This Thursday night, The Torch Club will be hosting San Francisco artist Seth Augustus who is a proficient blues musician. What is so rare about a blues musician appearing in a blues venue? Throat singing. Seth Augustus is a throat singer who studied under Paul Pena, one of the foremost blues musicians of our time. Throat singing is very different from normal singing. It takes years of discipline and practice to learn to hold the throat and stomach muscles before you can isolate sounds and master them well enough to sing repeatedly. Throat singing was originally part of the Inuit culture - women would have contests to outlast each other and it is a normal part of Tuvin and Mongolian cultu

First, a disclaimer: I have been a fan of The Nightcats since “Little Charlie” Baty fronted the band in the 80’s. Balancing this potential (but not actual) bias, however, was my lack of enthusiasm at the idea of venturing out, dateless, into the pouring rain on Saturday night to see them perform. But venture I did. I arrived at The Torch Club little after the beginning of the first set—which, by the way, lasted an amazingly energetic hour and fifteen minutes—and the place was already wall-to-wall people. I claimed the last empty barstool, and wished I’d dressed for the weather indoors, which was about ten degrees warmer than the nastiness outside. What little dance floor exists in front

Can you belive 2011 is practically over? New Year's Eve is this Saturday and if you're still searching for plans, we here at Sacramento365.com have gathered up some activities for you. If you're looking for a great, family friendly New Year's Eve experience, complete with fireworks, be sure to head to Old Sac for the New Year's Eve Sky Spectacular. But, for those of you who are looking for some adult celebrations--no kids allowed--here're a few options to greet 2012 (see even more in our Top 10 & Holiday Event Section). Sacramento nightlife is kickin'! 1. New Year's 2012 Bash with Mickey Avalon: Ace of Spades, 7pm Hailing from Hollywood, Mickey Avalon is known to the world as one of the

10 Bands…10 Restaurants…5 years.   We did the math…it adds up to big fun at the… 5th Annual Blues for Life, which takes place on Sunday, October 2nd, from 1pm to 7pm, at the Torch Club, 904 15th Street.  (inside and out in the parking lot…two stages)   This popular fundraiser, described in this news release, which has grown every year, benefits Albie Aware Breast Cancer Foundation, which raises money for expensive diagnostic breast cancer tests such as PET scans and mammograms for women in need. At Albie, we like to say, “Your mother, your sister, your daughter, your best friend... Who Cares?…..Albie Aware!   Besides performances by the area’s leading blues bands, the popular Pasta Cook-

  On Saturday September 3, a broad, multi-genre group of area musicians will join together to present a benefit concert for Somalian refugees. “March to the Beat of One Heart” will be held at Antiquite Maison Privee, 2114 P Street in midtown Sacramento. The event runs from 5 pm-11pm and there is $10 minimum donation. The concert, in association with the Midtown Business Association and Swell Productions, will feature ten Sacramento musical acts playing for a common goal of assisting victims of the war and drought-ravaged region. 100% of the proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders, a worldwide humanitarian aid organization, and their efforts in Somalia. Guitarist and concert promoter

If you’ve seen him, you remember him. Even sans his slick sharkskin suits, Rick Estrin cuts a remarkable figure in his Buddy Holly specs and perfectly coiffed pompadour. You may even have seen him cruising in a vintage Cadillac, and looked to see how soon the rest of the parade would follow. These days, the cars spend most of their time in the garage, but for the past few years, Estrin has been leading Rick Estrin and the Nightcats through performances from Tennessee to Turkey I’ve been a fan since the eighties when Little Charlie and the Nightcats used to play Melarkey’s and Sutter Street Saloon with great regularity. The band had drew was a friendly and familiar crowd, who weren’t con

