Putting Sacramento on the map

Local chefs, community celebrate Adam Rains at Shady Lady

2009-04-22T07:07:59Z

Knives chopped, pans tossed and orders were shouted — it was an Iron Chef of sorts in the quaint kitchen of the Shady Lady. But instead of competing, a conglomeration of chefs came together to feed those who knew and loved Adam Gregory Rains, who passed away on April 17, 2009.

Rains was the victim of a car accident that left three people dead in St. Helena around 1 a.m. Friday morning.

His culinary career in Sacramento included working at Kru Restaurant, helping to open Tuli Bistro, and catering with Mulvaney's B&L. Rains had also begun attending the Culinary Institute of America this year.

One of Rains's coworkers from Kru said of him, "It didn’t matter how intense it got, he always made it a point to make everyone smile." She added that his famous laugh-inducing lines were “I love your face” and “I love your show.”

Jason Boggs, one of the owners of Shady Lady was happy to offer his bar to host the reception. Boggs said Rains had a “passion for life and for everything he did. He was an inspiration. He has a true chef’s soul and that’s what we’re trying to emulate here [today]."

Patrons of Mulvaney's B&L, Tuli Bistro and Kru Restaurant on Tuesday afternoon would find the chefs of these downtown restaurants missing from their kitchens.

That's because Patrick Mulvaney of Mulvaney's B&L, Adam Pechal from Tuli Bistro, and Billy Ngo, owner of Kru Restaurant, all showed up at Shady Lady to support one of the vibrant members of the chef community in Sacramento.

Well over 50 people filled the cozy booths and bar seats of the Shady Lady. Pechal, who worked closely with Rains to open Tuli Bistro, said, "If I get a quarter of this turnout at my funeral, I'll be happy."

The kitchen buzzed with activity as the chefs whipped up pastrami and Reuben sandwiches, sushi, pulled pork sliders, orecchiette pasta with peas and artichoke hearts and petit fours.

Blown-up photos, collages and bouquets decorated the interior of the Shady Lady. Both tears and smiles could be seen on the faces of those in attendance.

Mugs clinked together, and camaraderie filled the air as people huddled around the bar and embraced.

Kevin Ritchie of the Shady Lady and Robb Venditti from Mulvaney's B&L said of Rains, he was a "beautiful guy," "a great kid" with "good energy." Ritchie and Venditti added, "he's part of our community, the chef community — a brother in arms."

Here is a link to the obituary for Adam Gregory Rains.

Photographs taken by Jonathan Mendick.

Bourbon & Branch to guest bartend tonight at Shady Lady

2009-06-16T20:00:38Z

Tonight, the Shady Lady Saloon will have two guest bartenders, Erick Castro and Owen Westfield of San Francisco's Bourbon & Branch.

Bourbon & Branch has a set of house rules that coincide with the simplicity and no-funny-business attitude of the Shady Lady:

No use of cell phones
No photography
No standing at the bar
Please speak easy (or quietly)
Don't even think of asking for a Cosmo
Please be patient as the drinks are labor-intensive

Bourbon & Branch used to be the location of the JJ Russell Cigar Shop which operated as a speakeasy from 1923-1935, complete with a password that needed to be uttered to gain admittance, a trap door that opened and led down to the bar and five secret exit tunnels for easy escape.

Erick Castro is one of the instructors for the Beverage Academy, a school of mixology that Bourbon & Branch offers to interested alcohol enthusiasts. The Beverage Academy teaches its students the history and intricacies of absinthe, Tiki cocktails, tequila, scotch and, of course, bourbon. Future classes will touch on gin and rum.

Castro and Westfield will be creating a slew of cocktails especially for Shady Lady patrons. Here's a list of the mouth-watering drinks available for tonight only:

Kentucky Buck
A thirst-quenching strawberry and ginger refreshment for those seeking refuge from the mundane and ordinary. Bulleit Bourbon infused with organic strawberries from Monterrey Bay Farms, fresh lemon juice, ginger beer, and Angostura Bitters.

The Laphroaig Project
A tropical and light cocktail featuring a peaty single-malt. Delightfully intellectual, yet wickedly visceral. Laphroaig Quarter Cask, Green & Yellow Chartreuse, Luxardo Maraschino, fresh lemon juice, and peach bitters.

Blame It On Rio
The Brazilians are well-known for many hedonistic traits and qualities and now with this drink, you can add one more indulgence to that list. Sagatiba Cachaca, Rothman & Winter’s Apricot Liqueur, fresh lemon juice, and bitters.

Casino Royale
Although, this drink is named after the famous novel written by Ian Fleming in 1953, the flavor is anything but fiction. Plymouth Gin, sloe gin, Luxardo Maraschino, fresh lemon juice, and orange bitters.

Rye Maple Fizz
Like the initial stages of an autumn courtship, this beverage is frothy and slightly spicy, yet balanced with just a touch of sweetness. Rye whiskey, fresh lemon juice, organic maple syrup, free-range egg white, Angostura Bitters, and soda.

Ambajador
Sexy, sinful and Latin. Allow this wayward cocktail to take you south of the border for a little passion-tinged journey to the heart of Jalisco. Keylime infused tequila, passionfruit, fresh lime juice, free-range egg white, agave nectar, and Indonesian cinnamon.

Wild Honey Punch
A punch that is both spiced and refreshing, yet sweet and complex, much like the kiss of an ex-lover … except without the early morning awkwardness and wayward feelings. Sagatiba Cachaca, Appleton 12-year Rum, Velvet Falernum, fresh lemon juice, organic wildflower honey, Indonesian cinnamon, seasonal fruit, and sparkling water.

The first Second Saturday of spring

2009-04-12T10:23:13Z

The grid has never been so alive as during the Second Saturdays of spring and summer. April 11 saw thousands of Sacramentans, suburbians, families, hipsters, dogs, couples and friends enjoying the diverse offerings of galleries and nightlife in Midtown.

For those who haven't made a trip to Second Saturday, here's an idea of what you missed at April's Second Saturday.

20th Street Art Gallery hosted its 50/50 art show with 3,500 paintings decorating its walls and what seemed like just as many people crowding around the interior to catch a glimpse of each artists' collections.

Outside, the Zoo Human Project played mellow acoustic music to an audience of seated and standing fans. Around 8 p.m., six dancers from the Sacramento Ballet performed to the band's music and entertained the masses.

The Bicycle Kitchen hosted an outdoor patio party with an unlimited beer special for the price of $5.

DJ's were scattered around the grid, Plum Blossom is notorious for having a DJ and an enclosed area for those who feel inspired to dance.

Justin Powell positioned himself near 20th and J Streets to make balloon animals for passersby.

K Street, which has recently become more pedestrian-friendly with the addition of the pedestrian warning lights, saw quite a bit of foot traffic. Three street traffic officers with glowing sticks and orange vests directed cars and humans alike along the crosswalks of 20th and K.

Niello brought four smart cars to display on K Street, where people could climb inside and check out the 8.8 feet long, 5.1 feet tall and 5.1 feet wide vehicles.

The Velocab pedicabs patrolled the streets offering rides to the weary walkers.

Second Saturday proves that Sacramento is truly a destination. The Second Saturday in May will be held on May 9.

What else did you see at the April 11th Second Saturday?

Mark Forsyth contributed to this article.

Photographs taken by Mark Forsyth.

The Midtown Players

2009-01-14T16:43:41Z

A stroll past the corner of 22nd and L Streets on Mondays from 7- 9 p.m. might cause concern for those unfamiliar with the location. It's typical to hear people screaming out as they're being chased, fits of anger, uncontrollable laughter, heated arguments and even opera singing.

The unassuming Geery Theatre is home to the Midtown Players on Monday nights for Carrie Bray's improv class.

This weekend will kick off The Midtown Players' very first performance.

Carrie Bray, who has taken classes from Viola Spolin, performed simultaneously at comedy clubs with Robin Williams as well as at Budd Friedman's Improv, only just recently moved to Sacramento.

In the 50's, Bray actually spent one year at McClatchy High School, but has spent the better part of her life in Southern California and San Francisco.

