Storied: San Francisco

Andrew St. James 's birth mom was a tour caterer for the Rolling Stones. In this episode, the musician traces his lineage back to his being adopted by a young San Francisco couple. Carol moved to San Francisco in 1971. She worked at the Gap and what used to be Live 105 and KMEL. Nathan was born in Brooklyn to Holocaust survivor parents. After his New York marriage fizzled, he hopped on a motorcycl...

We start with the honeymoon, time away from The City. Jeff and Erin spent two weeks in northern New Mexico, bouncing around between Taos, Santa Fe, and the small town of Dixon (about halfway between Taos and Santa Fe), where old friends of Jeff have some land with a house, a casita, a tiny house, a large garden, and some chickens. Then we back up to start chronicling Thursday, October 14, 2021. Je...

In this podcast, Yeva picks up where she left off in Part 1 . She backs up from her time in Brazil to tell us about peace camps she went to as a kid, and how that took her to places like Tanzania. As the kids who went the camps got older, they started having reunions they dubbed "seminar camps." As a teen, Yeva went to one such reunion the French Alps. Years later, as a college student in Brazil,...

Yeva Johnson was born in Detroit by necessity. In this podcast, we welcome Yeva back to the show. We first met her back in 2018 at Working With Death , the show we did that year with Reimagine End of Life . Her family moved from Michigan to Washington, DC, when Yeva was young. She often joined her siblings and parents at various marches in the capital city—for the ERA , peace marches, etc. As a st...

In this episode, Bishop Megan  talks about their trans identity. Through popular culture and with age, they knew they were queer around the time they went to college. Eventually, as the world and language evolved, "trans" became what they identify with. ​One of their children is also trans, and Bishop Megan shares their perspective of what it's like to parent the kid. Then they us about life after...

The Rev. Dr. Bishop Megan Rohrer 's ancestors must've liked the cold. In this podcast, Bishop Megan traces their South Dakota family lineage back to Switzerland, Germany, and Norway. In the new country, they lived in barns and farmed the land. Their great-grandmother carried a bucket of lard with a piece of bread in it when she went to school. Eventually, their family survived the Depression. They...

In this podcast, Mike picks up where he left off in Part 1 . He tells us about a comedy class he took at SF State that had a pretty profound effect on him. From there, the conversation turns to how Mike discovered that he's funny. He shares the story of a secret show he put on for fellow college students that you just have to  hear. Around this time, Mike started doing comedy at Mutiny Radio ( Pam...

Mike Evans, Jr. , is a funny guy. In this podcast, the young comedian traces his family history back to his parents, who were both born in San Francisco and met here. They raised Mike and his two older sisters in Diamond Heights as long as they could before moving to Vallejo for more space. But the family still commuted back to work in The City and brought their young son with them to go to school...

In this episode, Midgett picks up where she left off in Part 1 . She had just escaped an abusive relationship out east and decided to make her way to San Francisco. One of her brothers was in the Navy and already in the Bay Area. Another had just moved out here, and so Midgett had people already in place. Her mom had left an apartment on Jones Street in The City that she was able to move into with...

Ed note: I was off-mic for this one, so my part is a little ... quieter. I hope that doesn't take away from Midgett's incredible life story. — Jeff In this podcast, the 85-year-old ex-school teacher shares the story of her life with us. It starts in the British West Indies, where Midgett's mom was born. That family moved to Boston, where her mom met her dad. Midgett was the only girl in a family o...

In Part 1 , you heard about Stuart Schuffman's ancestors and his life up to the point when he moved to San Francisco. Now, in Part 2, Stuart picks up where he left off, chronicling jobs, zines, TV shows, books, and other stuff he's started from the ground-up. He ends with his vision for San Francisco post-pandemic. Broke-Ass Stuart's Goddam Website Broke-Ass Stuart's Guide to Living Cheaply in San...

Let's try this  again. Back in Season 1, ​we met our friend Stuart Schuffman , aka, Broke-Ass Stuart , for a recording at The Willows. We have to admit: What we did for the podcast back then is much different than what we do now. Let's just say that the episode is more about Stuart's whacky San Francisco stories than about his total being. Fast-forward to this summer, and we sat down with this aff...

