CARMEN

Suzi

[ Mmmmm, mmmmm good ] 1. 'Gobble' up Spencer the Gardener's Turkey Day hit online, then see the band Friday at Franky's

Courtesy photo

Songwriters aren't usually happy about penning a turkey. But Spencer Barnitz, leader of the Santa Barbara indie pop-rock group Spencer the Gardener, is ecstatic about the bouncy Butterball he cooked up last October.

He calls it "The Gobble Song," and it's a jangly, joyous ode to family, food and Thanksgiving Day frolic. Barnitz liked the ditzy ditty so much that he hooked up with filmmaker Russ Spencer and shot a video for it on State Street in Santa Barbara. During the shoot, Barnitz encouraged young and old alike to release their inner turkey and "gobble, gobble, gobble" along with his band.

Barnitz and Spencer put the clip up on YouTube to share with friends and fans and suddenly people all over the world started gobbling up "The Gobble Song." Like warm homemade stuffing, viewers just couldn't get enough of it.

As of Tuesday morning, exactly a year and a day since Barnitz first posted the video online, the clip (www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jW1vWgogLQ) had 496,310 views and been favorited 1,119 times. One YouTube viewer commented, "This video is awesome! I drive my family crazy with it." Another wrote, "I'm very thankful for you and your spirit!!"

For his part, Barnitz is just happy the song's struck such a chord. If you like it, he wants you not only to sing along, but pass it along. "Let it fly free through your world and on and on and on," he wrote in an e-mail this week.

Barnitz will lead "Gobble Song" sing-alongs when he and his Spencer the Gardener bandmates perform 9 p.m. shows Friday at Franky's, 456 E. Main St., Ventura, and Saturday at SOhO, 1221 State St., Santa Barbara.

At both shows, the group will also throw in a hearty sampling of tunes from its new "Fiesta" CD, a disc that's packed with horn-drenched songs in both English and Spanish. "I took a bunch of songs I'd like to have on a compilation record and recorded them," Barnitz said.

For more information on the gigs, call Franky's at 648-6282 or SOhO at 962-7776 or visit www.myspace.com/spencerthegardener.

[ RELATIVE OBSCURITY ]

2. Send them to the zoo

Don't want the relatives (or the kids) in the way while you're roasting the bird and baking pumpkin pies today? Send them off to the Santa Barbara Zoo, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thanksgiving. Crazy Uncle Marty and wacky Aunt Shirley can bond with the grandkids as they all ooh and ahh over Suzi the elephant and the rest of the menagerie, which includes everything from giraffes to lorikeets. $10 adults, $8 children 2-12 and seniors 60 and older, free for kids younger than 2. 500 Ninos Drive, Santa Barbara. 962-5339; www.sbzoo.org.

[ STEP to it ]

3. Get out and walk it off

If you pound down the turkey and stuffing today, chow down on turkey sandwiches Friday and then finish off your third pumpkin pie Saturday, you're going to need to walk it off the next day. If you're stuffed and unattached, get some exercise during a free two-mile Singles Walk at 9 a.m. Sunday at Oakbrook Park in Thousand Oaks. Most participants are 55 and older. Call 230-2811 for directions and information.

[ FRESH START ]

4. Raspberries play on

Fans of rockin', melodic power pop will want to go all the way to Anaheim and Hollywood next week to hear the reformed Raspberries rip through jangly classics like "Tonight," "I Wanna Be With You," "Let's Pretend" and, of course, the No. 5 1972 hit "Go All the Way." The group, featuring singer-guitarist Eric Carmen (pictured), guitarist extraordinaire Wally Bryson, bassist Dave Smalley and drummer Jim Bonfanti, will perform Wednesday at the Grove of Anaheim and Nov. 30 at the House of Blues in Hollywood. $35-$100 through Ticketmaster, 583-8700.

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5. Climb aboard holiday train

Fillmore & Western's North Pole Express will chug through Ventura County's scenic Santa Clara River Valley on Wednesdays through Sundays beginning Saturday and continuing through Dec. 23. Santa and his elves will be on board serving milk and cookies and telling stories. Trains depart at 6 and 7:30 p.m. $24 for adults, $15 for kids 3-12 and free for infants 2 and younger. 800-773-TRAIN; www.fwry.com.