Bray came back to Sacramento to "relax and retire," but that isn't exactly what ended up happening.

"After like 30 years of doing [comedy] and loving every moment of it, I decided that I wanted to retire and relax. I love Sacramento, [but] then I realized that I was extremely bored. I would drive down J Street, and I’d drive down to Midtown, and I’d see all these young, really cool people, and I thought 'Oh, god! I want to do it!' I want to do it again," Bray said.

She started her improv classes at the Geery Theater in September of 2007. The Midtown Players started out with only four actors and has grown to seven.

The name The Midtown Players came from her love of Midtown.

"I fell in love with Midtown, and so I decided to incorporate that into the name," Bray said.

The Midtown Players improv group currently consists of Kenyon Page, Sarah Payne, Jim Quales, Michael Rowe, Crystal Rua and David Hanson.

Bray's classes cost $10 per week, and she explains that the fees just cover the costs of renting the theater and her gas to drive to and from practices.

The Midtown Players will perform at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16 and Saturday, Jan. 17. The box office opens at 6:30 p.m., and tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis, so patrons are encouraged to get there early to reserve one of the 49 seats in the theater.

There is a minimum cost of $10 for each ticket, but donations are accepted. All profits will benefit Loaves and Fishes.

The Konnektion will be playing live music for the show.

The Geery Theatre is located a 2130 L Street.

For more information on the performance this weekend or to learn more about Carrie Bray's improv classes, you can e-mail Carrie at starcb1@wavecable.com

An inside look at improv in Sacramento

2009-01-14T01:11:54Z

Derek Byrne is a new student to the art of improv. Below he shares his experiences with acting, comedy and what it's like to learn improv from Brian Crall at The Comedy Spot.

I've taken classes and workshops, but the bulk of what I've been doing recently is with Brian Crall at Sacramento Comedy Spot on Broadway. Most of my studying has been there.

I just came to Sacramento go to college and ended up staying. I've been here for 18 years, since 1990. I've been doing acting for the past 8 eight years. Mostly dramatic stuff commercials, six or seven plays, a few local films, Elsa Letterseed, Bad Faith, Dreams Awake, Make it Happen, I do voice overs and industrials.

I've always had an interest in SNL, SCTV, Monty Python and been curious about some of the improv groups around here, one of which Brian Crall was in a long time ago called Free Hooch Comedy Troupe. They've been around for years.

I've always wanted to act. I did acting up until high school, high school theater and what not. I took my 20s off, sort of out of lack of confidence or something, just going to college, changing locales, being out of it and then just kinda stopped acting. By the time I hit 30, it was like, "I need to do that again." So I just started with classes and plays and then on from there.

The Comedy Spot

The Sacramento Comedy Spot has a level of integrity and pureness about it. Brian is really trying to be something. It's important to him, and it really shows. Brian believes in it. There's a great energy there, a very supportive energy. It's a very welcoming environment, and he's knowledgeable, he's been studying it for maybe 10, 15 years or more, probably. He's a good resource.

One of the differences between dramatic acting and improv seems to be that a lot of acting and instruction will focus on conflict, and what does your character want, and what does the other character want. But in improv there really shouldn't be any conflict, hardly ever.

One of the rules of improv is agreement. Arguments don't make a good improv scene. They make a great dramatic scene when people are pushing and pulling and such, but in improv it really slows things down. Improv is supposed to agree and kind of move things forward as quickly as possible.

I'll probably be taking improv classes for as long as I live in Sacramento. Brian's classes are ridiculously cheap. They're about the cheapest classes you can take around here, and they're fun, and there's a variety of people.

It costs $10 for drop-ins just to show up and sit in. Brian has had classes for $15 a month. Literally, you can go eight times in a month for $15 - that's $2 a night - even less than that. I took an improv class that was $125 for one day for an eight-8 hour class. And some teachers get $200 to $300 bucks for a weekend of two days of classes.

He has classes two nights a week for beginners, and it might be anywhere from 15 to 30 people, depending on the night. A lot of people go just to have a good time without the intention of performing.

The good thing about the classes is, even if you're not on stage performing something every time, you still learn from the other people doing their scenes and the advice that you hear from Brian's teaching and the coaching regarding those scenes.

It's a lot of fun, very supportive. There's a wide variety of skill levels. One of the things about improv is it feels less competitive. I mean, I haven't had any theater experiences that seemed very competitive, but improv especially is about supporting the other people on stage because you're so reliant on them to help you out.

Dramatic acting vs. improv

With dramatic acting, you have lines that you already have prepared that you know and so you kind of depend on the other person to at least say their lines properly so you know your cue. But in improv, it really goes beyond that because there's lots of rules you're supposed to follow about not asking questions and about justifying what's being done in the scene. There's a level of trust and support with improv acting that's different than dramatic acting.

Some people in class know each other already, but I'd say most don't know each other. One of the big rules is don't ask questions. And in class sometimes you'll have people that will get up and right away they'll ask a question and they'll keep asking questions - that makes for a really difficult scene.

There are people that naturally have more to draw upon or are quicker with a response, and there are people who are easier to work with. I think it's more of getting to know people's personalities. Rapport does make a difference. I've seen people who perform with the Comedy Spot team and perform really well in scene work with their other actors that they are used to performing with, but then I'll see them make a lot of the same mistakes that we all make in class. Part of that is probably due to their level of comfort with the people they're working with.

Growing up, I was class clown, most humorous, whatever for my junior high and my high school. I made all my friends laugh for years. I was always cracking jokes. But improv is far more difficult than I thought it would be. There are lots of rules to learn.

Another thing is looking for situations in every day life. One of the rules of improv is not trying to be funny. The truth is funny. Everyday situations are funnier, and part of what I'm trying to learn in the classes is to not try and go up there and make a joke.

Comedy on TV

In TV, there's a lot of sitcom humor where you can see the joke coming a mile away. Here it comes and we're going to say it in a really funny way. You know it's a joke and part of what improv tries to tell you is don't act that way - that it's a horrible way to act. It's the least funny thing you can do.

In the last few years sitcoms like The Office, Everybody Hates Chris, 30 Rock, Arrested Development have been getting away from laugh tracks. I think people are tired of being told it's time to laugh, and thank goodness, because it's nice to say I'll laugh if I feel like it, if it's funny I'll laugh. I don't need someone to tell me to laugh.

The Office is that way where the more serious you take a line or a scene that's supposed to be funny, the funnier it is.

But if you say, "Hey, I'm going to do something crazy right now. Watch this, it's going to be funny," it won't be funny. But if you commit to being as serious as possible, that makes it funny. Don't wink, don't tell them it's going to be funny, just let it be funny, naturally. That's one of the greatest things I've discovered through the improv classes.

People have comedy crutches that they seem to latch on to, and sometimes he'll find these patterns. He'll tell a student in class, "Don't do an accent," because people go up there and think "I'll do a British accent," because British is funny. He'll tell them right off the bat, "Don't be funny."

When they get up there, the first they'll want to say is something whacky and hilarious. An easy thing to fall back on is sex, drugs and rock and roll. You know throwing a curse word here or there, and it's just cheap and it's easy and Brian totally preaches against that. He says go for rated- G, and it'll come out PG-13 even if you're just trying to be rated- G.

I go to San Francisco to audition quite a bit for viral videos for online videos and more and more you see "Improv experience," or "Improvisers wanted." I've seen a lot of things in the bay Bay area Area that talk about wanting characters like people on The Office. I mean, people go after whatever's kind of hip in the moment. The Office is one of the shows everyone talks about.

I can't think of why anybody would want to do acting of any kind and not take some improv classes. Even if people are just doing commercials, a lot of the commercial auditions and things you go to often times you go and they don't have a script.

For a lot of auditions you show up, and they'll say, “You two argue over the copy machine.” Or you'll come in and they'll say, “You're two people in an office fighting over the coffee maker,” or something.

If they give you something that you can use and you don't even listen to it then you miss an opportunity. Really, one of the rules about improv is listening. So at an audition, if you have a joke in mind or something you really want to do that's just so important to you but you didn't fit what the other person just said, it ends up not making any sense, so listening is totally huge.

