A small group of moviegoers gathered on Oscars night at the Guild Theatre to watch a screening of short films that stray far from the glitz and glam of the red carpet but packs a sharp punch to the cranium. The collection of socially conscious shorts was shown as part of the 11th annual Media That Matters Film Festival, hosted by Arts Engine, a New York-based non-profit dedicated to supporting independent media. “Essentially, these types of films can make people think and can sometimes lead some people to act in a variety of ways,” said festival organizer Robert McKeown, co-founder of Movies on a Big Screen. “I think Arts Engine sums up the festival perfectly. What all the films have in

Independent filmmaker Isaac Piche' has scheduled a test screening in the Sacramento area for his first full feature film Dam California. The name alone suggests controversy.    Although the film is focused on water as the necessity that it is, Piche' chose a course that intertwines real life events and fictional characters to make his point and tagline, "Don't Mess With Our Water." This film confronts issues between farmers, the endangered species act, and the corruption that would choose power over the balance of life.  “This is still a work-in-progress” says 25 year old Piche’. “Dam California’ is a relevant, current issue based narrative film. Films like this, that are controversial a

An outer space experience took place in Folsom as PLA Skateboarding hosted Omar Salazar’s newest shoe release. The Friday night event brought over 150 fans to celebrate the release of the new Omar Salazar Pro model shoe. The free event hosted by PLA, located at 330 E. Bidwell Street, also included a photo show with photography by Greg Hunt, Joe Brook and Jeff Landi. Visitors to the event were treated to free pizza from Pizzeria Classico of Folsom. Several of their delicious specialty pizzas were brought to PLA and the delivery driver made another trip to the pizzeria to bring back more food. Ben Lutes and his crew at PLA did a great job showcasing Salazar’s Nike SB shoes and t

There is a new independent production company in town, Zombie House Pictures. Founded by Sacramentans Geoff Foley, Josh Pierson, and Lodi native Tom Presler, ZHP came together through a mutual love of horror movies and all things zombie. Presler and Foley are also the co-founders of the non-profit organization, the Zombie Club, based in Lodi, California. The Zombie Club focuses on community outreach, charity fundraising, and yeah, all things zombie. Zombie House Pictures is the film production arm of the Zombie Club and they're currently in production on a new web series called Diary of a Dead Man that has been shooting here in Sacramento since the beginning of September. Locations have

Francis House held a benefit concert from 7 - 10 p.m. Friday night at The Guild Theatre. The concert featured Victoria Vox and The Boulder Acoustic Society. The concert was held in memory of Greg Bunker, former executive director of Francis House, who passed away unexpectedly days after Christmas last year. About 100 people attended. The music was an old-fashioned folksy blend of eclectic sound. The Boulder Acoustic Society opened with keyboards, drums, upright bass and banjo. The keyboardist switched to accordion and the drummer to a marching band bass drum. Victoria Vox, 32, lives in Baltimore, Md. She sings and plays ukulele. She said she finally quit her day job in 2003 to tour and

Seeing a lack of regular jazz shows in the central city, Grady O’Bryant sought to fill that void with a weekly series called Jazz on J at Shenanigans bar on J Street. Jazz on J features a local jazz band every Thursday. The first Jazz on J show was on Feb. 17. Grady worked with saxophonist Ava Lemert to create Jazz on J, which had its fourth show Thursday. Lemeret performs every week before the featured band. “Grady and I met up at Shenanigan’s to talk about putting something together,” Lemert said. “He and I are the creators of the series. Grady had the idea that he wanted to put something together. Maybe have something every week.” Every Thursday, from 6 - 7 p.m., local jazz artist A

The Vibe Foundation held Cake Craze Saturday night. The Vibe Foundation hosted their Cake Craze fundraising event Saturday night, pitting nine local bakeries against each other in a cake-decorating contest themed “Generation Y” at 1725 K St. The event was fundraising for the organization’s opening this summer. Julia Hidalgo,18, another Christian Brothers senior, is the chair of Vibe’s youth board. “The fundraiser is really just to get our doors open,” Hidalgo said. Hidalgo expressed her vision of Vibe as molding to the needs of the youth community that leads it. “It’s all about what kids want,” Hidalgo said. “If kids want free SAT classes, maybe we’ll do that,” Hidalgo said. “We’re ho

