Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "local music"

Concerts 4 Charity presents: Talkdemonic, Two Sheds and Fine Steps, February 1st at Bows and Arrows

2012-01-29T05:58:16Z

Concerts 4 Charity is putting on a very special show at Bows and Arrows featuring Talkdemonic, Two Sheds and Fine Steps on February 1st at 8 PM.

Clay Nutting started Concerts 4 Charity with a group of friends in college in 1999, aiming to “introduce nonprofits to a broader audience, help them meet a younger demographic, raise awareness, and maybe even cultivate a future donor or volunteer.” Although they were very successful for a few years, and even had a documentary they produced premiere on HBO, ultimately their model wasn’t sustainable. Eventually Clay moved to Sacramento and started a new branch of Concerts 4 Charity in 2003.

The two aims of Clay’s project are to support music education (sponsoring music lessons, donating to a music program, or starting a new music program) and to support the music scene (through supporting things like local music festivals, Verge, and Bows and Arrows, of course!) As he put it, ”I try and do things to further the music and arts community in Sacramento by either making kids more rad through music education, or putting on rad shows.” Rad, indeed.

Talkdemonic is a Portland-based “avant-instrumental” duo that began in 2004 as Kevin O’Connor’s solo project , and soon added Lisa Molinaro on viola. They will just be starting their cross-country tour when they stop at Bows and Arrows. Lisa described their style as “a film score, a metal band and some electro-pop phenom all colliding in a fatal accident, only to be escorted to heaven by the sounds of a dark but comforting chamber orchestra.”

The band has become quite popular in Portland. “Love it. LOVE IT,” said Lisa of Portland. “It’s so very nurturing, supportive, and inventive. Seems like all my friends are players in the game, big and small! I’m fortunate to be here now and over the past ten years to witness the community develop.”

Talkdemonic recently released their fourth album, Ruins. “I think our sound has evolved, leaving some organic components behind, perhaps favoring more synthy sounds and darkening up our tone a bit,” said Lisa. “It’s a matured approach to Talkdemonic’s delivery, in our opinion. Also we allowed ourselves to go forth with some ideas that I believe previously may have been restrained. It felt good to wail, or to sound off-the-wall. What did we have to lose?”

Local band Two Sheds is comprised mainly of married couple Caitlin and John. They’ve been around since about 2004, and have put out one full length album, one EP, and a split 7”. They’re currently working on a new record.”We are an indie band,” said Caitlin. “Sometimes rocking, sometimes mellow, sometimes sad. We love all kinds of music.”

“The critics lay comparisons to Mazzy Star, Lucinda Williams, Cowboy Junkies, VU and Nico – good road signs on the way to Two Sheds, though I’d throw in that it feels like M. Ward a little in a way too. Cool stuff,” wrote Larry Crane of Tape Op Magazine. Nathan Baker of the SF Guardian wrote, “Two Sheds’ charm lies in the direct, personal effect of singer Caitlin Gutenberger’s lyrical inventions. Trading equally in the Summer of Love folk rock of Blackburn & Snow (not to mention their magnetic boy-girl charisma) and the coquettish fuzz of latter-day melodist Heather Nova.”

Fine Steps started out as Julian Elorduy’s solo project (he still performs solo on occasion as Les Fine Steps), but soon added members from G.Green and Ganglians. Though Fine Steps has only had a few live shows so far, they’re getting a decent amount of attention; Midtown Monthly did a write up about them in the January issue, and they recently played at Verge‘s Success Party. ”I operate under a basic premise,” said Julian. “Keep everything simple and sparse. I do what I can to eliminate anything that is unnecessary. [Fine Steps] started with a fascination with 70s folk/pop and has grown to be representative of all of my varied tastes.”

Julian continues to play solo as well as with the band, and said that it’s hard to choose one over the other: “It is wonderful to have complete control by myself. I have everything I need at my finger tips,” he said. “The dangerous part is its unpredictability. Being so bare and dependent on my moods, the music wavers between being solid and about crumble based on my immediate feelings toward the space and the audience. The music is always changing and both solo work and the band have its place in my heart. The band, of course, having a party vibe and the solo work being more focused on just showcasing a simple song without much to hide behind.”

"[Music for charity] should be an on-going and motivating endeavor. I think Clay is a noble soul keeping this going and I am happy to help him succeed,” said Julian.

The show will start at 8PM, and there will be a $6 door charge. You can also buy tickets in advance here.

Disclosure: Sarah Hansel works at Bows and Arrows as a retail girl/blogger

Cake to take on Freeborn Hall

2011-10-05T05:08:14Z

Cake. Simple, home-baked, yet such a delicacy.

The five member band will start the academic year off right for UC Davis students. The local favorite will perform at University of California, Davis’ Freeborn Hall this Thursday and Friday, October 6 and 7.

While the band's tunes are so rollicking and varying that they are essentially without genre, Cake is known for a number of hits including, "The Distance" and "Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle."

"Never There" and "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" also function effectively as cult classics for the current twenty-something generation. (Even if some have now reached their thirties.)

The band's newest album, "Showroom of Compassion," was released in January of this year. The album was produced in their very own studio, a solar-powered jewel right here in Sacramento. As always, lyrics succeed in making Christians blush and Patriots fume.

Read more on their highly developed website, complete with their regular website polling, mocking and cynical as it is. In addition, the Onion-like news headlines of their website newsfeed keep listeners on their toes.

Whether it's the semi-enthusiastic almost-singing of John McCrea that constantly draws you into a hapless and cynical political debate or the strong rhythmic line intertwining Gabe Nelson's bassline with Xan McCurdy on guitar, spectators are surely in for a great night both Thursday and Friday. Tom Monson will only add to the performance with his driving beat on drums.

Come Monday, the melody of Vince DiFiori on trumpet is sure to be hummed along the cycling paths of old Davisville.

Currently, Friday’s show is already sold out. Tickets for Thursday night’s show can be purchased online or through the UC Davis ticket office either in person or by phone at (530) 752-1915. The show will begin at 8 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday night.