Learning improv and its value to acting

I'm trying to get my skill set more well- rounded, and part of that is doing these classes. I mean, everybody in commercials, or any kind of sitcom has studied improv somewhere at some point along the line. I'm amazed the list of people that I see in film and commercials and sitcoms that have all taken improv at some point. so I definitely want to get my feet wet here, learn the skill set here and then see if I can use it in a bigger market.

I'd say there's definitely more opportunities, even since I've been here. I mean, especially since everyone can make their own movie now and equipment's so cheap. It used to be you couldn't find many friends ten years or twenty years ago that could actually put together a film and put it somewhere on like YouTube. There wasn't anywhere to do something like that.

Now there's people doing all kinds of projects of varied levels, and everyone has access to the equipment. There's more people writing their own stuff, putting their own little films together, whether it's for a local film festival or YouTube. There's people getting production work, commercials, there's definitely more avenues to do whatever it is you want to do.

I take a lot of classes with Charlie Holliday, who's a well- respected acting instructor around here. He always said, "You have to just do it because you like to do it." I don't make enough money to live on doing it, and almost nobody around here does. I've been not working a regular job for the last year and will probably not do so for most of this year.

You do it because you just like to do it.

The Comedy Spot is located at 1716 Broadway in Sacramento.

The pictures of Derek above include shots from him on the set of Bad Faith, where he plays a defense lawyer, a shot of him doing a Save Mart commercial and pictures from Halloween and his birthday party.

Burgers and Brew

2009-01-29T04:59:24Z

The corner of R and 15th Streets will no longer be a stop for just bar-hoppers and club-goers. Come early March, Philippe Masoud, owner of Crepeville, will open the second Burgers and Brew in Northern California.

The first Burgers and Brew opened in Davis about a year ago. Its success in Davis has created consistently long lines, which concerned Masoud.

He said it was good for people walking by to see that it was always crowded at the restaurant, but that it was not good for those standing in line waiting for a table.

The Davis location expanded the building to allow for more tables, but the small fix did not alleviate the crowding.

Fortunately, the Sacramento location has more space, but the old building next to Empire has presented its own share of difficulties.

Masoud said it has been a challenging task to build inside the space because nothing is perfectly square.

The interior will be decorated with gorgeous original frescos from a Davis artist with lots of exposed brick to complement the rustic atmosphere.

According to Masoud, Burgers and Brew will boast 12 beers on draft and 40 - 50 other bottled beers, mostly Belgian.

The menu offers entrees made with local, fresh ingredients and Niman ranch beef for the burgers.

In addition to the restaurant, Masoud is opening a yogurt shop right next door called Top This. Masoud expects Top This to open in April.

The block of R and Q, 15th and 16th is booming with investments - business owners investing their time and money in Sacramento.

The photo above is of Philippe Masoud standing in front of what will soon be Burgers and Brew.

The Shady Lady Saloon

2009-02-04T05:36:34Z

While many local businesses are shutting their doors, three ambitious Sacramentans are putting their heads and money together to open a new saloon in Sacramento, The Shady Lady.

Garrett Van Vleck, Jason Boggs and Alex Origoni first met working at various Paragary restaurants.

After months of searching for the right place, the three took to the old Wonderbread factory and named it after the nickname for the first bar that Origoni went to when he was in school.

"That's one of the things that hasn't changed through our entire two year process of doing this," Van Vleck said.

The trio has gone through countless menus and concepts, but the name Shady Lady has been one constant.

None of the owners of the Shady Lady have opened their own business, but that wasn't any reason to hesitate on going through with the idea.

"We don't have a lot of money," Boggs said. "We threw everything we owned into it."

"I sold my house to get money to do this. We're going for it," Origoni said.

The Shady Lady will be going back to the basics.

"The last thing Sacramento needs is another ultra lounge," Boggs said. "This isn't going to be a place to get your Tokyo Tea and your Black Superman or your Adios."

Instead, the new bar will focus on tried and true cocktails that for some reason have fallen out of favor." They may be forgotten classics, but they became classics because they're so good," Origoni said.

The drinks will often be made from scratch, featuring housemade syrups, aromatic bitters, ginger ale and tonic.

The menu won't be fancy either - soul food, according to Boggs. Think stew, pork shoulder and other cuts of meat and bar fare.

You can find soul food in every culture," he said. "It's what the poor people eat."

"We're not trying to wow people with expensive cuts of meat that cost $30 a plate," he continued. "We're going to wow the customer with the way that we handle the food that we can afford to use."

Lunch will concentrate on soups, salads, and sandwiches, with items priced to meet the realities of the recession affecting the state workers and other professionals in the area.

The recession has also been a factor in planning the restaurant decor. "We're not spending any excess money," said Boggs.

Whitney Johnson, of Monighan Design and the designer of the Shady Lady, explained, "I want it to look like it's been there for a while, that it's lived in, that nothing is new, and that things have collected over time."

She used flocked wall paper, dark and distressed wood, a tin ceiling, blown glass lighting with a Victorian feel, plus black and white hexagon tiles to create the ambience.

The U-shaped bar has a low center island, while the booths are horseshoe-shaped and face the center of the room, making it easy for old friends to bump into each other.

"From every seat in the house you can see every other seat in the house," Origoni explained.

A stage in the corner of the saloon will feature live jazz, reggae and down beat music, according to Boggs, himself a saxophonist who plans to play at the restaurant occasionally.

And, don't expect flat screen TVs in the Shady Lady, warned the saxophonist. The entertainment will be found in good conversation and live music.

"This is not a place to be seen, so we're going to be very nondescript, not flashy or anything," he said. "It's gonna be a place to come and relax."

The Shady Lady Saloon is located at 1409 R Street and is set to open in late March of 2009.

Found Footage Festival visits Sacramento Sunday

2009-10-01T21:17:08Z

One VHS player died in the making of this year's Found Footage Festival.

Sunday, as part of Movies on a Big Screen, Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett will bring their fourth volume of the Found Footage Festival to the Guild Theater for 90 minutes of outrageous video clips assembled from across the country.

Prueher and Pickett have contributed to The Onion, "The Colbert Report" and "The Late Show with David Letterman." Luckily for Sacramento, they started touring with their found footage, sharing their collection of VHS tapes and their commentary at each showing.

The last VHS rolled off the assembly line November 2008, Prueher said in a phone interview.

But the majority of the clips used in the video are taken from VHS tapes. Their red race car VHS rewinder gets lots of use, so Prueher and Pickett can preserve the other two VHS players still intact.

"We’re happy that we can sort of resurrect [VHS] at least for a night at the Found Footage Fest," Prueher said.

The idea for the festival came from a video Prueher found when he was an employee for a McDonald's in Wisconsin.

"It's called 'The Inside and Outside Custodial Duties.' I found it in a breakroom. I popped it in out of curiosity and couldn't believe how ridiculously bad it was," Prueher said. "It starred an overly perky crew trainer and a really dim trainee and they're both really excited about learning how to clean the bathrooms.

"My initial thought was 'The world has to see how dumb this McDonald’s video is,' so I put it in my backpack, showed it to Joe and then we started showing it to friends and that sort of was the beginning of our doing what we do now, which is make fun of videos professionally."

The McDonald's video has gotten plenty of laughs since being in the FFF, but Prueher didn't laugh or smile much while working there.

"My first month at McDonald’s, my manager said I didn't smile enough while taking people's orders, so she put me on probation," Prueher said. "At one point, one part of me was like 'I don’t care,' and the other side was like 'how humiliating would it be to get fired from McDonald’s? Am I really that incompetent?'"

Prueher ended up working there for two and a half years.

"I think this was kind of like my 'fuck you' by showing their video and putting it on our DVD," Prueher said. "I’m not losing any sleep over it."

This year's volume includes a collection of the worst Saturday morning cartoons ever (featuring New Kids on the Block, Mr. T, Chuck Norris and a cartoon based off of the Rubix cube), an exercise video montage and many other random video finds.