In this episode, Marcy picks up where she left off in Part 1 . She came out to friends on a walk across the country, but then, when she returned to California, had to go through that process again with her parents. Turns out her mother had "met someone" too. Her dad didn't take the news so well. Marcy made the move to San Francisco in 1994. She talks about what we now call the LGBTQ community in t...

The California Central Valley and its agriculture aren't too far from the Bay Area. But, as Marcy Coburn  knows well, they're worlds apart. ​Today, Marcy is the creative director at San Francisco's Pier 70 , a mixed-use development just south of Oracle Park. Her mom's family moved west from Oklahoma and her dad migrated to California from his childhood home in Central Florida. The two met at Cal P...

In this podcast, Khafre picks up where he left off in Part 1 , with the changes he underwent after taking part in the 2003 protest against the Iraq War in San Francisco. He was rapping with Richie Cunning and later with a group called B-Pos. He was also putting on shows and touring the country. ​Khafre talks about the systemic racism coupled with capitalism that he experienced negatively when tryi...

Khafre Jay found his power through hip hop. In this podcast, the founder and executive director of Hip Hop for Change shares his life story. His parents met in the Bayview when they were kids. They got together around age 11 or so and have been with each other since. Khafre tries to imagine what his parents went through as a young Black couple struggling to survive and raise a family in San Franci...

The story of Gus' Discount Tackle begins with skiing in the Alps. In this podcast, Stephanie Scott , the current owner, shares with us the story of her life. Her dad, Gus, escaped his home in Austria when the Nazis began persecuting Jews. He arrived in New York but went west for a restaurant bussing job in San Francisco. Gus met his wife (Stephanie's mom) in The City. She was a Sorbonne-educated l...

Blue Bear Executive Director Steven Savage starts this one off telling us all about Tennessee Mowrey's step-mom. It's a story that involves three siblings (Bonnie Hayes and two of her brothers) who showed up at the fledgling music school in 1971 when it was located on Ocean Ave. Susie, Tennessee's step-mom, knew Bonnie from both of their touring gigs (possibly a Billy Idol tour), and Bonnie brough...

Steven Savage  came of age in Southern California in the 1960s. In this podcast, the executive director of Blue Bear School of Music shares his life story with us. His first instrument to play was banjo, inspired by his love of folk music. But then he discovered rock 'n' roll, and soon after that, he picked up the drums. ​He went to college in Ohio, where he met people and starting playing in band...

In this podcast, Mama C. ( Nola Curtis ) picks up where she left off in Part 1 , talking about finding confidence and a sense of self-worth through music and family. Papa C. ( Maestro Curtis ) jumps in to express his admiration for his wife. Then we throw it over to the kids. First, introductions. Zahara  (16), Nile  (15), Isis  (14), Kiki  (13), and Phoenix  (11 as of Tuesday). Nile talks about h...

The Curtis Family C-Notes '  star is on the rise, y'all. In this episode, the San Francisco family shares their story with us. We dive into Papa C.'s past in Louisiana and San Francisco. Then we learn a little about Mama C.'s time growing up on the Peninsula. Papa C. (Maestro Curtis) can't remember when he started playing musical instruments. He was asked to perform for family members from a very...

Pam Benjamin has lived in California her entire life. In this podcast, the Mutiny Radio DJ and comedian shares the story of her life. She was born in Livermore and raised in Danville, not fully knowing that her family was well-off because there were always richer kids around. From there, Pam talks about her religious upbringing (a story involving an invisible cat), her eating disorder at a young a...

In this podcast, Joey picks up where he left off in Part 1 . After high school, knowing that he wanted to continue learning how to make movies, he went to SF State. And then he entered a Justin Lin video contest, and, to his surprise, was one of the finalists. Joey tells us about a career detour that came after that: He learned about a sleep-technology course, and got a job in that industry that r...

So many San Francisco born-and-raised folks' stories go way, way back. That's certainly the case for Joey Yee . Joey begins this episode telling us about his maternal grandfather, who was from Isleton and was a pilot in World War II. After he came back from war, he met Joey's grandma, who was born and raised in SF. He charmed his future wife by giving her the biggest tomatoes she'd ever seen. Joey...

In this podcast, Tara  picks up where she left off in Part 1 , talking about how to be in the world. The thoughts are related to her time in La Cañada, California, where she finished high school and took some college courses before deciding to move back to her hometown—San Francisco. From there, Tara discusses sentimentality and having more diverse perspectives in life and art. Tara picks up the s...