I was sitting in the middle of this enormous , enormous room and I said , wow , this is a wild thing. Yeah , I built it. I , I wanted to have room for the lowest register.
S1:
S2: I do not play the tuba. I was never in marching band. Um. He was he was referring to the sound that the people who were mightily trained in the instrument. I'm not sure I felt the difference. I do know , though , that to him , the difference was Is profound. It was like this thing where it was one way in a in a practice hall at USC , and it was a completely different beast. Once he unleashed it in , in , in , in the , in the hall. And it was it was it was that kind of story I was looking for. The tuba was about liberating creativity. So many people get into the into band at the very bottom of the of the the social pecking order in their high schools frequently. And the tuba was beautiful about the instrument , I always felt , was that the tuba showed them what and who they could be , what they could be , who they could , could be. And it was like this almost was a revelation to a lot of kids when they began to play it , they didn't know how to play it. And little by little , through hard work , through assiduous practice , they get better. And that allows them to see that they too are like , you know , like Jim Self , they are able to liberate something with within them that that many of them had really been told they were incapable of.
S1: They really find themselves the tube.
S2: Tube ? Yeah , exactly. Excellent.
S1: Excellent. Well , you recently had a book event at Warwick's in La Jolla. I'm curious how people have been reacting to the book.
S2: I mean , really , really beautiful. I think initially the idea if you say a book about the tuba , someone's thinking that's kind of a dry and anthropological study , or it's a quote , a zany romp through the history of the tuba. I wasn't interested in writing that kind of book. I was interested in writing a book that showed that people , kids especially , could find themselves. We live in a in a , in a in a culture , an addictive culture that tells people that immediate gratification is where you want to go. The discipline is is too much work. Um , you know that we we should be constantly distracted by by scrolling through our our phones and band directors and tuba players , it seemed to me at the end , have something really powerful and beautiful and important to tell a country that is drowning in addiction , in distraction and isolation and , and and immediate , um , gratification. And I felt that what I felt that at the Warwick event , which , by the way , has copies that I've signed , if you want to buy a copy , get over to Warwick in La Jolla. Uh , what I , what I felt there was that people were are getting it. It's not just a story about a quirky instrument. It's about lessons that we need to inculcate. And we have forgotten. I think , um , in a world now that is dominated by distraction again , an isolation.
S1: Well , and there's and there's the through line between , you know , your your previous reporting on the opioid crisis and this this what seems to be a hard pivot to the tuba. But really , it really isn't that hard. Um , I've been speaking. Yeah , I've been speaking with writer and reporter Sam Quinonez. His latest book is titled The Perfect Tuba Forging Fulfillment from the Bass Horn Band and Hard Work. Sam , thank you so much.
S2: It was a real pleasure. Thank you.
S1: Still to come , a gift idea for fans of classic movies. KPBS is back after the break. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. Thinking of a unique gift for the movie lover in your life ? Well. KPBS arts reporter and Cinema junkie Beth Accomando has a suggestion. It's the latest edition of the Turner Classic Movies book series called pre-Code essentials. Must see cinema from Hollywood's untamed era. And if you don't know about the wild and audacious films of the early 1930s. Beth has authors Danny Reid and Kim Perry on hand to explain. Take a listen.
S4: Well , I want to welcome both Kim and Danny. I'm so excited about this book because , as you know , pre-Code Hollywood is something I really enjoy. But for people who are not familiar with this time frame in Hollywood , let's start by explaining what the code actually is.