Each volume takes roughly 15 months to put together.

Pickett and Prueher get their material from thrift stores, garage sales and people mailing in their own videos.

"Whenever we get a new tape in the mail, it’s like Christmas morning," Prueher said. "We encourage anyone that has a [funny] VHS to please send it our way or bring it to the show."

Prueher has even come across videos in the trash.

"I was throwing [the trash] into the dumpster and then I saw that there was just a stack of VHS tapes sitting there," Prueher said. "Among them was one that had hand written on it bunion surgery. Bunion was spelled like onion and surgery was spelled wrong, too.

"I thought it was going to be some kind of homemade surgery. It turned out to be something taped off of the Discovery Channel that was about bunion surgery," he said. "I was disappointed, but you just never know until you pop it in."

How do they know what to look for when searching for funny VHS tapes in stores or garage sales?

"We’re looking for promising signs: either the title’s funny, the box cover is funny, [or] something about what we think might be in the content piques our curiosity," he said "Still about 90 percent of what we find is absolute garbage but I think our batting average has gotten a little bit better. We’re able to discern more about what might be on a tape now and what might not."

The judging and editing process can take months. Prueher and Pickett have recruited friends to help with the judging.

"We have a room full of people judging what’s going to get a laugh and what’s not," he said. "The litmus test for us is whether it’s unintentionally funny -- so something that’s trying to do something and fails colossally -- that’s exactly what we’re looking for."

They use an editing monitor, similar to an HD TV, to cut down the footage.

When asked about the future of the FFF, Prueher said, "I don’t think we’re going to run out of footage at any time soon. Occasionally, we’ll find DVDs that are good and we’ll include those in the collection so that the format’s changed but the bad ideas don’t.

"As long as people have bad ideas and they have access to video equipment then you know we’ll never run out of material. We’ll be finding hard drives [to use] in 30 years."

The Found Footage Festival starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Guild Theater. Tickets can be purchased at foundfootagefest.com.

Photos and captions provided by Nick Prueher.

Captions for each photo:

Hosts and curators Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett introduce another found video clip at a recent Found Footage Festival in New York.

A man goes to great lengths to get noticed in a 1987 dating service called Video Mates.

An unnamed man belts out a terrible new wave song in what is billed as "the world's first nude pop video."

Former Golden Girl Rue McClanahan is surrounded by felines in "The Cat Care Video Guide" from 1990.

A tale of two stomachs: Eat Your Art Out in action

2009-09-28T05:03:48Z

Saturday morning I contemplated whether or not I should eat breakfast. My stomach was inexperienced with grub crawls, the Eat Your Art Out Crawl would be my very first. I settled on eating something small.

Luckily I lived close enough to walk to the captain meeting place and by the time I had gathered my team's bags and badges, my stomach was growling.

Of the 18 restaurants and dining establishments in the Crawl, I had eaten at all of them but five.

My team, Team Snuffleupagus, started at Brew It Up! where a fruit platter and blue cheese kettle chips awaited. This was a good warmup for the digestive system, not too heavy, and easy to eat.

Lucca was one of the restaurants I hadn't tried. Their zucchini chips and eggplant crostini were very tasty. I felt that this stop actually showcased appetizers that reflected the uniqueness of the restaurant. Rubicon offered chips and salsa, celery and carrot sticks and fries - not exactly dishes that wowed the crowd.

Azul Mexican Bar and Tequila Bar was the third stop. We were hoping they would be serving margaritas, but found it was one of many places that chose to serve sangria. Although there was a bit of a wait for the food, our team got a whole plate of nachos with queso fresca and warm quesadillas.

Beach Hut Deli put my stomach over the tipping point, I was worried that I wasn't going to be able eat anymore with14 restaurants left. They served huge sandwiches stuffed to the brim with meat, lettuce, tomato, cheese and pickles.

As mentioned earlier, Rubicon served pretty basic appetizers, so it was easy for me to bypass their food to save room for later restaurants. I must say that what they lacked in food they made up for with their selection of beers.

They were the only restaurant to offer six different beers. All of the other restaurants serving beverages offered only one or two to choose from.

Mulvaney's B&L was one of my favorite stops. It was one of the locations where people stuck around to really enjoy the food and the atmosphere. In the front catering room, fresh mozzarella was cut to accompany heirloom tomatoes and champagne was being poured into a lime pear juice concoction.

In the main space, tables were set up and interpretive dancers filled the room with kicks and poses. There wasn't an area they didn't venture into, they stretched against the windows, flowed around the tables, using the space and each other as part of their composition. Dessert pastry cups were served with chocolate ganache, raspberries, blueberries and other delicious fillings.

Yogurtagogo was the seventh stop, where participants could sample one or all of the six different yogurt flavors. Stops seven, eight and nine were conveniently located right next to one another.

Ginger Elizabeth served a crispy coconut lime chocolate which was devoured eagerly, dessert goes into a different compartment, right? The employees said that this chocolate would be available for purchase in December.

The L Wine Lounge had a couple festive teams who were happy to share their beads with other teams. One woman doling out the necklaces demanded that we earn our beads by showing her something. She asked to see our palms and handed over the gold beads.

On our way to Zocalo, we once again got our hopes up for margaritas, but were very pleased that they instead served a delicious mixture of horchata with tequila.

Hot Italian served up Peroni and a pizza with pesto and pine nuts, one pizza for each team. We weren't able to finish our pizza.

I was particularly impressed with Nishiki Sushi, although I had been there many times before. Employees walked around with plates of sushi rolls and the manager poured two different kinds of sake. The first sake was infused with apple and was really smooth. The second sake tasted exactly like lychee.

The newest restaurant on the Crawl list was Sapporo Grill on 16th and L streets. They served a beautiful spread of potstickers, spring rolls, sushi, edamame, and some type of breaded chicken. Their long, cushy couches allowed tired crawl-goers to stretch out and put up their feet.

Temple provided a nice pick-me-up with iced coffee and the Grange put together three ingredients I had never eaten simultaneously: figs, cheese and bacon - a delicious surprise.

The last stop was Sofia, and despite our late start (1 p.m.) we made it to all 18 restaurants in the allotted time.

If you do the math, 18 restaurants for $35 turns out to be less than $2 per restaurant and $7 per hour of the five-hour crawl.

In addition to all of the food, there were goodie bags. Inside each bag was a copy of Midtown Monthly, coupons for a free milkshake and chicken menu item from Chick-fil-A, a pre-punched Yogurtagogo card toward a free yogurt, a buy one get one free coupon for Temple and a few brochures.

After mixing nachos, chocolate, pizza, sushi, sangria, sake, potstickers, coffee and every food group into our bellies, most of us were experiencing a food coma at the end. As might be appropriate for a team named after a Sesame Street character, Team Snuffleupagus was ready for a nap.

California Museum brings stars to the red carpet

2008-12-17T06:23:57Z

It wasn't your average Monday night in Sacramento. Despite temperatures being in the 30s and 40s, a swarm of people huddled around the red carpet anticipating the big stars to come.

The California Museum inducted 12 honorary members on Monday night, welcoming them to the infamous California Hall of Fame. Among the inductees were Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, Jack LaLanne, Alice Waters, Quincy Jones, David Brubeck, Leland Stanford and others.

One of the first celebrities to arrive was Clint Eastwood. Both he and Nicholson were hailed by the crowd for autographs. Many brought photos and posters in frames to be signed, some were lucky, others were left to pack up their unsigned photos in cardboard boxes to be kept until the next sighting.

Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived toward the end of the flurry of media and fans.

The California Hall of Fame was first created in 2006 by Maria Shriver. According to the museum's Web site the Hall of Fame was established "to honor legendary people who embody California’s innovative spirit and have made their mark on history."

Were you at the event on Monday night? Were you fortunate enough to get an autograph? How do you feel about the California Hall of Fame and its effects on Sacramento?

Photographs provided by Michael Lazar

Eric Hutchinson to play at Blue Lamp

2009-01-20T07:50:21Z

Hearing a common name like Eric Hutchinson might make you think back to high school, scanning your memory for a forgotten face. However, as VH1 may tell you and others who have discovered him already, Eric Hutchinson is an artist you oughta know.