Interview by: Judy Raderchak First off tell the readers about yourself. (Your name, what you do where you came from etc.)  My name is Reginald Gage (Reg). I am the middle one of 6 born to Lewis and Elizabeth Gage. I was born and lived in Detroit, MI until I was 14, and then my family moved to Santa Clara, CA. I attended private academy’s all of pre-college life, Catholic Central High, in Detroit, St. Francis High, in Mountain View, CA, but convinced my father to allow me to go to the local high school my last two years of HS because I wanted to finally attend school with neighborhood friends. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend and receive my high school diploma from Emil R. Buc

  As spring weather finally arrived in Sacramento on Friday, the Grove at the Radisson once again became a lovely small-venue showcase for some impressive musical talent. Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt graced the stage on the eighth stop of their 25-city acoustic tour. Both performers are known for their acoustic guitar work and their laid-back country-flavored songs about travelin’ and trucks, railroads and rivers, and horses and women and loneliness and love. That about sums up Friday’s performance: just two middle-aged guys with guitars, sitting quietly on stage, trading off tunes and some gentle ribbing. The crowd of about 2,000 fans loved every minute. Hiatt ran through some of his

A five-day festival filled with music by 40 groups in five Midtown venues is about to engulf the Sacramento scene. The In the Flow Festival, an annual event going from Thursday to May 16, will be bringing out improvisational players of jazz, rock, blues, electronic, poetry/spoken word and visual art. Co-organizer and guitarist Ross Hammond, 33, addressed why it was created. Hammond said it is important to create a music event in Sacramento and bring out the unknown and/or unrecognized talents. “I knew enough people and acts, so we decided to put something cool together,” Hammond said. “It is a celebration of creative music and art. It is the music, art and poetry community just coming

Sometimes, amazing things are happening right under your nose and all it takes is for one small moment to grab you and change your course of direction, sucking you into something you would normally have walked right past and never given a second thought. Saturday, March 11th.  The night was clear and I had just finished a long interview at Zen Sushi with restauranteur Jason Hon.  I stood at the corner of 15th and I Street, waiting for the light to change. It was quiet and I was admiring the way the spotlights showcased the brickface of the Memorial Auditorium when the silver door to the Torch Club swung open.  The blues that poured out of that door was the kind I hadn't heard in a long,

Sacramento Beer Week culminated with The Capital Beerfest, held at Cal Expo on Saturday. Upon entering the exposition hall, there were professional brewers, organizations of home brewers and several distributing companies present, with volunteers buzzing around with a camaraderie that can only develop while working a beer festival. Beer drinkers and enthusiasts of all ages were there enjoying the event to the fullest. The only downfall was the weather. It was so nice outside that everyone was wishing they could be sipping outside rather than inside a hall. The VIP session began at noon and was terrific in the fact that the brewers pulled out all the stops and brought out their best from

Tuesday night, Sacramento is going to receive a heavy dose of crushing hillcountry blues in the form of a visit from the three-time Grammy-nominated North Mississippi Allstars, who will be burning Harlow's to the ground, figuratively speaking. The Allstars hail from Hernando, Miss., a town 80 minutes north on The Delta Blues Highway from the birthplace of the blues  (and the famous crossroads where Robert Johnson sold his soul those many years ago), Clarksdale, Miss., and 30 minutes south of "Blues City", Memphis, Tenn. Along this stretch of Highway 61, you can't throw a dead cat without hitting a really good blues musician. And the cat probably played a mean harmonica. If you ever have

It's Thursday, just past midnight, and I've been at the Torch Club to see Trampled Under Foot. I'm out back behind my house sitting in the car, listening to the rain fall on the roof. Since last Saturday night, I've been so busy that the days have become a blur. The more I need things to slow down, the faster I am being pulled through an undertow of phone calls, discussions and fires that need putting out — all the while sitting on this review.  I can't even come up with a title. The Daniel Castro Band packed the Torch Club last Saturday, February 19th.  It was, by all accounts, one of those nights where everything flowed perfectly — as if by stepping through the front door, you entered i

