Local bastard

The heat makes things happen. Do not let the recent storminess fool you: The eternal hellfire of Chico’s spring/summer/fall is nearly upon us, and the rocker natives are getting restless. With school out, local bands either hit the woodshed or hit the road. To kick off the touring season, the punk vets of Gruk are playing a few warm-up benefits (first up, Sat., 5/14, 7 p.m., 8th & Ivy ) for their third cross-country trek. Beginning May 30 with a tour kick-off show at Fulcrum , Gruk will spend six weeks squawking down America’s highways. The Americas and Birds of Fire are teaming up to cover the Western states June 1-20; Botchii and Himself will be join hands in August for a week-long tour of the Pacific Northwest; and Aubrey Debauchery has accepted an offer from Provo, Utah, acoustic troubadour Drew Danburry to join him for a two-month jaunt to the East Coast and back throughout July and August.

1,000 sexy words. With all of the expertise in marketing and public relations over at Chico Outlaws baseball honcho Bob Linscheid ’s consultant firm, The Linscheid Company (when you need a little TLC), they gotta know the power a logo has in communicating a company’s intentions (a picture is worth 1,000 words and all that). So, when the gang here at CN&R h.q. gathered around the latest edition of the Upstate Business Journal (from the folks who bring you the Synthesis ), discussion quickly focused on the TLC logo in its ad in the back. God knows we’re no experts in the field of marketing, but all we’re saying is, Chico ain’t got no lighthouses.

That’s what I call “integrated communication.” Speaking of logos, how ’bout that original Starbucks logo? You can hardly tell by looking at the popular censored version we’re all familiar with, but according to the Endicott Journal of Mythic Arts the hidden image (see left) is of a split-tailed siren, or baubo siren, a cross between a mermaid and a sheila-na-gig (a female figure known for prominently displaying her hoo-hoo to signify female power and fertility). With nautical themes aplenty (the name Starbuck also appears in Moby Dick , and the company’s home, Seattle, is of course a mariner town), the sailor-wooing siren logo of Starbucks and the sailor-steering lighthouse logo of TLC would seem to have more in common than just looking natural being placed next to one another. Conspiracy, or sexy conspiracy?

TWO MORE: Chico High alum Benjamin Martinelli , son of local stand-up bassist and frequent CN&R music writer Christine LaPado , was just in Moscow’s Red Square for the 60th anniversary of VE Day, blowin’ clarinet in the 33rd Division Army band (no pressure—just the leaders of every country on the planet in the audience). Also, a belated shout-out to former temporary CN&R News Editor Carla Resnick for her new role as president of Chico Art Center . Congrats and hugs all around.

Send all gossip, rumors and b.s. to your Local Bastard.