20th annual Sammies awards crank up volume in Midtown

2011-10-04T04:07:11Z

The corner of 20th Street between J and K Street usually serves as the unofficial epicenter for Second Saturday in Midtown, a monthly celebration that seems to be slowly losing it's focus on the art and music culture aspect of the event in recent years. This past Saturday, however, something was different. The Sammies, Sacramento's annual music awards show, turned 20 this year, and that afternoon there was no mistaking that music and hometown love reigned supreme over excessive drinking and partying. I sat on my patio just around the corner from the celebration, listening to the sweet sounds of the best of the best in Sacramento, before heading out around 7pm.

By the time I had reached the corner of 20th street, the celebration was in full swing, with people of all ages crowding the entire block, craning their necks to get a glimpse of the stage. The smell of pizza wafted through the crowd, as Luigi's Slice joined in the fun and offered a $3 'Sammies Slice' while nearby Mr. Pickles offered a dollar off their hefty sandwiches. On the opposite side of the street, a sizable beer garden amassed a diverse crowd of attendees ranging from Midtown locals and couples out on date night, to the performers themselves looking for a cold brew to cool down after their performances. The production of the show ran like a well-oiled machine, with multiple camera crews darting through the crowd and flatscreen TV's present to ensure everyone got a good glimpse of what was happening onstage. Hosts A.V. and Adam Saake, dressed in outfits that would make Willy Wonka envious, pumped up the crowd and made sure the show never reached a dull moment. "This all wouldn't be possible without all of you here tonight" Saake told the crowd. "Give it up for everyone here...this is for you".

I arrived just in time to see Exquisite Corps deliver an impressive set, combining elements of classical music and indie rock to create a moody, yet accesible sound all their own. Every member of the band seemed to be on point as soon as they hit the stage, with cellist Krystyna Taylor adding warm tones to vocalist/guitarist Bryan Valenzuela's acoustic melodies while dual violinists Reylynn Goessling and Kristin Arnold furiously moved their bows across their strings in calculated rhythm. The set featured members of the Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet offering a visually stunning dance number to accompany an already incredible live performance by the band. I caught up with Valenzuela cooling off in the beer garden after their set, and inquired about the band. According to Valenzuela, the band has only been around since Spring 2010, impressive for a band already performing at the Sammies a little over a year since their inception. During our chat, Valenzuela was met with warm recognition from attendees commenting on the performance and local venue promoters offering business cards to book shows with the band. The band is currently recording and plans to release their debut album in Spring 2012.

The night continued on with a notable appearance by local comedian Mike E. Winfield, who recently landed a reoccuring role on the hit T.V. series The Office as Wes, a warehouse worker at the fictional Dundler Mifflin Paper Company, ushering in the hip-hop performances. The music kicked off with Joints and Jams, with artists Sleeprockers, C-Plus, Random Abiladeze, Chuuwee, Self, Task1ne while accompanied by DJ Rated R and the Grant High School Drumline. An ingenious collaboration, each artist displayed their lyrical prowess and flow over the tight, trained rhtyhms of the entire Grant High School drumline students, playing simple hip-hop rhythms mixed with complex percussion artistry. C-Plus (a recipient of this year's award for Best Music Video) performed songs simply with the backing of the drumline, and quick ennuciated concious hip-hop lyricism. DJ Rated R faced off against members of the drumline by tossing bass and synth-heavy beats mixed with scratching at fancy stick work from the drumline's snare players. Later in the evening, personal favorite Tribe of Levi took home the award for Best Hip-hop/Rap for the second year in a row, popping open a bottle of champagne in celebration amid cheers from an enthusiastic crowd.

By 9pm, I had grown weary of yelling, clapping, dancing, and winding my way through the beer garden to find drink tickets. I headed home with the music still blaring into the night and although the ceremonies ended at 10, after parties hosted by Lounge on 20 and Luigi's Fun Garden kept the good times going into the wee hours of the morning. This year's Sammies proved to all the local artists that all their hours spent in the studio perfecting their craft were not spent in vain. Local music is alive and well, with Sacramento listeners cranking the volume to eleven.

This year's Sammies winners include:

Artist of the Year: Autumn Sky

Singer/Songwriter: Autumn Sky

Release of the Year: ZuhG, Free Love

New Artist: Black Holes, What?

Teen Band: Simpl3Jack

Cover Band: Steelin' Dan: A Tribute to Steely Dan

Americana/Alt-Country: The Nickel Slots

Country/Blues: The Golden Cadillacs

Folk: Kate Gaffney

Emcee: Random Abiladeze

Hip-hop/Rap: Tribe of Levi

R&B/Soul: Tessa Evans

Electronic Artist: Tha Fruitbat

Deejay: DJ Whores

Turntablist: DJ Rated R

Experimental: Tera Melos

Funk: The Nibblers

Industrial/ Prog: Kill The Precedent

Rock: Lite Brite

Hard Rock: A Single Second

Hardcore: White Minorities

Metal: Prylosis

Melodic-Hardcore/Screamo: A Lot Like Birds

Indie: Musical Charis

Pop/Rock: The Reel

Rap/Rock: The Shades of Grey

Punk: Whiskey and Stitches

Post-punk: Pets

Jazz: E2

Latin: Sol Peligro

Reggae/Roots: (tie) ZuhG & Arden Park Roots

Music Video: C-Plus, Do What You Want (Gone)

Music Video Director: Jay Synth

Hip-Hop Producer: Chase Moore

Dance Night: Grimey at TownHouse Lounge

Recording Studio: Pus Cavern

Hall of Fame:

Anton Barbeau

DJ CrookOne

DJ Larry Rodriguez

Hoods

Instagon

Disclosure: Local music has always been a huge interest for me, and I love showing Sacramento the talent we have to offer. , it was awesome to see all the support the community showed this year.

Davis beat-boxer Butterscotch set to release new EP

2011-09-19T17:49:48Z

Davis musician Antoinette Clinton, who goes by her stage name, Butterscotch, is releasing her first EP this fall called “Perfect Harmony.” A music video directed by Robyn Twomey for the album’s title track is going to released online in a few weeks.

Butterscotch, who is known for her incredible beat-boxing, will be doing a lot more than just recording music. She will also be performing at the fifth annual Davis Jazz and Beat Festival on Oct. 22. The event will include her along with many other performers and will be located at 521 First St. in Davis.

In recent months, she has traveled to places as far away as Hong Kong and Germany.

“A lot has happened lately,” Butterscotch said, referring to her recent whirlwind of activity.

Growing up, Butterscotch lived in a musical household.