If you’re a Blues lover, you probably read the Blues Revue. Tommy Castro is featured on the cover of their 20th anniversary issue as the “most dangerous man in the Blues industry.” Last year, Castro and his Band walked off with four Blues Music Awards. Rarely, if ever, does an artist win more then two awards in the same year. Nary does a single artist win three. Four is unheard of. This staggering number can only be trumped by the fact that all four awards were among the most coveted categories: Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year, Contemporary Blues Album of the Year (Hard Believer/Alligator), Blues Band of the Year, and Castro earned his second "B.B. King Entertainer of the Year

After a brief snafu with our appointed interview date, I finally reached Kim Wilson, co-founder of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and one of the most accomplished harmonica players in the United States, as he was dragging his bags down the hall to his hotel room. While the Tbirds are in their 'off-season', Wilson doesn't stop, and is off again, on another club tour with his Blues All Stars: Guitarists Billy Flynn and Little Frank, bassist Randy Bermudes and drummer Richard Innes, plus piano player Barrelhouse Chuck.  They also did a string of performances in Sweden and have recently arrived back from the Stockholm Blues Festival. One of the things I have liked about Wilson is his open way of

“Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty is so big, it done gone & shook The Torch Club.” As I crossed 15th Street, I could hear a hard-driven bass drum beat beckoning to me like I was part of a tribal homecoming. The front door was vibrating and as I pulled it open, the powerful explosion of saxophone, trombone, bass, keys and a rippin’ lead break wrapped itself around me, sucking me in. Oh yes, yes, yes – this was the real deal. Funk was bumpin’ da Torch Club. Anything can happen in the Torch Club on a Wednesday night. In fact, if you looked at their weekly music schedule like a poker hand, Friday and Saturday is always a pair of Kings. Thursday night is a possible three of a kind, and Wednesdays are

As I shifted in my chair at the Curtis Park 24th Street Theatre, I thought about when I was 13, back in New York. I’d just put my first order in with Columbia House Records: The Doors, Roadhouse Blues. Now, some 30 years later, I was waiting for the last few stragglers to be seated for an evening performance with slide virtuoso Roy Rogers and Ray Manzarek, known most widely for co-founding and being the keyboardist/bassist for the Doors. I was curious beyond words to hear what Doors stories Manzarek has. After so many books, movies and years have passed, I couldn’t imagine what there was left to tell. Even more so, I was excited to finally hear the new material he and Rogers are now produ

'I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want.'                                                                                                                                                                                                         Muhammad Ali ______________ This country was built on handshakes and agreements between people. One person promises another that they are dependable and a venture is initiated. “I give you my word,” and the river of credibility flows. News journalists, those who carry the responsibility of accurately and honestly documenting momentous occasions in our country’s history, ar

              I'd been in Harlow's for almost 10 full minutes Tuesday night when a fellow that I'd exchanged brief pleasantries with on the way in approached me at the bar. "Hey man, we're gonna go burn if you're interested."               After a lengthy internal deliberation, I declined his kind offer. It was up to me, you see, to relay the evenings events to you, kind reader, and that's a responsibility I take very seriously. I wouldn't have my perceptions dulled by anything stronger than PBR. At least not until the set break.               Truth & Salvage Co. was opening for San Francisco's Tea Leaf Green, and though I'd never seen either group live before, as the crowd rolled in, I fe

On Sunday September 26 Capital Public Radio hosted a Swell Productions Event; the second annual Blues on the Green. Performers included The Nick Gravenites Band and the Blues Broads with Mick Martin emceeing the event. The Chicago born and Blues Hall of Famer, Nick Gravenites entertained the audience with stories that accompanied each song. I’ve heard other musicians trying to tell a story regarding a song they’re about to play but never before have I heard anybody peak my interest as Nick did. He has a good story about each of his songs making it more interesting and fun to listen to his Blues Ballads. He had wonderful tales to tell that peaked everyone’s interest. Nick sang a couple o