Members of the Sacramento County Historical Society were treated to a guided sneak-peek tour of the Rock and Radio Museum and a talk from music collector Dennis Newhall and Mick Martin of Mick Martin's Blues Party Tuesday night.

The museum, packed with Newhall's personal collection, normally only offers tours during Sacramento's Second Saturday Art Walks, but owner Newhall opened his doors to around 30 members as a part of the society's monthly meeting.

As an example of one of Sacramento's low points in music and a nod to how far the city has come, the talk opened with a story of the cancellation of Lou Reed's show at the Memorial Auditorium after being oversold by just two rows. While there have undoubtedly been the lows, the walls of the museum boast proof that Sacramento has been and still is a haven of rich musical performances.

Tour-goers reminisced and exchanged their own stories and concert experiences while they scanned the memory-provoking walls and rooms packed with handbills, ticket stubs, and concert posters. Thousands of bands have made stops on their already-successful tours in Sacramento and Davis at venues like The Boardwalk, Old Ironsides, Java Lounge and Memorial Auditorium.

Newhall said that although some bands played at gyms and some venues lasted mere months, they have all played an important role in music history.

Newhall is a media producer and former KZAP DJ who began collecting local rock music memorabilia more than 10 years ago. His collection has grown to around 2,500 pieces from the 1950s to the present and fills almost every inch of the walls in the six-room gallery that was once home to Oasis Ballroom concert hall.

Up until fall 2008, the museum was owned by Nakamoto Productions and doubled as a recording studio. Newhall's collection was merely a small display at the studio before Tucker Media Group moved in and allowed Newhall's collection to entirely take over the gallery. Newhall's collection made a comeback at this month's Second Saturday Art Walk and will continue to do so at future walks.

Some of the many notable names that make an appearance in his collection include the Grateful Dead, Smashing Pumpkins, Sting, Van Halen and, more recently, Death Cab for Cutie. The rooms and walls are broken up into different categories including the "AM" and "FM" rooms that will eventually be consolidated into one, the "Davis" wall, the "Sound Factory" wall and a living room-like setting decorated with Frank Carson's calendar designs for Tower Records.

"There are 600 [pieces] on the wall, but there is also a lot of history in the books that tells about the rise and fall of music in Sacramento," Newhall said in reference to the books of play charts on display in the museum's front rooms.

Coincidentally, the tour was given the same evening as The Crest Theatre's screening of "American Artifact," where rock poster artist Paul Imagine made an appearance and displayed his works of art.

In his talk to the audience, Newhall said Imagine is one of the few talented poster artists still creating in Sacramento. Some of Imagine's many colorful works are on display along with play charts in the museum's front room.

Doors to the museum will be open again to the general public in July during Second Saturday. Admission to the museum is $1.

The Rock and Radio Museum is located at 907 20th St.

To read about Paul Imagine on Sacramento Press, click http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/9781/Rock_poster_artists_in_American_Artifact_at_Crest.

Author's Note: The images above are of pieces in Newhall's collection and Dennis Newhall himself