When this column first came out in the Arcata Eye in 2004, the idea that our country would ever again round up its own people, strip them of their rights and take away their property and liberty was unthinkable.
But it didn't break Marino Sichi and his family's patriotism. They remained true to fundamental American principles.
Those of you who read the previous post about Aristocrats bassist and friend of Arcata Bryan Beller losing his instruments may be interested in this epic tale.
Bottom line, his basses are still out there, so be on the lookout.
http://www.bryanbeller.com/cms/index.php…
The Arcata Eye shared Bryan Beller's post.
Aristocrats bass player Bryan Beller, who has performed in Arcata and McKinleyville multiple times with Mike Keneally (including an Arcata Eye Ball), has had some distinctive bass guitars stolen.
Not inconceivably, they could find their way to our Humboldt environs. Please be on the lookout. These are this wonderful musician's tools of the trade.
THEFT ALERT: I'm sorry to report that most of my basses were stolen from my storage unit while I was on tour in South America these past six weeks. I'm hoping y...ou can help me possibly recover them by sharing this post, in which I'll list every bit of info I have on the missing items. They include FIVE Mike Lull basses:
* Mike Lull Modern 5-string, Red (yes, THAT one, my #1 for 17 years), flame maple top, s/n 266
* Mike Lull Modern 5-string, Brown, fretless, flame maple top, s/n 448
* Mike Lull T-Bass 4-string (the Dethklok bass), black w/white pick guard and black "gear" sticker, no serial number (blank indent in headstock)
* Mike Lull jazz bass 4-string, passive, black w/white pick guard, s/n 513
* Mike Lull prototype 5-string, translucent black finish, s/n 2698
and these other special items:
* Taylor AB-4 acoustic/electric bass, sunburst, s/n 20010214201
and very sadly:
* Fender P-Bass, sunburst w/white pickguard, s/n unknown - it once belonged to my dear friend Wes Wehmiller
I also am missing an SWR Mo' Bass head, s/n ending in 0002 (the second ever made), and a couple of other items
* Voodoo Labs Amp Selector
* SansAmp PSA-1 Programmable Preamp
* ART Tube Pac Mic Preamp
I am including some pictures of me playing the instruments above. I don't have any pics of me playing that black 4-string Mike Lull jazz bass, but everything else has been around.
The items were located at
Public Storage
18650 VÃa Princessa
Canyon Country, CA 91387 USA
(It's a long and winding story as to why there were there, involving international shipping snafus and forest fires and crazy touring schedules.)
They were stolen sometime between November 9 and December 27. I have done a quick search on eBay, Craig's List, and Reverb.com, but I don't see anything. Obviously some of these instruments are very recognizable, but I'm just one person. The power of social media far exceeds anything I could do on my own. If you could be so kind as to share this post with anyone you think could help locate one of these instruments (even if you don't live in the United States; it's possible that these are already headed overseas), I would be most grateful. If you don't feel comfortable making public comments, you can always message me. I will also gladly accept anonymous tips if that feels appropriate.
This is my second time around this particular rodeo. My first was in 1994, when someone stole my 1986 pre-Gibson Tobias out of my North Hollywood apartment. That was my #1 bass at the time. So I get that these are just things, and no one got hurt, and life goes on. That said, if anyone out there can somehow help me locate these items - especially the Red Mike Lull 5-string and the Fender P-Bass - I would be very very thankful.
Be good to each other out there, ok?
BB
UPDATE: I am absolutely overwhelmed with this outpouring of support. This post has now reached 1,500,000 people and been shared almost 10,000 times. I am deeply grateful and can only imagine that something good will come of all of your positive energy. Thank you, so very much.
The Arcata Eye shared an event.
The Arcata Eye shared their photo.
The Eye is 20 years old, or would be if it was still going.
The final Arcata Eye is making its way to the printers right now. Seventeen years of weekly editions end with this upload. Henceforth, the Eye's website and Fac...ebook page will become a cultural and historical resource, while the breaking news and other random wonderment will appear at madriverunion.com and the Union's Facebook page.