Ladybug Ladybug opened its second location at 2512 J St. last November, where they sell greeting cards and gifts. “It’s kind of your one-stop gift shop,” said Sheila Istvanick, 40, Ladybug Ladybug’s owner. Istvanick opened her first gift card store in San Francisco’s Noe Valley at 24th and Sanchez in 2002. Since opening the store, Istvanick has had three daughters. She recently moved to Sacramento to be closer to her extended family. Istvanick worked at Papyrus before partnering with a friend to open the first Ladybug Ladybug. She said she really values small business and locally sourced products. From cards to gifts, Istvanick tries to find and promote local items. “I hope to carry m

This Friday the second annual Sacramento Beer Week is bringing local brewers and beer enthusiasts together for over 300 events in Sacramento from Feb. 25 through March 6. Dan Scott, 38, founded Sacramento’s Beer Week in 2010. Scott is currently a grad student working on a Masters in public policy and administration from Sacramento State. “We’ve got an incredible beer culture in Sacramento,” said Scott. He said he loves beer and has traveled to more than 500 breweries tasting and sampling brews from around the world. “I’m a beer connoisseur, not a beer brewer,” said Scott. “I’d rather drink a lot of different beers from different people than a lot of my own.” “There’s opportunities for

Sick of the Radio (SOTR) is a Sacramento-based website that covers indie art and music from Sacramento and around the world. The website has artist interviews, photography, art, music videos and even free MP3s. Started last February by 28-year-old Andy Johnson and his wife, Melissa, SOTR aims to share a love of the arts and offer daily inspiration for artists, musicians and art lovers. “We strive to expose all types of art to the masses,” Johnson said. “I am an artist and musician, and love the idea of an online collective of various artists.” Johnson has had the idea for the site for a few years. The birth of his son motivated him to make it a reality. “I’ve had the idea for the websi

On Tuesday, the Sacramento Area Peace Action showed the PBS documentary “Paperback Dreams” for its fourth Tuesday film this month. Only seven people showed up to this month’s showing, which is abnormal, according to David Kimble, who regularly attends. (good info) SAPA’s fourth Tuesday films are at 909 12th St. in the first-floor conference room. The showings are free and open to the public. SAPA has been showing films on the fourth Tuesday of the month for free the past seven years. The next film will be “Not Just a Game: Power, Politics & American Sports” on Jan. 25. “Paperback Dreams” tells the story of two Bay Area independent bookstores, Cody’s Books and Kepler’s Books. The film doc

Corey Scoffern, a.k.a. The Grouch, an Oakland-native rapper and representative of the iconic rap group, Living Legends, will perform Tuesday night at Tropicana Club for this year's installment of the "How the Grouch Stole Christmas" tour. Joining him on stage will be Brother Ali of the independent hip-hop giant, Rhymesayers Entertainment, label-mate and long-time music associate, Eligh and up-and-coming Oakland via Panama hip-hop duo, Los Rakas. The Grouch spoke with The Sacramento Press about the tour and his recent work. Sacramento Press: So this is the second, “How the Grouch Stole Christmas Tour,” is this something you plan on doing annually from now on? Grouch: This is actually th

This Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m., Sacramento's Scottish Rite Center will open its doors for Indy Euphoria, "Sacramento's Vinyl Toy, D.I.Y. & Indy Comix Show." The event will feature live art, a charity auction, film screenings, hundreds of vendors, celebrated comic book guests, seminars and workshops. "Indy Comix" is an umbrella term for projects that fall outside the realm of mainstream superhero comics. According to Indy Euphoria founder, Anthony Leano, it encompasses comics that are "alternative, underground, independents or small press, self-published, new brow, and low brow." The art represented by Indy Euphoria steps away from the mass-produced and toward that of a singular, h

Sacramento has never been known to be a place that is “ahead of the times” in any spectrum of life. As a matter of fact, most travelers come into the city expecting to see people ringing cowbells, and tumble weeds blowing past them on desolate streets. You see, no one acknowledges the rising growth of the urban market, or the fact that Sacramento is now the home of mall conglomerates that sell the "urban" look to suburban teens. They don’t talk about the city's recent sprawl of niche specific boutiques that are only found in major cities around the world. Except if you were around four years ago nurturing the very culture to which the stores are trying to solicit. Meet Paul and Brandy Bri

If there's one thing "The Simpsons," "Family Guy" and "South Park" have taught us, it's that cartoons are not just for kids. While audiences in other countries have known this for quite some time, it wasn't until Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation premiered in 1990 that America received its first wake-up call in the form of shocking, perverse and all-around hilarious hand-drawn shorts. The marathon has introduced a slew of new talent in the years following its inception, bringing a slew of depraved choice cuts to a following looking to engage in this annual reverie of irreverence. On Thursday, the 90-minute compilation was screened free of charge to a few hundred bra