Catch A Fire Tour: Return to Jamrock

Damien Marley is the youngest son of Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley. Along with his brother, Stephen, he brings the Catch A Fire Tour to the Santa Barbara Bowl tonight. Courtesy photo
Damien Marley is the youngest son of Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley. Along with his brother, Stephen, he brings the Catch A Fire Tour to the Santa Barbara Bowl tonight.
Courtesy photo

It’s been 10 years since Damien Marley, youngest of the Bob Marley sons and nicknamed “Jr. Gong,” exploded onto the scene with “Welcome to Jamrock,” fulfilling the promise of his first two albums and sending his album gold. And man, has that decade passed quickly.

“I was just thinking about that myself,” said Marley during a phone interview. “And I had the same sentiment that you do. It feels like yesterday. Time moves real quick.”

Then 27 years old, now 37, Damien is bringing the Catch a Fire tour to the Santa Barbara Bowl tonight. Along with his brother Stephen “Ragga” Marley, the evening features reggae legend Barrington Levy, Morgan Heritage, Tarrus Riley, Jo Mersa and Black Am I, along with DJ sets by Kingston 12, Shinehead and Papalote.

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Comedy is Bagg’s bag: Ian Bagg and the other winners of ‘Last Comic Standing’ come to Chumash

Ian Bagg is part of the Last Comic Standing Tour, coming to Chumash Casino Resort on Thursday. Paul Drinkwater/NBC photo
Ian Bagg is part of the Last Comic Standing Tour, coming to Chumash Casino Resort on Thursday.
Paul Drinkwater/NBC photo

By the time you read this, you’ll know that Ian Bagg, one of the finalists in the popular NBC show “Last Comic Standing,” did not win . . . a fact that he’s been sharing on his Twitter feed for some time now. But it doesn’t matter, because along with Michael Palascak, Dominique, Andy Erikson and Clayton English, Mr. Bagg has made it onto the Last Comic Standing tour that pulls into Chumash Casino Resort on Thursday.

It’s part of a whopping 78-date, 90-day tour that ends just before New Years, and will introduce these already seasoned comics to a much wider audience.

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Back in the saddle: The Couches of Circle Bar B return with a new dinner theater venture at Timbers

Who done it? Brandi Wolff as the voodoo priestess or Erica Flor as the society girl? Sean Jackson, center, as Rick Archer, is on the case. Prism Productions photo
Who done it? Brandi Wolff as the voodoo priestess or Erica Flor as the society girl? Sean Jackson, center, as Rick Archer, is on the case.
Prism Productions photo

Many theatergoers’ hearts were broken last year with the unexpected closing down of Circle Bar B Dinner Theater. After 40 years, Susie and David Couch’s creation was in the black and pulling in regulars from as far south as Orange County, but the ranch that hosted their small theater decided to go in different directions.

But the Couches have a new name – Prism Productions – and a new lease on theatrical life. And the venue, Timbers, is also coming back from hibernation. The woodsy Winchester Canyon restaurant and bar was built in 1952, using wood from the Goleta pier once bombed by the Japanese in World War II. Since 2004 it has fallen into disrepair. But HJL Group, the restaurant company behind Arch Rock Fish and The Marquee, are bringing it back. The Goodland Supper Club, as the Couches are calling this three-play series, will be one of its early entertainment options.

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Maps to the art stars: Artists open up on the 14th Annual Santa Barbara Studio Artists Tour

"It's a great opportunity to meet new clientele and to showcase my new series," says artist Michele Zuzalek of the Santa Barbara Studio Artists Tour. This is the 14th year that local artists have been opening their studios to the public. Kenneth Song/News-Press photos
“It’s a great opportunity to meet new clientele and to showcase my new series,” says artist Michele Zuzalek of the Santa Barbara Studio Artists Tour. This is the 14th year that local artists have been opening their studios to the public.
Kenneth Song/News-Press photos

Buyers, collectors, fellow curious artists, locals and art tourists: all will be converging this weekend for the 14th annual Santa Barbara Studio Artists Tour. With over 30 painters, sculptors, photographers and mixed media artists opening up their studios to visitors, it’s a chance to see these creative beings in their natural habitat, their studios.

That might be a converted garage or a guest house or a barn or a shed. And the artist might be working in organized chaos or be impeccably neat. But the studio tour remains endlessly fascinating to many.

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White Horse, running: New documentary tells the story of ‘free runner’ Caballo Blanco

"Run Free: The True Story of Caballo Blanco" is feature-length documentary about ultra-running legend Micah True. Better known as Caballo Blanco - the White Horse - Mr. True was the focal character of Christopher McDougall's 2009 best-selling book "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" about the Tarahumara Indians of northern Mexico.
“Run Free: The True Story of Caballo Blanco” is feature-length documentary about ultra-running legend Micah True. Better known as Caballo Blanco – the White Horse – Mr. True was the focal character of Christopher McDougall’s 2009 best-selling book “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen” about the Tarahumara Indians of northern Mexico.

“Micah would throw a fit if he knew we were doing this.”

So says photographer and Orcutt resident Luis Escobar, one of the many people who knew the mysterious man known as Caballo Blanco, the White Horse.

Better known as Micah True, this vagabond “free runner” became the focus of a best-selling book about the sport of free running by Christopher McDougall, called “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.” The documentary that follows in its wake, “Run Free” is directed by Sterling Noren and screens Tuesday at Marjorie Luke Theatre.

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