In case you were wondering. Or perhaps you’ve been misled about our quality of life by reading our so called “local” newspaper, or its online spawn redding.com. Replete with recently incessant horror stories about petty crime and homelessness. Pleasurable living doesn’t sell papers or banner ads, evidently.
Meanwhile, a decent lifestyle goes on here.
Huh. Who knew?
Pool party in Redding
Redding Dragstrip first race of 2014 tonight!
For a while, it looked like our dragstrip might not even open this year. A true Redding institution, the longest continuously operating NHRA dragstrip in the known universe was looking for new management. Luckily, Shirlene Bramson of Bramson Drag Strip stepped up to fill the leadership role. In short order, she and a host of volunteers have hustled up the work to get the strip ready for another season. Tonight is the first Street Legal event, and it comes in the nick of time, as we know there has been some illegal and extremely dangerous street racing taking place in the absence of the track.
Tonight, that all changes.
ATTENTION HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS:
We wanted you to know that, in our attempt to support activities for the youth of Redding and surrounding areas, high school students get into street legal races for FREE!
All you need is a valid student ID. That’s it. Have a valid CA driver’s license, too? You can race a street legal event for FREE!
We hope to see more high school students in the stands tonight!
***Please help us spread the word by sharing this information with students and families with students*** — with Shirlene Bramson.
Always more at http://ReddingDragstrip.net. But there’s a good deal more activity and chatter about the track at their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/reddingdragstrip
Up over 1500 Likes!!
Are you getting ready for our first race of the season?
CHASSIS CERTIFICATIONS @ 11am
$150/car
This is the only day to get your chassis certified at our track. Please be on time.
TEST & TUNE @ 1pm
$30/tech card, $10 spectator entry ($40 for racer&entry)
This is for cars with SLICKS ONLY. Those who pay for T&T will get into the Street Legals FREE.
STREET LEGALS @ 5pm, Racing starts at 6pm
$10 tech card, $5 spectator entry ($15 for racer&entry)
***High school students with a CURRENT student body card get into street legals FREE***
Come out and enjoy our first race of the season. Bring your friends and support your track!
DEVO memories in Redding
Somber to learn that guitarist Bob Casales of Devo has made the transition to his next performance. Condolences to family, fans, and band mates evolved and de-evolved. In memorial, I’m re-running this post that I also re-ran last year when drummer Alan Meyers passed. It puts focus on people of my general age. More behind us than ahead. Man, the 80’s were awesome, though.
When DEVO came to Redding
Wow, was it thirty years ago? Looking through an old box in the closet, I ran across these photographs I took at the Redding Civic when DEVO came to town in 1982.
Are we not men? We are DEVO!
Sure, it looks like the singer is wearing a flower pot hat, but DEVO fans know them as “Energy Domes.” I was a fan back then, but not enough to have bought a ticket. A friend gave me the ticket. Her 15 year old daughter won the seats from a radio promotion, and mom really didn’t want to go. Front row! Hence, the good shots. The show was much better than I expected.
This was the era of the “It’s a Beautiful World” single, which was a show highlight.
It’s a beautiful world we live in,
A sweet romantic place,
Beautiful people everywhere,
The way they show they care
Makes me want to say,It’s a wonderful time to be here,
It’s nice to be alive,
Wonderful people everywhere,
The way they comb their hair(Chorus)
It’s a beautiful world (three times)
For you (three times)
Everything I’d heard by DEVO was sort-of deliberately sterile sounding, I think. Art music. Almost a parody of itself. Certainly a sarcastic reflection of pop culture.
The funny thing about pop culture is that even self-parody acknowledgement of its own banality becomes more pop culture, perhaps even the best of it.
What I wouldn’t have guessed was how hard they rocked. Obviously, having risen through the punk clubscene, they’d learned to move an audience. This wasn’t studio music played live. They engaged the crowd, playing it hard with abandon. Up front, and hearing mostly the stage monitors, I was impressed. A tight rock band.
Devo singer Mark Mothersbaugh has gone on to become an accomplished artist in both film scores and visual arts. An extremely impressive list of accomplishments by any measure.
They still play as a band too. The DEVO webiste had recent video from a SF show at the Fillmore.
Amazing.
I like the final image in my series. You can tell this was taken some time ago. Outstretched arms aren’t holding up cell phones recording the moment. We were just in the moment.
I think that’s Bob grinning ear to ear. I know I was. All photos by Skip Murphy, 1982.
A celebration of life at Redding Dragstrip
The words across from the Really Redding header says “Life and all in Redding California.” So, “all” includes end of life as well. This is a cross-post from the Redding Dragstrip website. I wrote of a memorial service for my friend Bob Lidell.
It was a picture perfect Fall day yesterday at the Redding Dragstrip, as friends and family came together to celebrate and reflect on the life of track President Bob Lidell, who passed away unexpectedly last Monday. And although I don’t usually take photos at this kind of gathering, I felt this was an exception. Bob was a community figure, as evidenced by the large turnout.
Click on these to enlarge a bit, if you like. Bob’s race car served as a metaphor, and Paul Warner spoke eloquently that none of us knows where or when the finish line to our race will come.
Bob was a Vietnam Veteran, and received all due respect.
It was a time for somber reflection. Bob’s immediate family offers a toast.
But it was a celebration too, and there were a few light moments. Somebody played Bob’s cell phone message over the P.A. It was good to hear his voice again.
But then the disembodied phone company message finished by telling us that Bob’s voicemailbox was full, and would be accepting no more messages. That sounded like Bob, alright. He was a perpetually busy guy. Going full blast, right up to the finish line.
I posted a bit of the ceremony so you can get the essence of it.R.I.P. Bob Lidell. You will be greatly missed. You were ReallyRedding.
Do local acorns predict a rough Winter ahead?
I’ve heard that bit of Redding lore. If true, our backyard oaks are telling us to buy a new coat, and stack another cord of wood. Acorn production this season has become overwhelming.
We’ll collect these and put them out back for the wildlife that depends on the oaks. Native people would know what to do with this year’s abundance, but I don’t know any good acorn recipes. What wine goes with acorn?
They haven’t even finished falling!
Longtime readers will recall images I took of a squirrel harvesting our oaks. But this year, we’ve seen few squirrels. As for Winter, we’ll find out soon enough. Mornings are now quite brisk. A sure sign of the season’s approach.
There otter be a law
Backyard eggs from Redding
Great professional Redding tour video
Watch this professional video centered on fly fishing on the Sacramento River in Redding. They also show some other outdoor activities available, including Shasta Caverns, Sundial Bridge, and Turtle Bay. There’s also an interesting segment on locally made Sea Breacher, and Jetovator jet pack water flying on Shasta Lake. Check it out!
Uncommon view of Redding from the West Hills
Out showing a home in the west hills looking over a Spring cloud Redding evening skyline lends an uncommon perspective to otherwise familiar landmarks. From here, the Diestlehorst, Rail Trestle, and Sundial bridges become neighbors. Click to enlarge a bit.
Below we see Highway 44 going east, with Shasta Regional Medical Center in the foreground, and leading off to big-boxville.
Below, a view of Greenstone Place from on a hill in west Redding. A lovely neighborhood of gracious homes framed in green hills and red cliffs on a warm Spring evening.
Even commonplace sights are all extraordinary in our town. It’s Really Redding.