“My mother was a piano teacher, so I grew up playing piano,” she said. The rest of her family was also into music, exposing her to a variety of genres.

But despite having music all around her, Butterscotch didn’t fully immerse herself in music right away.

“I always loved music, but sports were No. 1 in my life,” she said. She played many sports, including soccer and basketball.

A knee injury in high school caused a shift in her focus toward music. After the injury, Butterscotch began attending Natomas Charter School, where she got involved with theater, visual arts and music, which she said changed her life.

Her first show was an open mic at the True Love Coffee House on K Street in Sacramento (now closed) during her junior year of high school.

“Anytime you do something for the first time, it’s a little nerve-wracking,” she recalled. Although not yet beat-boxing, Butterscotch was able to sing and play the piano and guitar.

Butterscotch began beat-boxing during her senior year after seeing local beat-boxer Leejay Abucayan. She turned out to be a natural and quickly became a beat-boxing sensation.

Starting in 2005, she won a string of beat-boxing competitions in the United States and Germany that started to raise her visibility and earn her respect in the beat-boxing community. Since then, she has been making her way up the musical career ladder.

In October of 2006, Butterscotch tried out for “America’s Got Talent” in Los Angeles after a friend suggested it to her.

“I never really watched reality TV shows,” she said, “but someone told me that I should do it. I thought, ‘What could be the harm in trying out?’ ”

After several months, the show responded to her and wanted her for the televised auditions. When she got there, she said, she had no idea what to expect.

“I don’t think I have ever been that nervous before,” Butterscotch said. But despite her nerves, she delivered what judge Sharon Osbourne called a “brilliant” performance and was given a place on the show.

After having performed several songs, from “It’s Your Thing” by the Isley Brothers to Sly and the Family Stone’s “Dance to the Music,” Butterscotch ended up coming in third place on the show.

“I think it definitely gave me a lot of confidence to pursue my ideas,” Butterscotch said about how the show changed her as a musician. “It got me back into piano, because I had kind of gotten stuck in a beat-boxing mode.”

She also said that the speed of the show “forced me to consolidate my ideas and come up with new things.”

After the show, Butterscotch became the subject of considerable attention.

“I would go to the grocery store and everyone (would start) saying something to me and start recognizing me,” she said.

She also said that she was frustrated with how the show had portrayed her.

“It made me out to be very very quiet and shy, so people would come up to me and be like, ‘You came out of your shell!’ and I would think, ‘You don’t really know me!’ ”

But this fame has also brought Butterscotch many new musical experiences. She has performed with a variety of famous musicians, the most noteworthy being Earth, Wind & Fire. She said that the performance was “one of the highlights of my life.”

Butterscotch’s numerous musical influences are eclectic. She said that while her mother and father listened to classical music and Motown, respectively, her siblings listened to hip hop and R&B. All of these styles influenced her growing up. In her “angry” teenage years, rock was also added to her repertoire.

All of these styles are apparent in her music.

“It’s kind of like my head is a just a music box,” she said. “I put things in through my ears, and whatever gets computed in my brain comes out in my mouth or my fingers when I play.”

While an official release date has yet to be set for her new EP, Butterscotch said that it should be out in October or November.

To stay up do date on Butterscotch, visit her website at butterscotchmusic.com.

Below is a video of Butterscotch playing the piano while beat boxing at the same time.

Art, Music, & Fashion Collide at Harlow's for the Midtown Gala

2011-07-18T18:18:17Z

Harlow’s night club was converged upon Friday night by artists, musicians, designers, community leaders and culture enthusiasts to help support and celebrate the creative hub of Sacramento known as Midtown.

The 2011 Midtown Business Association Annual Gala included exhibits by various local businesses, performances by local musicians and artists, and a lecture by Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Policy, Planning and Development and author of, “The Warhol Economy: How Art, Fashion, and Music Drive New York City.”

Harlow’s was elegantly decorated with round tables on the dance floor topped with black linen, centerpieces of wine glasses holding peacock feathers and donated goodies including business cards, coupons and wine keys.

The patio outside featured local DJ and media company, Visao Media. Alex Trujillo and Erin Best ran projections and played an eclectic mix of electronic music which complemented the diverse and unique scene that was growing outside.

Exhibits were further back and included an exclusive mix of local shops and businesses in the downtown area. Flowers Couture by Susanne displayed some particularly beautiful and intricate hair accessories including many 1920’s vintage style headbands and clips. Bunker’s Attic featured mostly “vintage re-mastered” jewelry – handmade and unique. Exhibitors also included Time Tested Books, one of Midtown’s independent new, used and rare book stores; Maiya Gallery, currently displaying new works by JG Morales Villanueva, Dwight Head, Clifford Kluge and Mark Harm Niemeyer; Krazy Mary’s Boutique, carrying designs by many local designers as well as name brand and vintage styles and last but most certainly not least, Motives, a fully customizable high end mineral based makeup line.

“We empower every woman to look and feel beautiful,” explained Rita Lolenko, a Motives representative. “If you want to feel like a star, come get your makeup done by Motives – makeup for the stars.”

The evening continued with a very special and fascinating lecture by Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, Assistant Professor at University of Southern California’s School of Policy, Planning and Development and author of, “The Warhol Economy.” Currid-Halkett spoke eloquently about the art movement, how it is developed, why it happens where it does and what that means for the artists themselves, as well as its effects on the community - socially, culturally and economically.

Currid-Halkett argues that there are three types of “social milieu” that facilitate the cultural economy: Night Life, Industry Events and “in-situ” interactions which are essentially spontaneous interactions that have life changing effects. She cited various regions in New York where areas that were once considered highly undesirable places to live have been transformed over time by a convergence of artists and musicians and are now some of the most exclusive and coveted residential areas in the country. This is an example of how art and music can transform a place, explained Currid Halkett, not just culturally and socially, but economically as well.

Currid-Halkett’s thesis, that place matters, seemed all the more relevant as local Sacramento artists, musicians, and their supporters mingled in the Harlow’s courtyard and enjoyed each other’s performances inside. Huddled around the fire pit were local model Anastasia, subject of a featured painting by Jeff Musser; musician Ashley Maiden of the band Der Spazm, who will be performing Tuesday at the Press Club with French band Human Toys; spoken word artist Jovi Radtke, who will be performing at Chico Pride and Take Back The Night; as well as solo artist and gala performer Reggie Ginn.

