Musical Time Capsule will Celebrate the Dena

In July, Russell Mark, Pasadena-based songwriter and music producer for the band known as The Nextdoors, bagged a grant from the City of Pasadena Arts and Culture Commission to create an art project that will serve as a permanent record of how Pasadenans and others in our foothill communities think and feel as 2025 comes to an end.

Mark calls it a “musical time capsule.”

Hard-rockin’ Mark, who creates music in harmony with cellist/portrait photographer Mika Larson, connects easily and locally. He’s the creative force behind the newish, now-annual event Pasadena Neighbor Day (mark your calendar for the next observance on January 18, 2026), and Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo has described his indie band as a “jewel.” Mark describes the musical DNA of his current project as “string quartet meets Americana meets musical theater.”

Pasadena Right Here Right Now is the working title for Mark’s project, now a rock opera in progress. He’s currently refining a song titled “We Are at Peace.”

Community on tap at the Wild Parrot. Photo: Wild Parrot Brewery

Some of the lyric content will be extracted, says Mark, from always-anonymous interviews, online surveys, coffee-talk and chats over a pint or two at the Wild Parrot Brewing Company. And now’s the time to join the conversation online, in the flesh or both.

For the next two Thursdays and one future Tuesday through December 23rd, Mark will hold “office hours” at the Wild Parrot in the late afternoon through early evening to hear what the community has to say about living in Pasadena, and maybe life in general.

Although Mark has established the project as a way to take our collective psychic temperature in the present tense, he reports that many of the brews and views shared with him so far as part of the project focus on past glory-days in our burg.

Unlike the often-whiney listserv app that inspired the band’s name, Mark plans to steer clear of all mean-spirited or divisive chatter when gathering source material.

Questions in the survey include:

• Parrots or peacocks?
• Is Pasadena welcoming to all?
• What can Pasadena as an entity do to improve and secure the education of children in the San Gabriel Valley?

“Some people who already answered the survey online are showing up at the ‘office hours,’” he says. “A lot of them are long-time Pasadenans, lifers or multi-decade residents.”

Although it’s easy to complete the online questionnaire, it’s telling to note that many people want to make themselves seen and heard eye to eye, IRL. In many cases so far, locals who turn up for office hours have already completed the online survey. They simply have more to say, or seek a feeling of tribal belonging beneath the defiant chatter of our Red Crowned Amazons.

Mark describes the project as a form of, “…diving into the unknown. I’m gathering the data now, and like any creative process, it’s going to be fluid,” he says.

The rock opera is scheduled to be completed by summer, 2026. Working in alliance with local city government and civic groups, the finished opera will be performed at multiple venues throughout the end of next year, and a recorded album will be available.

The project Web site includes a multi-tiered giving plan for contributors, divided into six levels of financial commitment – a branding opportunity for local business and others committed to the literal and spiritual rebuilding of local communities.

The “office” for Mark’s “office hours.” Photo: V. Thomas

Mark’s trusted and growing community presence now yields surprising results. He says, “The Nextdoors are members of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce and as such get a ribbon-cutting if we want one. And as un-rock-n-roll as that may be… hey, why not?” So a ribbon-cutting for Nextdoors will take place at the Wild Parrot on Thursday, December 18th at 4:00 p.m.

No purchase is necessary or expected when stopping by for a chat with Mark. But as dusk falls earlier and earlier, a lager or ale brewed onsite in the bona fide beverage emporium’s Wild Parrot Tap Room, or a wine or cider, may offer a spot of brightness in a world that is, at least for the moment, literally darkening.

All are welcome, including pets. Latecomers will not be shamed. Mark says he’ll even spring for a free bevvie if you’re the first person to mention the offer spotted on his Web site.

DEETS

• Pasadena Right Here Right Now community shmooze-fest
• https://www.russellmarkmusic.com/pasadena
• Wild Parrot Brewing Company, 2302 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, 91107
  • Thursday, December 11 – 5:00-6:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, December 18 – Ribbon-cutting 4:00 p.m., followed by office hours 5:00 -6:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, December 23 – 5:00-6:30 p.m.

Article Originally Published here – https://localnewspasadena.com/2025/musical-time-capsule-will-celebrate-the-dena/