Hutchinson, who will be playing at the Blue Lamp on Tuesday, Jan. 20, has a sound that brings to mind aspects of Jason Mraz, Billy Joel, and Stevie Wonder. He plays the piano and the guitar, but he classifies himself as a song writer.

"I consider myself a song writer first and then a singer and then an instrumentalist," he says.

When asked to name something people may find surprising about him, he responded, "I'm pretty boring. I'm pretty unrockstar. I don't really party after the show and I don't have groupies. I'm kinda just doing it for the music."

The Takoma Park, Maryland native has been a full-time musician for six years but has definitely encountered some obstacles along the way.

"It’s been a bumpy road. I actually signed to Maverick Records, which is part of Warner Bros., and they dropped me. Then I made the album myself and then they ended up resigning me."

Hutchinson is currently touring with the band O.A.R. and will be touring with G. Love & Special Sauce starting next month. Being on stage with G. Love has special significance for Hutchinson.

"They were actually one of my favorite bands when I was growing up. I used to love them in high school. I’ve done some shows with them before so it’s still kind of crazy to think that I’m performing with them."

Perez Hilton's blog helped increase Hutchinson's exposure. A high school friend of Hutchinson's e-mailed Hilton a link to his Myspace page and Hilton recommended it on his blog. Shortly after, his Sounds Like This album made it to the iTunes Top 10.

Hutchinson acknowledges how the Internet can really boost your fan base; however, making fans and keeping fans are entirely different.

"I think when people can hear about you and then look you up and buy your album all in 20 minutes I think it’s just so much easier to make fans," he says. "The only hard part these days is keeping fans because there’s so much going on. People are very interested in the next big thing so you sort of have to continue to one-up yourself to keep people interested."

"I wrote these songs on my mother’s piano and now there’s people in Japan listening to them; that’s a very it’s a hard thing to get my head around."

Hutchinson has been a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He's made it to the No. 5 spot on iTunes album chart with Sounds Like This, but for Hutchinson, the turning point in his career came from a change in his grandmother's attitude.

"For me, it was when my grandmother stopped telling me to get a day job. I finally felt like 'Wow, maybe I’m doing OK.'"

Hutchinson returns to the Blue Lamp tonight for the second time. One thing that stuck out for him regarding his last show in Sacramento was his dining experience.

"I remember I had a hard time finding a good place to eat. So if you have any recommendations I’m all ears."

As Hutchinson looks toward the future, he foresees one ongoing challenge as a musician.

"I think it’s just continuing to grow and have fans still feel like it’s personal," he says. "I want people to still know that I’m passionate about it. I feel like when an artist gets more popular people think they shouldn’t like them anymore. I’m still passionate about what I’m doing."

The show is at 8 p.m. The Blue Lamp is located at 1400 Alhambra Blvd. Tickets are $14 on the day of the performance, $12 pre-sale.

www.erichutchinson.com

www.myspace.com/erichutchinson

Byron Blackburn - a musician to be reckoned with

2009-10-15T06:59:39Z

On September 18, after more than two years of battling cancer, bassist and music enthusiast Byron Blackburn passed away.

To celebrate his life and his impact on the local music and arts community, Beatnik Studios is hosting a memorial Friday, Oct. 16 from 7 p.m. - midnight.

The evening will be filled with live music and art. A silent auction will raise money for the Byron Blackburn Memorial Fund. The fund will be used to create a scholarship for a student who plans on attending music school.

All of the musicians performing have either played with Blackburn or are friends of his. The Inversions, RACE!!!, Nagual, Norfolk Jacket with Michelle Tsilas, The Alegria Quartet, Fo Shang! and the Jalapeno Chocolates and others will be playing throughout the memorial.

Artists from Sacramento, San Francisco and San Jose have donated just under 40 pieces for the auction. Some of the artists include Carlos Villez, Cinder, Deborah Barba, Evie Turner, Jill Allyn Stafford, John Stuart Berger, Mark Fox, Nicolas Caesar, Skinner, and Yoli Manzo.

Blackburn wasn't always a musician. He picked up the bass only six years ago after a friend of his needed a bassist in his band, Kro-nose. He had never played before but he was willing to learn and since then the Sacramento music scene has greatly benefited from his support and encouragement.

"He wasn't there to serve himself. He was there to serve the music," his wife Kathy Blackburn said. "It was about building community, giving a helping hand, guidance or a venue."

Byron and Kathy became part owners of the Java Lounge "because he cared so much about the music there," she said.

The couple invested their time and money into the all-ages venue to make sure there was a place for musicians and artists of all levels to come and be creative.

"What’s great about Java Lounge is they like to show art from a variety of backgrounds," Evie Turner, friend of Byron and one of the organizers of the memorial said. "It’s a good place for people who are breaking into the art scene to have a place to show. You can easily be rejected [elsewhere], but [Byron] never turned anybody away."

His friends remember him as a driving force and proponent for newer artists trying to make a name for themselves and break into the scene.

"[Byron] is the most supportive, most encouraging and biggest fan of local music; he really loved it a lot," Ross Hammond said. "If you played a gig, and there was three people there, guaranteed Byron was one of them."

Hammond has played with Byron at many shows and played guitar on his latest CD, Things Turn Black When They Burn. Hammond is also an organizer of the memorial.

Ryan Offield, bassist for The Inversions, also knew Blackburn through music and hosted the Weatherstone music series for about nine or ten months with him.

"He got some of the best jazz and rock talent available from SF through to Sacramento through him networking well. People wanted to be around him," Ryan Offield said. "He got world-traveling musician Ulher Birgit and Gino Robair into Weatherstone. My jaw just dropped at [what] he achieved - by pure good will."

Blackburn was diagnosed with cancer two and a half years ago, according to his wife, Kathy.

He endured two surgeries and many rounds of chemo, but didn't let the cancer bring him down.

"He always said, 'I have cancer. Cancer doesn't have me," Kathy said.

He was determined to do as many shows as he could, she added. "He probably did 300 shows in 365 days."

Offield remembers the first time he saw Byron after the diagnosis. "He wasn’t going to be deterred at all. no matter how afraid of it or intimidated he was, he was so aggressive toward it," Offield said. "[Byron said] 'I’m going to get the best doctors in the world. I’m going to look into traditional medicine, eastern medicine. This isn’t going to beat me."

Byron spoke on Capital Public Radio's Insight in June about his album and his fight with cancer.

"As I made this CD ... I really felt at the time that I was making it that it really had nothing to do with my illness," Blackburn said. "But when I got done and I listened to the music, it struck me that the music was very informed by what I was going through with my health."

"I didn’t know if this was going to be my last opportunity to record or what the future held for me in terms of playing so I really tried to just open up my heart and get a snapshot of what it is we had been doing for the last couple of years in live situations."

Kathy Blackburn said that music was one thing that kept his mind off of the pain the cancer caused.

"[Byron] said it was only when he was playing music that none of [the pain] was in his brain," she said. "I’d drag him to some gig and he’d be in terrible shape, [but when he started playing] you could see him light up and feel so good."

Hammond and Offield agreed that his appreciation of music went above and beyond anyone else's they knew.

"Everytime he would play a show with you - it could have been the greatest or the crappiest show – he would shake your hand and thank you for playing," Hammond said.

"He was excited about rehearsal. He was excited about gigs, about everything," Hammond added.

"[Byron] would inject himself into situations with players who were extremely talented and he wouldn’t be happy until he could sit and play with confidence," Offield said. "He was such a constant protagonist for getting everyone together and for working on things."

While he may have been hard on himself, Blackburn was nothing but encouraging toward others.

"He was so patient and energetic about everyone’s talent," Offield said. "He allowed everyone to go about being their best."

Beyond the music, his friends and colleagues say he was a joy to be around, regardless of how well you knew him.

"I would stop in [Java Lounge] once a week and what was fantastic was you didn’t just go in for a quick cup of coffee," Turner said. "He made you feel like you were welcome in his home. You weren't just a customer, you were a family member."