S5: All right , so the Hollywood Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 was an effort by the movie studios at the time to try and create a set of guidelines for what could and couldn't be shown on movie screens. There's a lot of reasons that came about. It's essentially a philosophical document talking about trying to uplift the morals of the motion picture audience , which sounds very fancy and thoughtful , but in reality , it's just a way to kind of apply pressure and keep stuff off the screen that certain groups , interest groups were not interested in seeing on the screen. This was happening in 1930 , shortly after the stock market crash. This is after a series of scandals throughout the 1920s where Hollywood was really taking a beating from the Fatty Arbuckle case to the William Desmond Taylor murder , and the Motion Picture Production Code was ratified in April of 1930. They found all the studios came together and said , yes , we will follow this document. We are going to make clean motion pictures for the betterment of America. And that pretty much fell apart just a few weeks later as the realities of the situation with the stock market crash , with all of these studios being overleveraged on the arrival of sound technology , all these different factors , investors. All of this meant the studios needed to get butts in seats. And so they would make these movies. And there was a studio relations committee , which was a group of people who sat on the outside and made suggestions to the studios like , hey , don't make fun of Italians as much , or hey , maybe don't say this curse word or do this gesture. And studios at this point were more or less free to ignore them. And this escalated throughout the early 1930s. Until 1934 and July of 1934 , the studios were facing a massive boycott by the Legion of Decency. They were really getting threats of federal censorship , with the federal government stepping in to stop them from making movies or make movies exactly how the federal government wanted. And so the Motion Picture Production Code stopped being a suggestion and became enforced. That's when the Production Code Administration came in under Joseph Breen. And he personally had personal like say so over what movies were and what they could say and what they couldn't say. But movies really change after 1934 , and then you get into the golden era of Hollywood and the World War II era. And it's a very different beast than pre-Code Hollywood , and pre-Code is very like. Then when I say pre-Code , I'm talking about that 1930 1934 era. pre-Code is very sexual. It is very honest. It is very raw. The Great Depression was happening , and you really see it on the screen. There's no hiding from it. And at the same time , you have studios with the talkies , bringing these new stars out and just creating these amazing films. I mean , we can just say some that people will immediately know that are mentioned in our book , like Grand Hotel or King Kong , but at the same time , they're creating a lot of really interesting and niche films. They cover a lot of subjects that are could be psychologically complex or weird , or really delve into relationships in ways that movies wouldn't after 1934. So it's a very interesting era. It's a very shocking era to some people , because for a lot of people of my generation , older generations. You grow up with the golden age of Hollywood as being like , no one curses. There's never any blood. It's shocking when someone throws a punch. And then you watch pre-Code movies and there are people getting gunned down. There are women undressing behind curtains that you can see through the curtains , or sometimes you see some bare breasts. So there's a lot of really interesting stuff happening at the time , more than just bare breasts. But in terms of what Hollywood was doing , it's a really exciting era , and it's one that's continually relevant to America , in my opinion.
S4: Now , both of you are obviously too young to have watched these films in the 30s.
S6: I don't remember how I got interested in pre-Code specifically , but I know I think what kept me coming back was , I think just how surprising they can be and how raw they can be jumping off what Danny just said about , you know , a lot of people getting into this era through the golden age. Like my first , the way that I first was introduced was Pride and Prejudice 1940 , which I say is about as far from the pre-Code era as you can get. But the 40s were really the the era that brought me in. And so when you look at pre-Code to 40s , like Danny was saying , it's just complete difference. And I just love the 30s films , the pre-Code films specifically , because I can still be surprised by what I see sometimes , and I love that. I love that I can see a movie that's almost a hundred years old and still be like , whoa , like , how did they do that ? How did they get away with it ? So I think it's really that and and also how relatable they also can be still almost a century later , those are some things that really draw me to the period and keep me coming back. Yeah.
S5: Yeah. Kind of the same thing. I mean , I first kind of discovered pre-Code right around 2009 , after the housing crisis and the Great Recession , and of course , the pre-Code eras around the Great Depression. So it was very interesting to see how things kind of lined up in terms of like national mood , how people felt disempowered , how banks were running rampant. You don't want to be a banker in the pre-Code movies. They are not good people. And as time passed , as that faded away , there's other things that come up that they're still relevant. They talk about the role of women , the role of men. They talk about , like international relations , how you treat other people. There's a lot of fascinating stuff with racial dynamics that would also change when the code became enforced. Sexual dynamics pre-Code era has a lot of films where women are bosses or CEOs of companies , and they kind of go through what what it means for a man to interact with a woman in that situation. And sometimes it's a comedy , sometimes it's a tragedy. So there's always like , something relevant whenever the country has been close to war. Like , I look at all quiet on the Western Front , or that that era of pacifist movies , which are fascinating. It started off with just this. You know , I watched The Divorcée and I was shocked by by the frankness of it.
S7: I'm glad I discovered it. More than one man in the world while I'm young. And they wanted me. Believe me , I'm not missing anything from now on. I don't doubt it. Once a woman throws down her fences. It is on a motto , a hang it where genders can see it. That's how loose women great , but not in the home. I tend to hear the looser they are , the more they get the best in the world. No responsibility. Well , my dear , I'm going to find out how they do it. So look for me in the future where the primroses grow. And pack your man's pride with the rest. And from now on , you're the only man in the world that my daughter is close to.
S5: And that just led me down a path to discovering there's all these fascinating little gems and treasures hidden. And this era , this , this era from 30 to 34. This is , you know , American movies , 2000 or so films because they were putting out , you know , 3 or 4 movies every week. There was five major , three minor studios. You know , it was a it was a time of great content and all. It was all they had was the radio and movies. So it's a time of like the highest cultural dominance of this art form. So it's fascinating to go back and see what they were projecting and what they were interacting with.