All four women are local artists working in different genres who are, nevertheless, out supporting each other. The Sacramento Midtown art scene is a close knit community who appreciate each other for their similarities and their differences. When asked what makes the Midtown art scene unique, Anastasia said it best.

“It’s very much our own. We are influenced by other places, but we take it and put our own twist on it. Sacramento has ingenuity – we’re just a little different out here.”

The Various performers were perhaps the highlight of the entire event. Performers were grouped together in threes on stage, doing what they love. Jeff Musser, a local painter, worked on his picture of Anastasia, a dark, sexy and feminine piece, while local hair stylist Jessica Harrison of Spanish Fly created a classically beautiful look on stage. The two were accompanied by Jake Desrochers, aka Jake D. of the band Lonely Kings. His passionate songs about life and love inspired and set the tone for the continued performances.

Jessica Harrison was replaced on stage by Amithyst, an artist/hair stylist who constructed an elaborate and gravity defying hair style on stage. The model sat stationary while Amithyst fitted her with a handmade wig and sculpted the rest of her hair into an updo reminiscent of Marie Antoinette. Jeweled and painted, the model posed on stage.

Amithyst, a Sacramento native, has been doing hair in Sacramento for 12 years. She describes the fashion, art and music scene as going “nowhere but up. The influential people here are established and poised to make (this city) grow – it’s open for anyone to dominate.”

The next musical performer was Reggie Ginn, local singer-songwriter and musician. Reggie took the stage with nothing but her keyboard, confidently serenading the crowd with her haunting, passionate and soulful voice. Her lyrics and voice transport the listener to another consciousness, one that is simultaneously filled with loss and longing, and peace and honesty. Reggie plays all over town; her next show will be at Naked Lounge on H Street. Keep an eye out for her at the Chalk It Up Festival as well. She is currently working on her third album, “Passion in Perspective,” which will be out in a couple months.

Meanwhile, on stage, Amithyst was replaced by local tattoo artist, Britton McFetridge, owner and operator of the Royal Peacock Tattoo Parlor. McFetridge tattooed a loyal and very pain tolerant customer on stage. The work was beautifully elaborate and intricate, a large dragon which took up the man’s entire back. McFetridge calmly began his work, checking in occasionally with his client, who withstood the process with hardly a grimace.

They were serenaded by the soulful sounds of Andrew Harrison, whose blues, soul and Americana sounds brought a nice variety to the performances. Harrison’s authentic sound is influenced by Albert King, Jackie Wilson and probably most influentially, by Elvis Costello.

Last on stage was Alex Dorame of the Sacramento band, Killdevil, who took the stage with his guitar in hand and approached the microphone for a no holds barred performance. His raspy and powerful voice, accompanied by gritty, heartfelt lyrics, can be described as acoustic street punk, which might make it the most street of all. His music sounds like a confession with songs about drinking, lost love and good friends. Dorame dedicated his last song of the night, “Final Call” to Sacramento.

“This song is about good friends and appreciating them.”

His words seemed to sum up the meaning of the night - a coming together of good friends, appreciators of art and most importantly, a desire to make Sacramento great.

The Reverend Horton Heat Holds Mass at Ace of Spades

2011-07-15T05:13:59Z

The Reverend Horton Heat was preaching to the choir Wednesday night at Ace of Spades. The legendary psychobilly phenomenon has been on tour since December 2010 promoting their new album, Laughin’ & Cryin’ with the Reverend Horton Heat, as well as those old Horton Heat classics we love them for.

Mass began with the local Sacramento punk band, Another Damn Disappointment (A.D.D), who seriously tore up the stage. Don’t let their name fool you, there is nothing disappointing about A.D.D. Their high energy act, which channels sounds similar to punk greats like NOFX and Bad Religion, tore into the admittedly small crowd of early arrivals.

A few diehards at the front of the stage made a sad attempt at a mosh pit -which actually ended up being more of a weak shoving match - but A.D.D. kept on with Josh Thompson singing his heart out while the rest of the band accompanied him with furious beats and wild guitar riffs.

As the crowd grew, so did the energy, and about halfway through the performance, the venue was filled with a mix of Sacramento concert goers, about half in skater-urban wear and the other half in Texas style pearl snap button shirts adorned with fedoras, and yes, cowboy hats.

“How ya doing cowboy?” Thompson asked an aptly dressed gentleman. The man tipped his hat to Thompson who continued, “Give it up for country right here!” and kicked off into another frenzied song.
The cowboy did his best to find a melody in the song that he could dance to, but ended up in a bent over sway in front of the stage.

Finally, at about 7:35 p.m., two kids - clearly fans - glided in through the entrance. They converged on the crowd with graceful, yet wildly dangerous moves – arms flailing, knees swinging high, they parted the crowd and the party had officially begun.

This band is high energy and they play hard music; it should be experienced firsthand to get the full effect.

At about 8:00 p.m., San Francisco natives, Swingin’ Utters, took the stage, the official opening act for Reverend Horton Heat. The pace slowed, just a baby step mind you, and by then the full crowd was ready to move. A small mosh pit had started towards the front of the stage and eventually grew to encircle a group of women. The women huddled together in the center of the pit while the moshers encircled them. The whole thing resembled a scene out of an old 1950’s Cowboy and Indian film.

Swingin’ Utters has been together since the mid 90’s and their experience shows. Their down and dirty street punk style adds grit to their slightly more melodic sound, even throwing a couple of faintly pop and reggae sounding songs into the mix. Swingin’ Utters played a great set and a great set of old songs intermixed with some new numbers off of their newest album, Here, Under Protest.

Shortly after 9:00 p.m. the Reverend Horton Heat took the stage. The amount of cowboy hats in the audience had doubled, which seemed fitting, considering the band hails from Texas and their new album, Laughin’ & Cryin’ with the Reverend Horton Heat, seems to be a tribute to the Lone Star State (in an offbeat kind of way).

As the lights dimmed and the music changed to a Johnny Cash ballad, the sound of trumpets flooded the room, like something out of an old Hollywood classic film, fitting for a group that has been recording and touring together for 25 years.