Offield said his signature grin put people at ease.

"When he was telling a story, he would get wrapped up in it and would have a serious look on his face," Offield said. "As soon as he was getting to the punchline – he had a huge grin from ear to ear– a Cheshire cat smile."

Byron recorded music for the last time on Labor Day with Ross Hammond. His wife Kathy had it playing on the stereo during his last moments.

"He always said his number one goal is to build the art and music scene in Sacramento. His second goal was to protect the venue and nurture the artist," Kathy said.

Friday, the art and music scene in Sacramento will give back to him.

"It will be a combination of somber and celebration," Offield anticipates. "[Byron] loved life too much for anyone to go about [this] in anything but a celebratory way."

The event is free. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the video slideshow will begin at 7:30 p.m. The musicians will begin performing at 8 p.m.

Cash and checks are the only form of payment accepted for the silent auction items.

Donations can be made to the Byron Blackburn Memorial Fund at Bank of the West on J Street.

For more information on the event, visit http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=141857289846

Beatnik Studios is located at 2421 17th Street.

Below are some of the art pieces that will be up for sale at the auction.

Photos provided by Kathy Blackburn. Paintings above were done by Kathy Blackburn.

Art by Mark Fox

"Too Late To Go To Rehab" by Carlos Villez

"Halloween PartyBot" by Cinder

"Saint Byron" by Nicolas Caesar

Creating the social in social media - Social Media Weekend

2009-11-29T02:22:23Z

Twitterature, Twitterverse, Twibe, Tweetaholic and Twitterhea were some of the noteworthy word clusters mentioned by the New Oxford American Dictionary committee while choosing its 2009 Word of the Year. With this new dialect, it should come as no surprise that Sacramento TweetUps (social events that allow Twitter users to meet in real life) are drawing crowds of more than a hundred people.

Earlier this month, an entire weekend was dedicated to social media.

Alejandro Reyes created and organized Sacramento's first two-day Social Media Weekend at the University of Phoenix in Natomas, Nov. 6 and 7. Bloggers, financial strategists, real estate agents, non-profits, online business owners and librarians flocked to attend.

Reyes was inspired by the South by Southwest and BlogWorld expos but wanted to create a local and more affordable version.

"I just figured, why don't we create something like this in our backyard and give people an opportunity to save money and meet other locals, as well as learn from people on a local level that are using social media at a high level?" he said.

Some of the speakers included Jessica Smith, vice president of Fleishman-Hillard and creator of jessicaknows.com, Rachel and Sarah Campbell of TwinSoup, CJ Alvarado of Bayside Church, and Josh Unfried of momfaves.com.

Suzanne Phan from News10 was an attendee on Friday, and blogger Christine Young and Reyes did a live chat on News10's website.

Questions from the audience dominated the conversations for each panel and speaker. Many of the attendees had little experience with the social media tools discussed.

Real estate agent Stephanie Brinkworth, was eager to see what she could do to help her firm.

"It's all new to me," she said. "I really liked Josh (Unfried). I was motivated to start my own blog (after hearing him talk)," I went home yesterday and did research. I looked up Wordpress and the different designs and templates of blogs."

Representatives from the Ronald McDonald House, inmycommunity.com and the Sacramento Law Library came hoping to increase their online presence and get more involved with social media.

One of the speakers who got a great response was Gordon Fowler, president and CEO of 3Fold Communications. He spoke on generational use of social media.

More than just connecting online, Fowler emphasized the value of making connections period.

"I see people jumping on the social media bandwagon because they feel like they have to, and forgetting that, at its core, social media is about relationships built on effective communication," he said. "If new learners are ineffective in understanding how to communicate inter-generationally, they will not be effective communicating and building relationships through social media.

"People need to chill out and thoughtfully discover their 'social media personality.' Be authentic, be transparent and have some fun."

Reyes is already planning the next Social Media Weekend in March 2010.

Gary Pilapil, a creative director who has attended other social media events, said he liked this particular one because it was local, with no one from out of state.

"It's refreshing to meet like-minded people that want to help Sacramento grow," Pilapil said.

Interested in seeing the Twittersphere in action? A TweetUp in conjunction with Sacramento's branch of Social Media Club is scheduled for Dec. 17.

Here are some of the tweets that were sent out during Social Media Weekend (click links to visit an individual's Twitter page):

@thisaac If you realize you've screwed up, own up to it as quickly as possible… –@JessicaKnows #socialmediaweekend

@pdteam Don't use social media as a weapon. –@JessicaKnows #socialmediaweekend

@kennypratt #socialmediaweekend PR Panel: both PR professionls and Journalists still learning to use Twitter to find and place stories

@susancarraretto RT @successfool: "Social Media elevates word of mouth to a viral level" @JoshUnfried

@jeffmarmins want to extend reach online? give before you expect to receive. promote others via @sierrafriend #socialmediaweekend

@jeffmarmins we only advertise businesses we authentically use or would recommend #socialmediaweekend @YoungMommy @TwinSoup

@JackieDotson Really high quality stuff at #socialmediaweekend I'm impressed that everyone is emphasizing the importance of relationships in social media.

@meghanwood Per @TwinSoup: 'you will always have negative comments! So.. Just delete them.' LOVE IT!!! I so agree #socialmediaweekend

To see the complete schedule and list of speakers for Social Media Weekend, visit socialmediaweekend.com.

Social Media Club Sacramento holds its first meeting

2009-03-06T07:43:30Z

"Twitterpated" took on a new meaning as the Social Media Club Sacramento convened for their first meeting on Thursday night.

Around 35 people gathered from all different backgrounds to discuss social media and meet the original founders, Kristie Wells and Chris Heuer.

According to their Facebook group, Social Media Club strives to "bring together journalists, publishers, communications professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaborators. Essentially the people who create and consume media who have an interest in seeing the ‘media industry’ evolve for everyone’s benefit."

After beverages and snacks were served, Heuer gave a presentation and fielded questions from the audience on barriers people had faced when trying to introduce social media like Twitter and Facebook into the workplace.

Participants also discussed branding oneself through their online presence and what was and was not appropriate conduct online.

Heuer and Wells are from San Francisco, but travel to cities around the country to help launch new Social Media Clubs.

Jeff Marmins, Ronnie Ledesma, Sallie Boorman and Josh Morgan are the proponents behind the Sacramento chapter of Social Media Club.

The group plans to hold monthly Social Media Club gatherings and have participants walk away with something new after each meetup, whether it be related to media or networking.

For more information on Social Media Club Sacramento and to learn when the next meeting will be, visit their Facebook page or see the original Social Media Club's page.

!!! at Press Club

2009-03-18T20:54:27Z

One of Sacramento's most respected musical exports, !!! (pronounced chik-chik-chik, pow-pow-pow, or any other exclamation you prefer) will be making a rare hometown stand at The Press Club at 21st and P, starting tonight.

Rare because the band moved to Brooklyn, New York, a few years back, and has since become one of the top underground dance rock bands in the country, touring nationally and internationally to great critical acclaim. Their blend of funky dance grooves, electronic colors and rock extravagance has earned them a rabid following, many of the original members of which will likely be hitting the Press Club this week.

Three nights in a row makes this an event, particularly within the hip undergound. Showtime is 9 p.m., ticket price is $7, and this is a 21+ venue, so get there early. According to the underground music website undietacos.com, band members will be doing DJ sets as well as band sets.

The website Epitonic.com said of !!!'s debut, "It's an unruly collision between raw funk and ska-inflected punk. Sort of like the music you might have heard if Sly and the Family Stone had come of musical age as smart working class blokes in late '70s England hanging about with Gang of Four and The Fall. !!!'s rhythms are as nervous and jittery as they come, flayed by thin wiry guitars, then transformed into a strange kind of manic funk by sweaty horns that come in out of nowhere. Singer Nic issues dry, declamatory vocals that just serve to make the rhythms more intense. It's weird stuff, certainly like nothing you're used to, catchy in an almost wordless, amelodic way."