S4: And also , it was a period where because of what was going on economically , people really wanted an escape. And that's part of what drew them to some of these movies. Absolutely.
S5: Absolutely. A lot of these movies in 1930 was a massive year for movie musicals. After the success of The Jazz Singer , they weren't good 1930. They didn't have the technology to make good musicals , but by 1932 33 , you get to 42nd Street , Footlight Parade. Gold diggers and these are fantastic films they hold up today.
S4: Well , and you mentioned Gold Diggers , and I remember the first time I saw that I was really surprised that mixed in with that , like really light , frothy musical comedy. You have that really dark song about forgotten men also. So like , the tonal shifts were interesting. Yeah.
S5: Yeah. Gold diggers is my favorite movie , and I'll never get sick of talking about it , because it is really a very interesting and earthy film that really goes into some fascinating , like , very dreamy places. I mean , it starts out with all these chorus girls getting laid off from their jobs because yet another play has fallen through and they you go through. You follow their lives where they're all living in the same apartment together , sleeping in the same bed. They all have to share one outfit to go to , to auditions in , and then things turn around by random chance and luck. And they have these beautiful , silly numbers. They have the Moonlight Waltz , and then they have , like the pet in the park , which is a very silly , very sexy song. And then the movie kind of goes through with its romantic comedy subplot , and then it's like , okay , you know , we did all that , but let's take it back a notch and talk about like , the beginning of the movie , getting back to the Great Depression. And they go back and Busby Berkeley , who's the choreographer for the film was a World War One drill sergeant , and he had a real passion for the forgotten man. This is right around time of the Bonus Army march. This is right around the time where all these veterans are poor , they're destitute. They've been promised these bonuses by the US government for their service , and they come back. And the US government says , well , we don't really feel like doing it right now. You know , right after the Great Depression hits.
S8: Remember my forgotten man ? You put a rifle in his hand. You sent him far away. You shouted hip hooray ! But look at him today.
S5: But it's very touching and very shocking in the ways that it kind of confronts the realities that we're facing. World War one veterans at the time.
S4: Kim Danny mentioned that that's one of his favorites.
S6: I mean , the one that I always start with is Babyface , because that was the rabbit hole for me , I think into the pre-Code era , specifically research and censorship wise.
S9: You hold your freight out of here.
S10:
S9: Do you ever take a good look at yourself ? Yeah.
S10: You're exclusive. You are the sweetheart of the night ship. Come on. You're wasting my time. Everybody knows about you. Yeah.
S9: Well , you ain't going to.
S6: I love that movie. I love Barbara Stanwyck in general. And in that movie , I also love the dynamics between her and Teresa Harris in that film. And I also love that two versions exist today. And that's what I actually wrote my college thesis on. It was right after the uncensored version. The pre-release version was found at the Library of Congress. So I know more on that film than any other film , but I think it's super fascinating to be able to see both of those versions today , because we really don't get many opportunities to do that. And I think it's just really fascinating to be able to kind of see , I call it censorship in action , because you can see , like the very little tweaks that were deemed okay in that time and you're like , really ? That really nobody's going to believe that she's like reformed at the end. But that's that's one of my favorites.
S4: And tell people what to expect from the book.
S5: It's organized chronologically. We kind of decided that if you follow the the entries in the book , you can kind of follow the story of pre-Code Hollywood. But we kind of wanted to take people through from like Madame Satan , which is like a wild , over-the-top musical from 1930. But it's , you can tell , like , technically , they're still struggling with it , too. Uh , you know , gold diggers , which is very sophisticated , very beautiful , very a lot of great stuff in that to , um , murder at the vanities in 1934 , where it takes what Gold Diggers did and goes over the top. And that's just the musical genre. So we kind of do that with different genres as well , like we do Frankenstein , the original James Whale film , and then we kind of end the book right around black Cat with Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. The idea really is to try and give you this snapshot through these 50 films where it's not just , hey , here's 50 fun films , but here is the process of what this looked like. And these movies go out to America. And here's what the reactions were.
S11: But when I'm bad , I'm better.
S5: I mean , the overall goal of the book is to get people to watch more movies.
S4: Now , you actually include the production code in the book , and there's also some other like , documents that you to reprint. I remember reading through some of the production code and being amused by some of it. I don't know if you have like , any favorite parts of it. In terms of things that they were forbidding or focusing on that you just kind of go like , really ? That's what you were most concerned about.
