I’m not a sailor — I prefer floating and tranquil kayak paddles to heavy wind and wave — but I live with one. So very slowly I’ve been acclimating to sailing. As a result I am gaining a new found appreciation of the San Francisco Bay despite having lived near it much of my life.
Yesterday, was a gorgeous and calm day: surf scoters and pelicans, terns and at least one sea lion were coasting over or in the water, and I got more sun than I bargained for despite the SPF 50 sunscreen. It was a great cap to a busy weekend of shows.
When the Bay is looking this good, it’s easy to forget how many people have fought to save the bay from pollution, over-development and general decline.
Prompted to do some research on SF Bay whose currently helping the Bay, I found a great list on Bay Nature of local advocacy and conservation groups to support or with whom to volunteer. Check it out!
Deborah Crooks (www.DeborahCrooks.com) is a writer, performing songwriter and recording artist based in San Francisco whose lyric driven and soul-wise music has drawn comparison to Lucinda Williams, Chrissie Hynde and Natalie Merchant.
Singing about faith, love and loss, her lyrics are honed by a lifetime of writing and world travel while her music draws on folk, rock, Americana and the blues. She released her first EP “5 Acres” in 2003 produced by Roberta Donnay, which caught the attention of Rocker Girl Magazine, selecting it for the RockerGirl Discoveries Cd. In 2007, she teamed up with local producer Ben Bernstein to complete “Turn It All Red” Ep, followed by 2008’s “Adding Water to the Ashes” CD, and a second full-length CD “2010. She’s currently working on a third CD to be released in 2013.
Deborah’s many performance credits include an appearance at the 2006 Millennium Music Conference, the RockerGirl Magazine Music Convention, IndieGrrl, at several of the Annual Invasion of the GoGirls at SXSW in Austin, TX, the Harmony Festival and 2009’s California Music Fest, MacWorld 2010, Far West Fest and many other venues and events. She toured the Northwest as part “Indie Abundance Music, Money & Mindfulness” (2009) with two other Bay Area artists, and followed up with “The Great Idea Tour of the Southwest in March 2010 with Jean Mazzei.