Here's the first and final Arcata Eye front page.
It was a sad day back in early April, 2011, when we had to out Ragman Pete for the charlatan he was. We had been "fooled" too.
But in retrospect, especially in light of recent news about pervasive Russian influence on trusted institutions, it's not all that surprising.
The Arcata Eye added 2 new photos.
Here's an Eye front page from March 27, 2007 and the kind of Arcata Union front page from March 3, 1939 (which we have framed in our office) on which it is loosely based. The Unions from the 1800s are even denser.
I was experimenting this week, indulging my compulsion to cram the front page with news stories like the papers of olde. There are a lot of subtle things going on with this front page that few people would catch. Still, I've always believed that they subliminally ad...d up. Some of the things going on here:
Symmetry usually makes for a dead layout, so there's a rule made to be broken. The idea here was to make it as symmetrical as possible, but infuse it with vitality via other means.
The skyboxes are all faces and grouped in a certain rhythmic pattern. They contrast all the faceless photos of objects on the rest of the page.
Next, rather than have one anchor component, there are two at the top. They're thematically related, and note the cute rhymey dek hed for each story. Also, one photo's indoor, one's outdoor but they both feature foliage.
The next level of five stories across are all government-related, and the headlines alternately bold and unbold. The top of this row lines up with the bottom of the Eye at left.
Next we have three stories, all with outdoor photos and all about construction projects. There is heavy equipment with dirt on the left and right, while in the middle is the pristine, angel food cake-like Arcata Theatre marquee.
Next level down are two stories affecting structures along U.S. Highway 101, with photos.
At bottom, the two photos contrast the cluttered Arcata Bike Library with a scene of a car-cluttered Arcata street, the kind of thing which the bike center was intended to ameliorate.
At left are the individual EyePiece blurbs – for the Redwood Peace & Justice Center, a Cesar Chavez Day event, the Friends of the Library and a tree planting – which I selected for special prominence based on my liberal media bias.
As for the weird color scheme, it was probably intended to contrast with whatever we did the previous week. The green in the EyePieces column was supposed to tie in with the green in the photos, and with purple you have the Humboldt colors. The red is a little ostentatious. I might pick less blaring colors today.
All in all, you have no less than 14 stories starting on the front page. I hope all the jumplines were accurate; they probably weren't. But what a damn newsy paper.
So while this is an unusual (even for the Eye) front page, those are some of the things I thought about when designing Eye front pages.
– Kevin
The Arcata Eye is with Chris Parreira.
At one time, there was this other occasionally awesome newspaper around here. Just for grins, we're going to start posting semi-random pages from it.
The Arcata Eye page is enjoying a resurgence of popularity lately, and I'm not sure why. Maybe the April Fool's Day reappearance? I thought that would have worn off by now.
Anyway, thanks. Kevin
The Arcata Eye shared Mad River Union's post.
So many people say they miss the Arcata Eye.
So we went ahead and made a new one.
https://www.facebook.com/madriverunion/posts/591074547723020
The Arcata Eye shared a Page.
You should visit the Mad River Union and click "like." This will allow you to get all sorts of news updates. Also, tomorrow is April Fools' Day. You know what that means...
The Arcata Eye shared Mad River Union's photo.
On June 3, Del Norte County voters will consider Measure A, an advisory measure to create the State of Jefferson and leave California. They'd like to take Humbo...ldt and some other California and Oregon counties with them, too.
On tonight's Thursday Night Talk at 7 p.m. on KHSU 90.5 FM, host Kevin Hoover of the Mad River Union will talk with advocates and opponents of the effort to secede from California.
Listen online at khsu.org.
The Arcata Eye shared a Page.
The Arcata Eye fused with the McKinleyville Press last year to become the Mad River Union.
For continued Eyeball goodness, consider liking the Union.
https://www.facebook.com/madriverunion
Even back in 2011, the Arcata Eye had identified Journal editorial turnover as a thing in its April Fool edition. Now it's turned into a Thing.