S6: Oh yeah. I mean , for me , the specific files I just I'm obsessed with , I say that Scarface , that file is over 350 pages. It's absolutely insane. Somebody should write a book on that. But , yeah , just Howard Hughes trying to get away with everything that he could get away with.
S12: I'm going to write my name all over this town with a big letter. Hey ! Stop him ! Somebody get out of my way ! Jenny , I'm gonna spit.
S6: I love the look that they give into this era , because you don't really see that. And that's why I was really wanting to share some images from those files in the book. Because no other pre-Code book really has images from the files. And so I think that also sets us apart that we that we included some of that.
S4: And one of the things that people might be surprised by from this era , if they're not familiar with the films and the times , is really the amount of women that were stars at the box office and the amount of agency these women had in going over these films. Like , were you ever thinking , hmm , I wonder what would have happened if the code hadn't been enforced ? Like , how might Hollywood have been different ? Or because it does feel like a very different sort of era from what followed.
S5: The the early 1930s ? There's a lot more freedom you have to remember at this time , the majority of moviegoers were women because they're the ones who had the free time they went during the day. And this is a time where I think , like one out of six Americans went to the movies every week. So , you know , everybody is going to see a movie. I've had I've been asked this question many times. I personally think that if if Joseph Breed hadn't allied things the way he did in 1934 , I do think eventually it would have come down to federal censorship , just because at the time there was no assumption of free speech in terms of motion pictures , like they were not their world as not free speech in 1911. So there really was this ability among the states and the counties to censor's freely as they wanted , and just the tenor of the movies by 1934. And this is how we start the book. It really does feel like things are kind of going off the rails. There's a desperation , there's a need to shock and titillate. That is just very blatant. We start off the book talking about Tarzan and his mate. There's a sequence. Swim.
S12: Swim.
S5: Where they go swimming together. And if your movie studio in 1934 is making basically , you know , full frontal nudity , swimming sequences Is like if and this is obviously a much more conservative time. Where else is there to go ? There's certainly places , but I don't think that they would have let them go there.
S6: Yeah , I definitely agree because , you know , the industry was forced into a corner really. And they had to enforce the code because they saw very , very quickly what the effects of boycotts , even just through like the tiny few that actually happened. They saw what that could mean for them and it was not good , obviously. So I think it it would not have lasted much longer.
S1: That was Beth Accomando speaking with authors Danny Reid and Kim Perry. Their book , pre-Code Essentials must see Cinema from Hollywood's Untamed ERA 1930 to 1934 is available online through TCM and Running Press. Coming up next , a look at your weekend preview. KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. For our weekend preview , some annual festive traditions hit San Diego , plus more music , theater and visual art. Joining me with all the details is KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest podcast , Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , welcome.
S13: Hey , Jade. Thanks for having me.
S1: Always glad to have you here. Let's start with the big one. I mean , this this is huge. And that is December nights.
S13: And the city has a whole page dedicated to , quote , getting to December nights on their website so you can find transit options as well , or where to park if you must. We've linked to that in the weekend art story on our website too , and even though it is a hassle to get there , it's pretty magical. Once you're in , there's hundreds of thousands of people there. Like 350,000 people fill the park throughout the weekend. Um , there's over 1000 different performances , plenty of festive decor , food and drink , and all the museums are free. So if you're okay with the crowds Outs and all the hullabaloo. It's just like this perfect chance to hit up some museums , especially if admissions prices are keeping you away. Otherwise. And once you're there at December nights , it's pretty easy to just wander around with no agenda and you'll stumble upon stuff. There'll be performances in all corners and things to do , but if you do want a destination , head to the organ pavilion. There's guaranteed performances there. And then the International Cottages , which is pretty close by the Oregon Pavilion. That's where you can find a bunch of really amazing food options. And I think if you've lived in San Diego long enough , you're either a December Nights person or you're not. My husband is , and I am not. But I think I'm pretty tempted to go this year , actually. It's Friday from 3 to 11 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m..
S1: You may have just motivated me to go to. I'm you know , I'm kind of looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to it. All right. Well , staying near by Sunday is the annual Sonar Fest and chili cookoff. So what can you tell us about that event ? Yeah.
S13: Every year I quote our coworker Tony KPBS , graphic designer , who says it's not the holiday season until he sees the creepy creeps play at Sanno Fest and it's back this Sunday. It's an annual fundraiser for McKinley Elementary School in North Park. There's outdoor stages performances by 12 local bands , including Whiskey and Burlap , Julia Sage and the Bad Hombres. And yes , the creepy creeps who go on at 230. This is their song Haunted Hop.