Opening acts for the shows will include MOM and the Misfits tonight, Ancient Sons on Thursday, and Friendly Creatures on Friday.

For more information, call (916) 444-7914 or visit http://www.myspace.com/clubpow.

This article was written by David Watts Barton.

Best Restaurants - a different take

2009-07-21T01:54:18Z

It's that time of year again - time for "Best Restaurants," brought to you by Sacramento Magazine.

After reading the readers' picks for each category, it made me wonder whether the results would be different for readers of The Sacramento Press. Our focus has been primarily on events and coverage of things in the Grid, whereas Sacramento Magazine covers a larger demographic including the suburbs.

There were four categories that stood out to me in Sacramento Magazine's Best Restaurants: Best Burrito, Best Pizza, Best Burger and Best Coffeehouse.

I live in the Grid and therefore have my own biases about restaurants that live in Downtown and Midtown. I prefer restaurants in this area to those found in the outlying areas. It would be interesting to see the results had it been limited to only restaurants in the Grid.

Best Burrito went to Chipotle, with Dos Coyotes coming in second and Ernesto's coming in third. Both Chipotle and Dos Coyotes are chains. The Grid has very few chain restaurants, and I wonder if the presence of chains amidst family-owned and unique Sacramento restaurants makes a difference in reader choice. Does the quality speak for itself?

Best Pizza went to Round Table. Granted, Chicago Fire and Zelda's picked up second and third place, but I wonder how a delivery-based chain is even allowed in the running. Did Hot Italian or Luigi's or Giovanni's make it in the top five?

For the category of Best Burger, there are quite a few restaurants that come to mind that did not make the top three. Jim Denny's, Whitey Jolly Cones and Nationwide Freezer Meats were all missing from page 115 for best burger. In-N-Out, however, took first place, the Squeeze Inn (deserving, in my opinion, one of the top three) made second and McDonald's placed third.

For Best Coffeehouses, Starbucks was voted first place, Peet's took second and It's a Grind made third. When I think of good coffeehouses, I think of the unique havens in the Grid. Temple comes to mind. So does Weatherstone and Naked Lounge. If I want ambiance and a coffee or tea that comes in a mug that was washed and that is reusable, I do not go to Starbucks. If I want free wi-fi that does not require a cellular account, I cannot go to Starbucks. If I want a swirled foam design on my latte, I will not go to a mass chain coffeehouse.

My coffee choices come from currently living in the Grid, although I did grow up in the suburbs.

After reading this list, I looked at Sacramento Magazine's website. At the bottom, it reads "Find the best that Sacramento, California has to offer at Sacramento Magazine Online. With fantastic features such as a restaurant guide, an entertainment and events calendar and monthly recipes, you’ll find everything you need to know about exciting Sacramento, California."

Now, I ask you - readers of The Sacramento Press - if you were to vote on Best Restaurants for The Sacramento Press (in the Grid), which ones would make your top three for best burrito, pizza, burger and coffeehouse?

Bollywood at the Crest

2009-01-28T06:14:38Z

Instead of a dinner reservation this Valentine's Day, why not make a trip to the Crest Theatre to experience a little Bollywood?

On Feb. 14, 2009 the Crest will have a Mega Bollywood Show featuring live music, dancing and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa's USA winners, Jeffrey Iqbal and Darshana Menon performing.

According to Iqbal, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is similar to American Idol. It has been a popular show in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. Only recently has it expanded to include the U.S.

The term Bollywood comes from the city of Mumbai, which was once known as Bombay, combined with the word Hollywood. It describes the majority of films that come out of India and, as Iqbal said, is "feel -good" music.

All of the songs will be in the Hindi language and come from some of the most popular Bollywood movies. Appropriately for Valentine's Day, the songs are romantic in theme, but this shouldn't dissuade families from coming.

"The idea behind the music is that it doesn't really focus on one specific demographic of person or age group," Iqbal said. "I have fans that are 9-year-olds all the way up to women who are 65 trying to pitch their daughters out to me."

Jeffrey Iqbal was the winner of A.R. Rahman's 2007 talent hunt. A.R. Rahman was the composer for the film, Slum Dog Millionaire, which won a Golden Globe award this year for Best Original Score.

The dancers will be doing traditional Bollywood dances with authentic costumes, and audience members will be encouraged to participate.

"We'll be interacting with the audience, talking with the audience, getting them to sing along," Iqbal said. "I'm sure people are going to be dancing, because a lot of the numbers are really fast numbers. I'd say nine times out of 10, people get out of their seats and dance."

All attendees will be entered to win a $250 raffle prize. Aslam Godil, the event's promoter, mentioned there may be roses given out as well as other prizes throughout the night.

Doors will open at 7 p.m., and the show will start at 8 p.m.

Tickets range from $20-$100.

For more information, you can visit jeffreyiqbal.com, or thecrest.com, and you can purchase tickets at tickets.com or various outlets in Sacramento listed on the flyer (found on Iqbal's website).

Crawls unite charities, community and cuisine

2009-10-02T10:37:22Z

It started in the name of Cystic Fibrosis.

Three years ago, Darby Flynn and Brian Fischer were trying to come up with a new event for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

"CFF had more relationships in the suburbs than in the central city," Fischer said. "They wanted to grow in Downtown and educate more people in the city."

At the time, CFF had a national fundraising pub crawl event. Fischer suggested a gourmet food crawl instead.

"A week before the event, CFF canceled all the pub crawls around the country except for the Edible Crawl for a Cure because it had food and alcohol," he said.

By the second year, the Edible Crawl for a Cure sold out, with 1,000 participants strolling the streets of Downtown and sampling new restaurants.

With two years under their belts, Fischer and Flynn created their own events company, appropriately called Event'ually.

The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, the Jewish Federation and the Greater Broadway Partnership approached Flynn asking her if she could create a crawl to raise money for their organizations.

In two short months, three crawls bring thousands of crawlers to eat, walk and be merry in the central city.

The first crawl happened last Saturday. Eat Your Art Out toured 18 restaurants.

A lesser explored food haven inspired the second crawl. Around the World on Broadway kicks off tomorrow, showcasing 18 restaurants from a variety of cultures.

Restaurants include Andy Nguyen, Los Jarritos, New Canton, Kathmandu Kitchen, Queen Sheba, Tower Cafe, the new Iron Steaks and other restaurants in the Broadway area.

The last crawl for 2009 will benefit a number of charities. Jewish Federation Children and Family Services, Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and Sacramento’s Save Ourselves Breast Cancer Center will all receive funds from the Big Nosh, a 30-restaurant crawl.

Flynn expects close to 1,500 attendees for this crawl, which will include many of the same restaurants from the Eat Your Art Out Crawl with the addition of some new ones: The Melting Pot, Aioli Bodega, Celestin's Island Eats, Le Petit Paris, Old Soul Co. and others.

After spending over 25 years in a run-down old school building in the Arden area, the Jewish Federation recently moved to 20th Street and Capitol Ave.

Being a part of a crawl was a way to "introduce ourselves to our neighbors," David Goodman, communication director of the Jewish Federation and Editor of the Jewish Voice, said. "There's a saying Tikkun Olam which means 'repairing the world." We wanted to give to other charities, helping not just the Jewish community but everyone in Sacramento."

Unlike the other two crawls which cost $35, the Big Nosh costs $36.

"In Hebrew, each letter has a numerical equivalent," Goodman said. "The number 18 is equivalent to life, so 18 times two is 36, that's kind of the idea."

"If you tried to go on your own to a few restaurants – you’d add up to $35 in two stops," Flynn said. "It really is the cheapest way to explore all the great restaurants in the central city."

Justin Llata has been to both Edible Crawls for the Cure and participated in the Eat Your Art Out Crawl. He is also planning on doing the Big Nosh.

"There isn’t one place that I wouldn’t go back to," Llata said of the restaurants in the crawls. "I love eating Downtown and Midtown."

Only locally-owned, independent restaurants are allowed to participate.

