Storied: San Francisco

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...

Tara DeMoulin  grew up collecting eucalyptus buttons in the Panhandle with her mom. In this podcast, the singer/songwriter, activist, and filmmaker shares the story of her life. It starts in San Francisco in the late-1980s, travels east to Maine and New York City (where she discovered and became obsessed with Broadway), starts to circle back west with a stop in Texas before scooting over to Southe...

In this podcast, Jaime picks up where he left off in Part 1 , describing his evolution as an artist. Like a lot of kids his age, Saturday morning cartoons were a big influence. Comics in the newspaper also played their part. We shift back to his return to SF after high school. He worked as a screen-printer at The Color Machine and Winterland. The music venue was closed, but Jaime shares stories of...

Jaime Crespo 's first drawings were made on the blank pages in a Bible. In this podcast, the cartoonist traces his lineage back to his mom, who was born in Northern Mexico and is Yaqui/Yoeme. She came to LA with her brother in the early 20th century. When their mom got deported back to Mexico, she moved up to run a cafe in Sacrament, where she ended up meeting Jaime's dad. But his mom took Jaime t...

In this episode, H.P. picks up where he left off in Part 1 . He had moved with his mom to Daly City and starts off telling a story about the Colma Target. It involves a kid he met while hanging out at Radio Shack and Walden Soft at Serramonte Mall across the freeway. From there, we go on to talk about H.P.'s first feature-length movie, Colma: The Musical . He shares how he went about writing the s...

So, we're doing something a little different here. Way, way back in Season 1, on Episode 14 (Part 1 / Part 2), we had friend of the show H.P. Mendoza  on. Back then, we were all about stories, not necessarily people's stories , like we are today. And so, we asked H.P. to come back on and share his personal history with you. He starts off with his birth (St. Luke's in the Mission) and his childhood...

In this podcast, Wanika picks up where she left off in Part 1 . After high school, her band Mystic Youth became more of a full-time gig, writing music, playing shows, recording. She shares the mischievous story of how she got started playing bass. Self-taught at first, she eventually took lessons, and that made her think that music school at City College was a good idea. She came to think of herse...

Wanika King-Stephens ' life is full of music and church. In this episode, Wanika traces her life back to her parents' move to San Francisco from Los Angeles in the 1960s with their four-month-old daughter. Her dad's dad was an evangelist in the Pentecostal Church. It was a strict upbringing where, if her father as a young man wanted to listen to so-called music of the world, country music was the...

In this podcast, we pick up where we left off in Part 1 . After college out east, Modesto's Tomas Moreno  moved to the Bay Area. His mom is a recently retired high school teacher who taught kids with disabilities, and Tomas feels that her work instilled in him a drive to serve others. That eventually led him to Maitri. Tomas is joined by Maitri Executive Director, Rev. Fr. Rusty Smith , to share w...

In this podcast, Maitri Compassionate Care 's Executive Director, Reverend Father Rusty Smith , shares stories of his youth. His very New Mexican mom was a powerful figure in his early life, shaping the liberal world view Rusty espouses to this day. Rusty traces his military family upbringing all over the country and the world. The family eventually settled in Texas for his high school years. Afte...

​ Ed. note:  As with Part 1 of Larry's episode, a reminder that we recorded under the BART tracks, so we took pauses when trains passed by overhead. We left that audio in the final edit and we hope you enjoy. In this podcast, Larry picks up where he left off in Part 1 . He talks about going to Lowell High School in The City and then Academy of Art University, where he first got to know people very...

Ed. note:  This one is special for a couple reasons. First, Larry blew us away with his kindness, energy, and knowledge. Also, we recorded under the BART tracks, so we took pauses when trains passed by overhead. We decided to leave that audio in the final edit because, well, it was part of the experience that day. We hope you enjoy. ​ Larry Dorsey, Jr. 's parents came to the Bay Area from the Sout...

Marcia Gagliardi  could've ended up in LA. In fact, if it weren't for the 1994 Northridge earthquake, there might be no Tablehopper. In this podcast, Marcia picks up where she left off in Part 1 . She came back to the Bay Area and found a place in the Western Addition (where she still lives today!). She chronicles various jobs at design firms before the 2000 "dotbomb." Not long after that, she sta...

Marcia Gagliardi 's family used to own a pizzeria and Italian deli in the Sierra foothills. In this podcast, the Tablehopper  creator and author goes a couple generations back to trace her family's story and how they ended up in Northern California. Her Italian grandparents went back to their homeland shortly before Marcia was born, but we'll get back to that. Marcia grew up on the Peninsula, one...

In this podcast, Matt picks up where he left off in Part 1 , with his involuntary foray into placing temp workers. Turns out, he loved the job. He moved around from job to job over the next few years, but returned to thank the person who pushed him into this new career. A trip to Paris led, in a very roundabout way, to Matt starting his own French recruiting firm. With that, he moved to Europe and...

Matt Leum  has more friends from his school days now than he did back then. Matt grew up in Glendale, a suburb north of LA. His family's swimming pool was the only one on that block. His dad owned a chain of supermarkets in the greater Los Angeles area. His parents met at the flagship store of that chain back when it was just a corner market. Matt grew up the youngest of six; his younger brother d...