The Horton Heat take the stage one by one; first Paul Simmons on drums, Jimbo Wallace on standup bass and then Jim “Reverend Horton” Heath on lead vocals and guitar. I have had the pleasure of seeing the Reverend Horton Heat four times now, and I will admit, even shamefully, that I did get discouraged with their performances. My first experience was pure magic; my second was the same, exactly the same, even down to the smallest joke. Then again, in Austin, I was greeted with the same lineup, the same jokes, and yes, my loyalty wavered.

I am now pleased to report that the Reverend Horton Heat has made a comeback in my heart (not that they really ever left). This show was new in its content and its material, but kept all of that same charm and talent that makes the band great.

They entered the stage without a word and got right down to business, kicking off their nearly two-hour set with “Marijuana,” picked up the pace slightly with “Baby, You Know Who,” and then went right into “Lonesome Train Whistle.” Their fourth song was a cover called “Nurture My Pig” by the Dallas, Texas band, Loco Gringos, which was bluesy, swinging and hard rocking all in one.

The romantic and sultry sounding music was coupled with questionable lyrics like, “I got a pig baby, you are my pig.”

They played their set chronologically, starting with their first album and working towards their last, continuing with “Cruisin’ for a Bruisin',’” “5-0 Ford,” “Now, Right Now,” “Crooked Cigarette,” “Baby I’m Drunk” and “Jimbo.” Then, of course, came the crowd favorite, the ever popular “The Party in Your Head,” the Reverend Horton “how-off” piece.

As the music started, Jimbo began slapping the bass like he was mad at it. The strings bounced off the neck like they were made of rubber and he began to kneel down, all the while playing a steady bass beat. As the bass was lowered all the way to the ground, Heath got on top of it and rode it like a pro.

Standing tall and proud, he played his Gretsch while Jimbo plucked away without even a break in the beat. At the end of the song, Jimbo stood up, raised his bass in the air like a trophy and then threw it and caught it, as if it were weightless.

This is the perfect transition to their new album, Laughin’ & Cryin’ with the Reverend Horton Heat. They played four songs in a row off the new album, starting with “Ain’t No Saguaro in Texas,” a song inspired by the Saguaro cactus, indigenous and almost exclusively found in Arizona and, you guessed it, found nowhere in Texas. Nevertheless, they are depicted on most Texas inspired artwork. The Reverend prefaced the song with a lesson in all things succulent, including a long list of cacti that do grow in Texas.

Just when we thought that perhaps The Reverend Horton Heat had given up songs about cigarettes, drinking and breakups and had decided to change their image to singing songs about the Texas landscape, they continued their performance with, “Drinkin' & Smokin’ Cigarettes,” and possibly my new favorite, “Please Don’t Take the Baby to the Liquor Store.”

Despite their rough lyrics, The Reverend Horton Heat have got to be the cleanest and most put together guys in the business. Jim Heath plays his Gretsch with seemingly effortless grace, shirt buttoned to the very top button and tucked into pleated and perfectly pressed slacks. His hair neatly combed, he scans the audience, smiling slightly when something strikes him as charming or amusing, even going into “Psychobilly Freakout!” with a stoic expression, just grinning slightly as the crowd goes nuts.

Then, just as the crowd is at their highest point, the lights go out and they are gone, beginning one of the hardest worked for encores in recent memory. The lights black, the crowd began to scream and chant, “Reverend! Reverend!”

It tapers off until someone shrieks from the front of the stage and the crowd is revived, chanting and whistling, until again it dies off. A small flash of light revives the crowd and with another couple of minutes of clapping and cheering, they are back on stage.

“I like to hear that! Thank you!” says Jimbo.

They encore with “Bales of Cocaine,” the most amazing drum solo ever performed by a human - it is truly indescribable and hard to believe unless you truly heard it, and a mashup of “Big Red Rocket” and Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.”

25 years later, this band is still making magic happen at stages around the world. If you haven’t seen them yet, you simply need to; it’s not even something to consider. Bring a date and get ready to furiously swing dance your heart out. This is a touring band and they plan on continuing, so keep them on your calendars y’all!

Questions arise over Old Ironsides' live music

2011-06-29T00:55:47Z

Sacramento musicians and their followers are waiting to see whether this summer brings an end to an era of live music at Old Ironsides.

Countless local bands broke into the music business at the bar/restaurant known as "Old I" over the last two decades. But there's currently only one weekend show booked for July.

Two shows that had been set for next month have been moved to another location, one has been canceled and future bookings have been postponed for now.

The family that has owned the bar at 1901 10th St. for 76 years is working to replace a rented sound system that was removed Sunday. The Kanelos family rented the system for about 17 years and was unable to negotiate a lower fee with the sound system's owner, a concert promoter said.

Old Ironsides' owners said they hope to know by early next week whether they've got a new system lined up and an installation date set, co-owner Sam Kanelos Jr. said.

"We're just between sound systems," he said Monday afternoon while tending the bar. "You're getting it from the horse's mouth."

However, concert promoter Jerry Perry will be parting ways with Old Ironsides – at least temporarily – after booking shows there for at least a decade.

He won’t book bands there unless the bar brings in a sound system. He doesn’t want to rent systems each night or rely on bands to bring sound equipment because he won’t know how good the sound quality will be each night, he said.

Perry, who owns Jerry Perry Presents, has been booking all the bands at the club on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, except for dance club nights. Perry also books bands at Harlows and Luigi’s Slice Slice at 1050 20th St. He’ll book his first show at the downtown location of Naked Lounge this summer.

He said he moved two shows to Luigi's after he was told by the owners that his July 1 show would be the last there and that the sound system was being removed. He stopped booking shows at Old Ironsides about a month ago in anticipation of that.

"They called me and told me they were done. That they weren't going to be doing any live music anymore, except for open mic and dance nights," he said. "I love Old Ironsides, but until things change there and they get a sound system back ... I won't be doing shows there."

Perry talked with the owners about buying a sound system a decade ago and again in 2007. Until now, he and the bands paid a nightly fee to the bar owners to rent the sound system.

Dozens of musicians and Old I customers posted comments on Facebook last week after he posted a notice that he needed to move shows because the sound system was being removed. Old Ironsides' owners later posted on their Facebook page asking customers to stay tuned for updates on the situation.

"We are just in the middle of switching sound systems and no decision has been made to completely let the night life go," the owners wrote in the post. "As of now, we are still here."

Some customers wondered if the bar was closing.

"We're not going out of business," Kanelos said Monday.