S14: And I feel it in my mind.
S13: But the main attraction is the chili. A bunch of North Park and South Park restaurants compete for best chili , and some of these restaurants seem to not have that much to do with chili , like North Park Creamery , but also Tribute Pizza. Mabel's Gone Fishing , Finca. Pot Pie Company , and tons more. You can attend the festival for free , and there's also other food that you can buy when you're there. But if you want to taste the chili , you can get a tasting pass for 25 or $35 , depending on whether you want a commemorative tasting mug. It's from 11 to 5 p.m. outdoors on Sunday at the intersection of 32nd and Thorne Streets in North Park.
S1: Well , that sounds like my cup of tea. Or chili.
S13:
S1: Please explain.
S13: This is the Winter Wonderland Festival at the California Center for the Arts , Escondido. They have a holiday market. There's Santa , crafts and kids activities. There's plenty to do , but they bring in real snow both days. And families , you can play in it. You can build snowmen , you can have snowball fights. Whatever. It's open and it's free from 1 to 5. Saturday and Sunday at California Center for the Arts , Escondido.
S1: That sounds like a lot of fun. Well , one more festive option is really an absurd spin on a Christmas pageant. So tell me about kitsch , Miss time.
S13: So this is local artist duo Brian and Ryan , and they're back with their annual celebration of kitsch in the holidays with their kitsch mass time pageant and exhibition. It's at the Athenaeum Art Center at Bread and Salt again this year , and Bryan and Ryan make a whole bunch of kitschy Christmas ornaments , art installations. And this year , I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of pasta themed ornaments made out of actual noodles , and they bring in performers , musicians , storytellers to put on this big pageant. A lot of absurd stuff going on , but it's really fun and just really friendly. They're collecting donations of new and unopened clothing , hygiene items , books , or craft supplies for border angels so you can bring something with you. The event is 6 to 9 on Friday and for that there is a $15 suggested donation. Unless you're an Athenaeum member , then it's free. But the art exhibit is going to be on view at the Athenaeum Art center all month through the 31st. And that is always free.
S1: Well , lots of fun for a good cause , it sounds like. Well , in theater there's a couple of smaller productions that have caught your eye. Let's start with Shakespeare and the 1980s.
S13: This is 12th Night , which I'm starting to realize is my favorite Shakespeare play. It's funny. It's absurd with lots of that. Like classic Shakespearean mistaken identity humor. So , viola , our main character is shipwrecked , goes undercover as a man , and tries to find her twin brother. But right now , the San Diego State University School of Theater , Television and Film has a production where the play is set in the 1980s , and she washes ashore on the Southern California coastline. So expect lots of neon and mix tapes. And it's on stage this weekend only 7:30 p.m. tonight , Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. This is at the Prevost Stage at Sdsu. Tickets are just 20 bucks. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Well , in music , the La Jolla Symphony performs a piece of music inspired by Oppenheimer. Right.
S13: Right. This is the American composer John Adams. And this piece is called The Doctor Atomic Symphony. It's an adaptation of his own opera of the same name. It's about Jay Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the atomic bomb. So this is a really powerful piece of music. It's a little bit curious , a little bit terrifying , much like Atomic Power. Mhm. And the shows are 730 Saturday night and 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon. This is at Manville Auditorium at UCSD. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , now your next pick promises to be a unique show. Tell us about Vienna Teng. Yeah.
S13: Yeah. So Vienna Teng defines herself as chamber folk , but I feel like it's so much more than that. She's this classically trained piano player , and you can definitely hear , like , the complexity of her musical skill and the composition in these pieces. But she's also recently been into a lot of like , vocal looping and experimentation. She just put out a new EP , it's called We've Got You , and I feel like there's a really strong rock element to This is Two Truths from that new EP. Back.
S14: Back.
S15: Until our ears our love burns. Be sweet and your cry is calling us. Folding clothes swirling so soon we want. You can draw them. Just like your need for all. Our name is Hagens. All right.
S13: So this Vienna tang performing at Lulu's at 8 p.m. Sunday night. And it's worth mentioning that Lulu's is in the basement of the Lafayette Hotel , which is extremely decked out for the holidays right now. So save a little extra time to explore the lobby when you're there.
S1: I love it ! Well , you can find details on these and more arts events at our website , pbs.org. I've been speaking with KPBS Arts reporter and host of the finest podcast , Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , thanks.
S13: Thank you. Jade , this is fun.
S15: But we're already tired. Why are digging , digging diggers digging deep. Mother's love to muddy swan down. But you're gonna run away as a result of this. Come on.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
