It's a hot, sunny Sunday afternoon and I find myself sitting inside a rehearsal room at Sacramento's House of Hits listening to the spastic, funky sounds of local band Isaac Bear. Drummer Steven Jenkins grimaces in deep concentration and suddenly cracks a smile as he nails a complex polyrhythm on his kit. Bassist Scotty Urquhart sways back and forth to the rhythm, fingers gliding effortlessly across his strings in a trance-like groove. "I wanna go so bad / But it seems I've got to stay / Don't wanna let you down / Guess I'll find my peace / Some other day" wails guitarist/vocalist Keith Filson before dropping into a blistering solo, stomping on a wah pedal for added psychedelic effe

New Orleans' funk phenomenon Big Sam's Funky Nation rolls into Sacramento Sunday night to play a show at Harlow's. "Big Sam" Williams, a former member of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, has been celebrated as "the top man on the slide trombone in the birthplace of jazz" by the San Francisco Chronicle.  He also has a recurring role playing himself on the HBO Original Series "Treme."  Jambase describes Big Sam's Funky Nation as "soul food to get us through the week" and touts the band for always "bringing a straight raw party." BSFN is a stalwart on the U.S. festival circuit, having appeared at New Orleans Jazzfest, Bonnaroo, Voodoo Arts and Music Fest , South by Southwest, Gathering of the

There was a surprisingly small turnout for Sugar & Gold and Yip Deceiver, two quality indie acts, at Blue Lamp Saturday night. Maybe the numerous free options of Second Saturday kept folks away, but, despite the numbers, both groups turned out solid performances. Yip Deceiver — featuring Of Montreal members Davey Pierce and Nicolas Dobbratz — took the stage late and kicked things off with their take on experimental electro pop, performing songs including "Sadie Hawkins Day" and "For All the Haters." Pierce bantered with the crowd constantly — "People who know me, who truly know me, know I like two things: karaoke and meth. We're going to do some karaoke, because that's fun for us." — and

When visiting the downtown/midtown area of Sacramento, be on the lookout for Sacramento’s favorite alien, the Brutha From Another Planet (B.F.A.P.). He can be spotted performing his unique dance moves to his favorite music on his space age music box which includes 70’s and 80’s funk, disco, and dance music from all eras. The B.F.A.P. was named by a group of admirers who first witnessed his funky dance moves. Meeting and greeting the B.F.A.P. is easy. He is very family friendly and is a great crowd pleaser. Youngsters of all ages are delighted and frightened by his robotic dance movements after seeing him frozen in place. Ruben of South Sacramento, age 10, described the B.F.A.P. as “Reall

  or·gone  n.  A universal life force, a cosmic unit of energy, the creative force in nature.   Orgone  n.  A nine piece soul/funk ensemble from Los Angeles.  A staple on the Festival circuit (High Sierra Music Fest, Moe.down, South by Southwest, Jazzfest, to name a few) Orgone has opened for the likes of Al Green and Sharon Jones, and toured with the Roots and Greyboy Allstars. "With a rooted sense of funk, soul, afrobeat, deep rhythms and an intimate understanding of dj culture as well as each others' individual talents, Orgone seamlessly slides through multiple styles and dynamic performances. The group continuously injects whatever they play with a heavy brand of raw funk power." (o

Keller Williams made his triumphant return to Sacramento on Thursday night in front of a packed house at Harlow's. If the success of last night’s show is any indication, we won't have to wait another dozen years before his next visit.  The place was already jumping when I arrived a little before 8:30, and fans kept pouring in to the one-man jam band’s first set, which began just after 9 p.m.  Keller came on stage alone, as he is wont to do, strapped to an acoustic guitar. A stand to his right held an electric bass, in playing position, ready to be fingered. A stand to his left held an electric guitar, ditto. Behind him were several other electronic noisemaking implements, including a Mac

“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

In the midst of his debut North American tour, highly regarded UK blues guitarist and singer Matt Schofield (Guitar & Bass Magazine picked him as one of the "Top Ten British Blues Guitarists of All Time) electrified the standing-room only audience at Harlow's last night with a showcase of why he is one of the premier blues guitarists of this generation. Accompanied by Hammond organ player Jonny Henderson and the jazzy rhythms of former Robert Cray drummer, Kevin Hayes, Schofield was in stellar form as he demonstrated mastery of the blues guitar in an impressive set that rocked Sacramento on a windy Saturday night.