The crawls are meant to benefit everyone involved: the charities, the restaurants, the community and the participants

"We want people to discover the place in their backyard that they’re always driving by," Fischer said. "When you’re driving to work, running errands - you’re seeing all those places and then you forget about it."

"When you get out of your car you can see the architecture of the city. When people experince the walkability of Sacramento, they actually understand the layout of their city.They experience the grid.

"It allows them to create a social break in their lives, they get to actually spend quality time with a group of people – new friends, co-workers, old friends," he said. "It’s not a short event; it’s not a superficial event. It’s a day adventure. It’s a day trip in your own city."

The Around the World on Broadway Crawl is family friendly. Flynn said they wanted to be able to include the Land Park and Curtis Park neighborhoods, so there will be no alcohol for this crawl.

At the end of the crawl, Capitol Public Radio will be discussing their year-long "Around the World in 30 blocks" series at Beatnik Studios. The reception will include a slideshow and question-and-answer session about the restaurants featured in the series.

Crawlers get a taste of more than just food at the crawls put on this year. The Eat Your Art Out Crawl featured a performance by the Camellia Symphony at Brew It Up! and dancing by the CORE Dance Collective. In October, the Big Nosh will have local musicians at six locations, two of which are Autumn Sky and Ricky Berger.

Flynn and Fischer want to increase the excitement in the central city on any given weekend, not just for Second Saturday.

"We want to increase the capacity of events happening on weekends," Flynn said. "Not once a month, but every weekend."

Fischer added, "When you live in a city, it’s not somebody else’s responsilbitiy to make this city a better place, it's everyone's.

"The deeper [the] relationship, the better chance of riding out a tough economic storm because people have developed a relationship with the businesses in their backyard," he said. "And they care about them, [so] they’re more willing to help them."

For more information on the crawls and to buy tickets, visit www.crawltix.com.

Photos provided by Darby Flynn from the Eat Your Art Out Crawl.

Media Panel video at Urban Hive

2009-12-11T22:00:42Z

Wednesday night, the Urban Hive was packed with people eager to hear what local media outlets had to say about the changes they've made recently in response to the economy, technology and social media.

Jim Jakobs, Assignment Manager of KCRA, Jon Schuller and Anne Shulock, Office Manager and Reporter of Sactown Magazine, Jen Picard, Senior Producer of Insight, David Watts Barton, Editor in Chief of Sacramento Press, and Nick Miller, Arts Editor of Sacramento News and Review, had a lively discussion moderated by Janna Santoro.

Here is the first part of the video from that night. Nick Miller joined the panel a little late. This first segment is before he arrived.

Media Panel video part 1 from Colleen Belcher on Vimeo.

Downtown dinner and a movie for $30

2009-04-27T05:55:59Z

With Esquire IMAX Theatre's summer dinner deal, Netflix and Blockbuster rentals might sit around unwatched for a few extra days.

Starting Sunday, May 10, diners who have spent $20 or more at any downtown or midtown restaurant can see one of three movies for only $5. Dinosaurs Alive 3D, African Adventure 3D and Under the Sea 3D are all available for $5 as long as guests bring along their receipt from dinner.

For the other films that are being shown, including Monsters vs. Aliens 3D, Night at the Museum 2, Star Trek or Transformers 2, guests can receive a $5 discount off the full-price ticket.

The offer lasts until Monday, August 20, and is valid all days of the week except Saturday at the Esquire IMAX Theatre in Downtown Sacramento.

The IMAX tickets need not be purchased the same night as the restaurant dinner, however, tickets must be purchased within seven days of when the receipt was received.

The maximum amount of discounted tickets is four for one receipt.

The Esquire IMAX Theatre is located at 1211 K St. For more information, call 916-443-IMAX or visit the website at www.imax.com/sacramento.

The R Street redemption

2009-04-06T05:38:45Z

In the alphabet soup of bars and restaurants to choose from in Midtown, a lot more R's will be popping up. Or at least there will be a lot more to choose from on R Street.

Magpie Catering, which is owned by Ed Roehr and Janelle Inouye, had its grand opening last Thursday, April 2. Swing in for a sandwich or salad. The daily menu for Friday, April 3 (pictured above), featured Niman ham and camembert cheese on ciabatta, a Petaluma chicken salad sandwich on a baguette with roasted peppers and paprika, black rice and grilled asparagus – among many other choices.

Magpie is open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The time has finally come for the opening of The Shady Lady saloon. The speakeasy will open its doors to the public on Thursday, April 9.

According to Alex Origoni, one of the owners of The Shady Lady, one question comes up over and over again: "Aren't you worried, opening during a recession?" His stock response is, "We're opening a ’20's ’30's Depression-era jazz lounge, supper club, so we can swing with it."

The speakeasy will have live jazz performances, but no TVs, so come for the people, the conversation and the music, but not the latest sports game.

Burgers and Brew, which will give Sacramento another late-night destination, with its doors remaining open until the wee hours of the morning (possibly 4 a.m. Thursday through Saturday), is currently training its staff and preparing to open Saturday, April 11.

Derar Zawaydeh, one of the owners of Burgers and Brew, said he hopes to have the restaurant open by this weekend. "Approximate date April 11, maybe April 10," Zawaydeh said.

Top This, a yogurt shop, will be the cherry on top, but no date has been announced for its opening.

Click on the links in the article to see previous articles written about Magpie Catering, The Shady Lady and Burgers and Brew.

Pictured on the couch: Two of the three owners, Jason Boggs and Alex Origoni inside The Shady Lady. Garrett Van Vleck, also an owner, is not pictured.

Additional reporting done by David Watts Barton. Photos taken by David Watts Barton.

A networking night to remember

2009-03-11T06:53:19Z

The Sterling Hotel on 13th and H Street was filled with enthusiasm, entrepreneurial energy and estrogen, Tuesday, March 10.

A group from the Sacramento Press was fortunate enough to attend the monthly Accelerated Networking Dinner for eWomenNetwork. It was the first networking dinner any of us had attended.

Upon checking in, participants received their name tags and were encouraged to mingle among the other business professionals.

Two ballet dancers from the Sacramento Ballet performed while the attendees were getting set up and mingling.

Ron Cunningham, artistic director of the ballet, gave a speech about the upcoming events the ballet has planned (30 more for the rest of the season) and discussed the organization of the Save Our Ballet group, which hopes to raise $150,000. He also mentioned that the ballet had a new home on 14th and H Streets, where the Center for Performing Arts will house four of Sacramento's major classical arts in one building.

The event officially started at 6 p.m. when Suzi Sherman, executive managing director of the Sacramento eWomenNetwork, read the group's mission statement and introduced the women who had set up booths for the evening.

For a timed 60 seconds, each person sitting at the table gave an infomercial about who she was, what she did and what she was looking for in the next 30 to 60 days. Some women were looking for a new laptop, free publicity for an event they were organizing – it was not confined to just obtaining new clients.

Women from all different walks of life were in the mix, and there was one male member out of the more than 40 women in attendance. There was a DJ, green consultant, one-of-a-kind garment designer, professional display sign vendor, life coach, jewelry designer, and writing services specialist, to name a few.

The goal of the dinner was to make connections, not to pass out as many business cards as possible. Not everyone exchanged cards, only those who felt they could benefit from knowing the new contact.

Before dinner was served, attendees were split up into groups of eight to 10 by a pink deck of cards placed on the table for one more round of speed networking.

As dinner finished, Michelle Gamble-Risley, who has over more than 20 years of experience in communications and is a professional writer, public relations and marketing expert, according to her website, began her speech on being successful even in this economy.

Gamble-Risley was not the original scheduled speaker, but her interactive presentation on creating a vision proved to be very useful for the women and man involved.

The Accelerated Networking Dinner concluded with a raffle, which included a pedicure and wine adventure, two tickets to the Sacramento Ballet's Modern Masters, Abbreviated, an Afternoon Tea gift pack and cookbook and many other prizes.

Many of the women in attendance admitted that they have been to many networking events over the course of their careers, but that the eWomenNetwork dinners were the most enjoyable and the most successful.

To learn more about the Sacramento eWomenNetwork, visit ewomennetwork.com.