Perry also stressed the bar isn't shutting down.

"I don't like this idea that people are talking about – 'Oh, they're done.' That's ridiculous. They've been there more than 75 years," he said. "I don't want to see Old Ironsides lose any more business."

Recently, he had been working on deals to get the bar a new system. A durable, easy-to-store system including such things as amplifiers, speakers, microphones, mic stands, monitors, cables and a sound board would have cost about $14,000 or $15,000, he said.

One person was ready to install a rented system Monday that could be used until a new system was purchased. But the owners canceled the installation, Perry said.

Perry then told co-owner Billie Jean Kanelos he would have to move his shows. Her father, Bill Bordisso, was issued the first Sacramento liquor license after Prohibition ended for the bar.

Tuesday, Kanelos declined additional comment until the situation is resolved.

Perry said the family hasn't gotten back in touch to say they're bringing in a new system. They last told him they wanted bands or Perry to bring in sound on a night-to-night basis. Equipment would cost $200 a night or Perry would have to find bands with their own system.

That's too expensive and impractical, Perry said. Consistent, high-quality sound can't be guaranteed when working with a different sound system every night, he added.

Business is a bit lean for the bar in the summer – especially during the recession, Perry said.

Many local bands got started in the music business after Perry got behind them and booked them at Old I.

Perry began promoting bands in the early 1980s at the legendary Cattle Club on Folsom Boulevard. He also books the Friday Night Concerts in the Park at Cesar Chavez Plaza, Hot Italian's free Hot Lunch series at Fremont Park and the bands for a three-day art event called Chalk It Up!

Old I brought in bigger crowds in the 1990s after getting the sound system and offering live music, said Evan Drath, who was the bar's head sound engineer from 1995 to 2000. He also played bass guitar for Grub Dog and the Amazing Sweethearts.

Local bands that regularly packed Old I included Mother Hips, Okra Pickles, Sex 66, Magnolia Thunderfinger and Jackpot. It was well-known as a place for up-and-coming bands, he said.

"It established itself as a cultural point in Sacramento," Drath said. "The music obviously was the main part of that. It really brought it to another level nationwide as well as locally."

But now there's more competition, fewer local bands and more virtual entertainment options keeping people at home in front of their computers. Band members are getting older, and other bands aren't replacing them. People in their late-30s and 40s who established Old I as a live music venue are busy with their lives, Drath said.

Old Ironsides can't always pack the house three nights a week like before, added Drath, now a touring sound engineer.

"There's a reason why maybe the Kanelos (family) found it harder to meet the bottom line. It's because the crowd is dwindling," he said. "A different culture around music has developed. It was an actual music experience you were having as opposed to a virtual music experience."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Transported to the 1940's by the Sacramento Swing Time Festival 2011!

2011-06-28T04:37:49Z

The So-Cal Speed Shop Warehouse was in full swing Saturday as it hosted Sacramento Swing Time 2011. This family friendly event included a wide variety of activities including a car show, pin-up pageant, arts and crafts workshops, swing dance lessons, an amazing lineup of rock-a-billy, psychobilly and big band swing bands. There was also, of course, a plethora of retail and food exhibits.

The parking lot was scattered with vintage cars dating from the 1920’s through the 1960’s, many with custom paint jobs and rebuilt engines. The chrome sparkled in the sunlight as the participants enjoyed beverages and relaxed in the sun, showing off their hard work and admiring the work of others.

Also outside were a variety of unique, handmade crafts from local artists. One exhibitor, Vintage Box 1947, offered wonderfully diverse and intricate veils, hats and elaborate clips adorned with flowers, feathers and jewels. ϋberella offered hand painted umbrellas, purses and bags, 100 percent handmade and all original artwork. And, what vintage affair would be complete without Trophy Queens custom purses and handbags, designed from classic car materials like vinyl seating, seatbelts and symbols.

Marilee Caruso Photography was on hand to host the Pin-Up Pageant. The heavily tattooed, classic beauties lined up in full makeup and hair, their faces painted perfectly and their hair curled and twisted into intricate designs. With not a hair out of place, the women floated across the floor and onto the stage where they were asked a brief set of questions. Who is their favorite old time singer? Who is their favorite modern day singer? And of course, what is their favorite classic car? The crowd cheered on the winner and the three finalists were awarded large gift baskets. The first place winner received a highly coveted photo shoot from Marilee.

Then there was the music - an eclectic variety of vintage inspired bands, designed to get your feet moving and your heart pounding. The linup included groups from all over California as well as the country. Bands included local Sacramento favorite The Afterlife and The Cockfight Kings, Jenny Lynn and Her Real Gone Daddies, The Twilight Drifters, Lost Dog Found, Hillbilly Hellcats, La Cholita, Deke Dickerson & The Ecco-Fonics, and last, but not least, Devil Doll.

Swing dance lessons were given by Johnny Ochoa, and students danced their newly learned moves to the big band sound of Lost Dog Found, a “no covers,” all original Bay area band that is hitting the swing scene hard. Catch them performing at the Midtown Stomp on July 29 and at the Rootstock Festival in Sacramento on September 17. Be sure to bring your dancing shoes! This band will get you moving.

The third annual Sacramento Swing Time 2011 was a fun-filled, activity-packed event great for families, couples and individuals interested in experiencing a nostalgic taste of the 1940’s. This event is on the books for next year, so don’t miss it!

Fitz & the Tantrums Rock Ace of Spades

2011-05-27T02:51:46Z

Ace of Spades was in full groove Wednesday night as a high-energy and highly diverse group of performers rocked the stage, leading up to headliners Fitz and the Tantrums.

The party began with Sacramento natives The New Humans, who warmed up the crowd with an enthusiastic set of electro-indie rock beats. The four-piece band, consisting of keyboard, synth, bass guitar and drums, has been making their mark on the Sacramento music scene for years, and they were the perfect opening act to get everyone ready for what was to be a magical night of music.

As the music continued, the crowd grew, and by the end of the performance, the full house was in a frenzy, loving every minute of what The New Humans was giving them.

"Are you ready to get nasty now?" lead singer Scott Simpson shouted. The answer was a resounding “Yes!”

Next up was Grammy Award-winner Ximena Sariñana in her first Sacramento performance, and she will be back.

"I love Sacramento!" she said. "I want to move here! You have bike lanes!"