 Join the Sacramento Press for an evening of Hip Hop, Funk and Soulful Electronica at the 4th Concert in the Park of the season. Concert in the Park, a free outdoor concert series ,takes place every Friday of the summer at Cesar Chavez Plaza, 10th and J Streets from 5:30 to 8:30. Live Manikins open the showcase of great local talent followed by The Nibblers and headliners Method Echo. The series, now in it's 19th season, features local artists representing a range of genres including rock, pop, punk,hip hop, blues and folk. Starting at 5:30 this afternoon, The Sacramento Press will provide live streaming video of all the action including interviews of the local bands and footage of eac

             When I was at school at the University of Oregon, I took a lot of classes.  There were history classes, journalism classes, english classes, a lot of political science classes, a few science classes, even an art history class (Chicks, man!).  To be honest, 10+ years removed from the experience, most of them have bled together in my memory.                A few stand out, however.  An astronomy course where in a friend of mine cheated off me on the final and got a better grade.  A sociology course where the professor offered extra credit to students who skipped class to join the WTO riots inSeattle.  A military science course that I took along with a future NFL 1,000-yard rush

Going into the Blue Lamp on Friday night, the bouncer underwent his normal procedures of checking IDs and collecting cover fees. Noticing my notebook, he asked, “Is this your first SambaDa show? You are not going to need a book, I can guarantee that.” Although not a book for reading, it was difficult to find a moment when I even wanted to stop to take some notes. The energy surged from the very first beat. The Band's collage of instruments was fascinating, from large gourd shakers covered in shells, to tambourines and triangles. These supplemented the bass, guitar, and overwhelming amounts of percussion instruments, which are the backbone to almost all of their songs. The audience was in

Native Sacramento guitarist, DJ and producer Early Times will return home for a performance at Harlow's on Friday. While his MySpace page lists his genre categorization as "Crunk/Dutch pop/Black Metal," Early Times' music is even more eclectic in reality. The sampling of songs on his profile ranges from the slap bass funk of "Doin' the Nasty," to the Hammond organ-inflected blues of "Black Panties," to the spacey, improviasational jam piece "DUI." His capability to play multiple styles has earned him collaborations with a diverse group of musicians both local (Tesla, Cake) and national (trumpeter Wynton Marsallis). Though he currently resides in New York City, Early spent his years in Sa

What is Afrobeat? You might not have even heard of it five years ago, but now it's an emerging genre in the United States. It began in the late '50s when Nigerian musician Fela Kuti created the unique style. His music inspired Nigerians to move in more ways than one. The groove made people dance, but the lyrics got them to think about politics and react to government corruption. Truly a "world music," it has even inspired San Francisco band Albino. "It's West African polyrhythms, James Brown horn lines and a great vehicle for social commentary," said Albino saxophone player and co-founder Nathan Endsley. He came across the genre while at UCLA studying music education with an emphasis on

Friday Night Concerts in the Park have filled Cesar Chavez Park on 10th and J Streets with jammin' bands since the beginning of May and will continue every Friday night from 5-9 p.m. until August 14. In this storyline, The Sacramento Press will preview the concerts and help provide additional information on the artists and their music. Friday, June 5 Bucho will headline the concert, with Righteous Movement and Happy Mayfield opening (click each band's name for a link to their MySpace page with music samples). Bucho consists of singer and guitar player Gerald Pease, bass player Josh Lippi, Ben Schweir on the Hammond B3 and Fender Rhodes keyboards and Derek Taylor on percussion, as well a