Humboldt has long enjoyed a more vibrant live music scene than an area this small and isolated probably should be able to, much to the delight of those of us who dwell and dance here. Obviously that energy has been greatly diminished these past two COVID pandemic-riddled years. But now with vaccination rates up and the omicron variant’s spread slowing, the number of local shows and events on the calendar is staring to tick up again.
Which begs the question: How are you feeling? Are you feeling that itch to get out and have indoor public fun again? Is it time? It’s a deeply personal question a lot of locals who’ve erred on the side of caution these past couple years are now wrestling with.
With those thoughts on the tip of the brain, on this week’s episode of Humboldt Holding Up we talk to local keyboardist and producer Brian Swislow about his more than two decades of making funky sounds for Humboldt ears. His current band, the soul slanging Object Heavy, will be playing at the Arcata Theatre Lounge on Saturday, Feb. 12, so we asked him how he thinks the pandemic has affected local musicians and venues and what he thinks it will take to make our scene thrive again.
Click the audio player above to listen to Swizz chat with LoCO’s Andrew Goff and Stephanie McGeary or click on over to Apple Podcasts here. And take a gander at past HHU guests below.
PREVIOUS HUMBOLDT HOLDING UP GUESTS:
- #81 Lost Lewis Treasure Hunter Corey Lewis
- #80 “The Cannabis Conversation” Jesse Duncan
- #79 Humboldt COAD’s Alison Sterling Nichols
- #78 Miranda’s Rescue Founder Shannon Miranda
- #77 Eureka Police Department Chief Steve Watson
- #76 ‘The Bartow Project’ Michelle Hernandez and Zuzka Sabata
- #75 Foggy Bottoms Boys Thomas and Cody Nicholson Stratton
- #74 North Coast News’ Nazy Javid
- #73 Pumpkin Carver Mike Craghead
- #72 Eureka Police Department Sergeant Leonard LaFrance
- #71 Eureka Artist Duane Flatmo
- #70 Arcata City Councilmember Sarah Schaefer
- #69 Humboldt Hot Air Director Neroli Devaney
- #68 St. Joe’s James Ladika and Austin Allison
- #67 Eureka Artist Richard Evans
- #66 NCRT’s Calder Johnson
- #65 TV Newsman Dave Silverbrand
- #63 Housing Policy Specialist Brian Heaton
- #62 Muralists Blake Reagan and Lucas Thornton
- #61 Arcata City Councilmember Emily Goldstein
- #60 Kayak Guide Eric Stockwell
- #59 Eureka City Councilmember Natalie Arroyo
- #58 Wiyot Cultural Center Manager Marnie Atkins
- #57 Humboldt County Growers’ Alliance’s Natalynne DeLapp
- #56 RREDC Executive Director Gregg Foster
- #55 Dell’Arte’s Michael Fields
- #54 Llama Wrangler Keagan Trischum
- #53 Crabs President David Sharp
- #52 Organic Dairy Farmers Kristina Radelfinger and Dorice Miranda
- #51 Former Arcata Mayor Alex Stillman
- #50 Cooperation Humboldt’s David Cobb
- #49 Ink People Center for the Arts’ Libby Maynard
- #48 Humboldt Bay Social Co-Owner Amy Cirincione O’Connor
- #47 Musician Lyndsey Battle
- #46 Mad River Brewing CEO Linda Cooley
- #45 LoCO Editor Hank Sims
- #44 Humboldt Republic’s Jason Brandi
- #43 Table Bluff Farmer Hannah Eisloeffel
- #42 Logger Bar Owner Kate Martin
- #41 Teacher/Rapper Zach “Zigzilla” Lehner
- #40 Madaket Captain “Zippo” Libby Tonning
- #39 Event Planner Alegria Sita
- #38 Food For People’s Anne Holcomb
- #37 AHHA President Nezzie Wade
- #36 Performance Artist Noël August/Tucker Noir
- #35 Eureka Mayor Susan Seaman
- #34 Eagle House Owner Jennifer Metz
- #33 Absynth Quartet Drummer Mike “Tofu” Schwartz
- #32 HACHR Executive Director Lasara Firefox Allen
- #31 Alchemy Distillery Owner Amy Bohner
- #30 Eureka City Councilmember Kati Moulton
- #29 Eureka City Councilmember Scott Bauer
- #28 Ungraceful Ager Barry Evans
- #27 Arcata City Councilmember Sofia Pereira
- #26 HumBrews Music Booker Laurel Weston
- #25 Eureka City Councilmember Kim Bergel
- #24 Film Commission’s Cassandra Hesseltine and Nate Adams
- #23 Marble Maker Topher Reynolds
- #22 Arcata Playhouse Director Jacqueline Dandeneau
- #21 Humboldt Political Junkie Eric Kirk
- #20 Rio Dell Mayor Debra Garnes
- #19 Second District Supervisor Estelle Fennell
- #18 Arcata Food Aficionado Jada Calypso Brotman
- #17 Body Piercer Jackie Silva
- #16 Dick Taylor Chocolate’s Adam Dick
- #15 FUHS Teachers Mark Thom and Inma Thompson
- #14 Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery
- #13 Savage Henry Co-Founder Chris Durant
- #12 Eureka Street Art Festival Organizer Jenna Catsos
- #11 SCRAP Humboldt Founder Tibora Bea
- #10 Gym Owner Tyler Parr
- #9 Six Rivers Brewery Co-Owner Meredith Maier
- #8 Multicultural Skincare Therapist Levia Love
- #7 Annie’s Cambodian Server and Social Worker Joshua Coppock
- #6 Eureka City Councilmember Austin Allison
- #5 HSU Professor Deidre Pike
- #4 Pastor Bethany Cseh
- #3 Singer/Songwriter Chris Parreira
- #2 Eureka City Councilmember Leslie Castellano
- #1 Arcata City Councilmember Paul Pitino