Sariñana is a native of Mexico who splits her time between living in her home country and in Los Angeles. Sariñana took the stage accompanied by Alex Wong, expert percussionist and jack of all things musical. The two musicians filled the venue with sweet, honest and intoxicating melodies. Sariñana’s delicate yet powerful voice filled our hearts and our minds and drew us into her world. Instantly personable, Sariñana connects with the audience as few performers do, and her fans love her for it.

"I think that definitely the feeling of community among the Latino population has something to do with it,” she said of her fans’ ability to identify with her music. “Also, I'm a young girl who speaks about what I am going through. I think that other young girls can identify with that."

And this seems to be the case: Sariñana, surrounded by a small mob, signed autographs and posed for pictures for at least an hour after her performance. She obviously has a huge fan base here in Sacramento, and, judging by her heartfelt and powerful performance, this is not the last we will see of her.

Sariñana will continue touring with Fitz and the Tantrums and then perform at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago in August and the Outside Land Music & Arts Festival in San Francisco.

Fitz & the Tantrums took the stage with an unrivaled energy that immediately got the crowd on their feet and dancing. This band is led by Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs. They are accompanied by James King on saxophone, John Wicks on drums, Jeremy Wuzamna on keyboard and Joseph Karnes on electric bass.

Let me tell you, this band has chemistry! They hit the stage running with their first song, "Don't Gotta Work It Out" off their 2010 album "Pickin' Up the Pieces." The crowd was immediately jumping. Their Motown-meets-soul and pop sound is the exact recipe for a good time, and the band fits the picture perfectly.

Scaggs can only be described as beautiful. Tall, leggy, graceful and, yes, sexy. Her powerful vocals and high energy create the perfect harmony next to Fitzpatrick, handsome and equally tall and likable. Their on-stage energy combines to create the perfect mix of fun and jubilation.

Continuing with "Winds of Change" and "Breakin’ the Chains of Love," the excitement on stage and in the crowd continued to build, and suddenly Scaggs is in an all-out gut-wrenching performance of "Picking Up the Pieces." This was the climax of the performance, and everyone in the crowd lost it. Scaggs’ powerful voice coupled with the seeming love affair happening on stage infiltrated the spectators.

“What's this over here?" Fitz yelled, referring to the 21-and-over section of the venue. "This looks like the nasty crowd over here! Any one of you guys can buy me a shot anytime."

Scaggs, after tugging on her skirt for a song or two comments, "My dress is a little too short tonight!"

"That’s why I put mirrors on the toes of my boots!" Fitz replied. The audience loves this, the flirtatious banter and the genuine fun and musicianship on stage.

To put it lightly, Fitz and the Tantrums is the ultimate band: smooth, professional, tight and together. They wrap the audience in a feeling of ultimate exultation. Their performance is full of surprises as all band members are true multi-instrumentalists. Mid-song, King switched his saxophone for a flute, playing with the same expertise he showed with his saxophone all night. As the crowd cheered, he rewarded us with a dance reminiscent of a band leader (or perhaps a baton twirler).

The Tantrums continued their performance with an immaculate cover of the Raconteurs’ "Steady as She Goes." They followed with "Dear Mr. President," "LOVE," "Tighter" and "6AM." The set ended with "News 4 U," Scaggs gliding across the stage with a dance seemingly outside herself (was she channeling James Brown?).

With the crowd still in a frenzy, the lights went dark and they were gone. But not to worry — Sacramento has proven itself to be a great audience and, of course, the audience screamed for more. The request was answered shortly with another cover, the Eurhythmics’ "Sweet Dreams," which proves to be appropriately smooth, sexy and dreamy, with a unique Tantrums twist.

"We can play one song or two songs!" Fitz shouted to the crowd, and instantly everyone in the audience made a peace sign. They wind down with "We Don't Need Love Songs" and "MoneyGrabber."

"I do believe I'm transpiring tonight!" Fitz said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Thank you for coming out, Sacramento. You have made all of our dreams come true. Without true music lovers like you, this band would not exist."

High praise from a band that is on the verge of an ultimate fame breakthrough. This is a band to follow. Sacramento, they will be back.
- Show quoted text -

Local Darlings Blvd Park and Musical Charis play Shady Lady Saloon

2011-05-03T03:09:36Z

Sunday nights at Shady Lady Saloon are usually a quiet affair. A few dozen patrons, sipping drinks and chatting while listening to the band play, are the norm. This was not so this May Day, which saw the triumphant homecoming of local favorites Blvd Park and Musical Charis from their two-month, cross-country “New American Dream” Tour.

The Afterlife was the first to take the stage at a quarter after eight. They played to an already sizable crowd, one that you would normally see on Friday or Saturday evening, rather than on a “school night” like Sunday. Tyson Graf on guitar and Zack Sapunor on upright bass warmed up the early arriving patrons and a small group of listeners that included a middle-aged couple cutting a rug at the front of the stage.

Toward the end of their set, Graf announced that the duo had not rehearsed together for two months due to Sapunor being on tour with Blvd Park, and apologized if they were not as polished as they could have been. If that were the case, to this reviewer, it was imperceptible as they delivered a tight set of familiar jazz standards ending with Sapunor singing a hyperactive rendition of “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”

Musical Charis crowded onto the stage at close to nine and commenced playing to a similarly packed floor of eager friends and family, stirring the crowd with an uptempo opener. They then followed with a rousing cover of Johnny Cash’s, “Ring of Fire.” Singer and guitarist Blake Abbey explained that they had learned this cover on the road as a way to connect with audiences who were unfamiliar with their work.

Musical Charis played for close to an hour, nimbly skipping though genres of music with an enthusiasm that kept everyone on their feet and begging for more. They closed their set with Abbey declaring, “Everyone here is so awesome. Introduce yourself to a stranger, man. Break down the walls!”

The crowd responded in kind with joyful cheering as Musical Charis ripped into their final number of the evening.

After a short interlude, during which the audience milled about happily, ordering more drinks and chatting, Blvd Park piled onto the stage around half past ten. A packed house of friends and family surged toward the stage as they slowly, with rising intensity, flowed into their special blend of Folky Americana.

Two months on tour have polished their sound to a mirror shine, and the audience responded with persistent cheering and whoops of glee. Even the miniscule stage could not stop the entire band, six in all, from frequently crowding to the edge of the apron to reach out and play as though they were trying to touch the audience with song. Blvd Park played for nearly two hours, closing down the bar, as the crowd hung onto every note.

Unfortunately, this was - in addition to a homecoming - a farewell show of sorts for this local powerhouse. The group has plans to move to Seattle. Sacramento sends you off with a fond farewell.

You will be missed.

ZuhG Life

2010-12-11T02:59:52Z

Local musician Bryan Nichols, of the reggae band ZuhG, opened an independent music store in the Westfield Downtown Plaza on Nov. 13. The store only stocks local musicians’ albums, the work of other local artists and apparel.

Apparel includes styles by 215Grass, Calibis Clothes, Hippy Tree, Dome Apparel and independent craftspeople on consignment.

In The back of the store, which is named ZuhG Life after the band, serves as a space for music lessons.

“It just kind of happened” Nichols said. He had been booking live music for the mall when management offered him a space to open a music store.

“We’re Sacramento’s local music shop” said Aaron Hoberman, a roadie who also operates the store when Nichols can’t. “The store exists to get the Sac music scene where it should be.”

The enthusiastic and ever-friendly Hoberman is constantly looking for new artists and bands to fill the space with.

Jessie Brune, of the band Musical Charis, teaches guitar, piano and vocals as well as how to write songs and record them. She said the store is a “good location to teach.” She’s been a music teacher for two years working out of Beatnik Studios on 17th and Broadway.

Alexis Heints, age 9, takes guitar lessons from Brune. Her mother, Ole Heints said it’s a “friendly and nice environment,” for her daughter to learn.

Jesi Naomi is a local artist and musician who works at the BodyShop next to the FootLocker just a couple dozen feet from ZuhG. She displays her paintings in the store and has already sold one.

“I’d been looking for a place to show my art, and then ZuhG opened up right next door,” she said “It’s great. It’s what Sac needed, something local to get people together, to network and meet other artists and collaborate.”

Local truck driving instructor John Morris was browsing the store Thursday afternoon and said it reminded him of Berkeley. Morris said he was a roadie for Anthrax and Nightranger when they toured with Ozzy Osbourne in the ‘80s.

Debbie White from Debbie Does Dyes, who consigns her tie-dye shirts at ZuhG, said she likes the store and that everyone should come check it out.

Some of the local artists represented are Monophonics, Todd Morgan and the Emblems, Journal, ArdenPark, Random Abiladeze, Musical Charis, Secretions, Juana Blaze and ZuhG.

Nichols books the small venue in front of the store from 4 - 8 p.m. Fridays and 1 - 5 p.m. Saturdays. It’s a small covered open-air stage. The first gig a band plays is unpaid, with following shows being paid.

Local bands are encouraged to bring their CDs to the store to sell. ZuhG can be contacted at (916) 822-5185.

ZuhG Life is located next to the food court on the second level near Fifth and J streets. The mall is open from 10:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sundays.

ZuhG is Bryan Nichols on vocals and guitar, Matt Klee on drums, Jacob Gleason on saxophone, JR Halliday on lead guitar, Tommy G on percussion, Bianca Wright on vocals, Charlie Wheeler beatboxing and Jacob Jarzemkoski on bass. The band recently won a Sammie in the reggae/roots/jam category. JR helps manage the House of Hits, a local practice space.

Photos by Zephyr McIntyre

Here's to the dulcet sounds of DoomBird, Sacramento's finest new band

2010-08-25T20:12:16Z

I wrote the following last January, after first being exposed to a new local band called DoomBird, and posted it on my blog, The Random Griffith. Clay Nutting, who's promoting a show at Harlow's this Sunday, August 29, with DoomBird, Aaron Ross and Bart Davenport on the bill, asked me if I'd resurrect it by republishing it on this space. I figured that might not be a bad idea, because I'll still stand by this album's greatness. Case in point: Recently, I was driving along listening to the Arcade Fire's summer release, The Suburbs, and I kept hearing these songs come into my head that were better than anything on that album. It took me a little while to figure out what diaphanous melodies I kept imagining, or recalling, until I remembered the DoomBird record. It really is thqt good. So, anyway, here's something I wrote in January:

@ @ @ @ @

Last weekend I went to Old Ironsides, a fine old bar in downtown Sacramento, to see and hear DoomBird, a new band that's been making some seriously wonderful noise in these parts. I'd caught the last three or four songs in a set by the same band a week before, at Luigi's Fun Garden, which left enough of an aftertaste that I made it a big priority to get down to Old I on Saturday. And having a copy of the the band's unreleased album really helped convince me of the wisdom of that decision.

I'll make no bones about my love for Baroque pop music. Brian Wilson is still my number-one guy in the record-making department, with the Beach Boys' 1966 masterpiece Pet Sounds, along with Smile, which Wilson reconstituted from a cancelled 1967 Beach Boys release. Van Dyke Parks' 1968 album Song Cycle is another favorite, along with Randy Newman's skein of Reprise albums in the late 1960s and early '70s. And I love all those Jimmy Webb songs that people like Glen Campbell were covering. Not to mention more obscure SoCal Baroque sides like "My World Fell Down" by Sagittarius.

So, well, I just have to go on and on with how completely knocked out and bowled over by this 10-song album from DoomBird that someone passed my way, which I'm presuming is self-titled. This is a great album. To paraphrase what David Watts Barton said a year ago about Christian Kiefer, Jefferson Pitcher and Matthew Gherkin's sprawling song cycle about the American presidents, Of Great and Mortal Men, I think this DoomBird album may be the greatest thing to ever come out of this town, musically speaking. I don't like to blather with the hyperbole like a dog slobbering over a nearby steak dinner, but homina homina, this thing is gosh-darned brilliant.

The album opens with a bit of plainsong, songwriter Kris Anaya singing over a fingerpicked acoustic guitar figure juxtaposed with an electric on "Crooked Heart," with cellos and flutes. Very Beatle-like, with sweet little dissonances popping up for nice flavoring. "Naked" follows, a stunning track that rides on a shimmering wave of orchestration anchored by a piano, with oscillating instruments out of the Steve Reich or Philip Glass playbook rolling under the incredibly catchy "Too many mistakes have ripped off all of my clothes" chorus. Jeebus, two songs in and I'm thoroughly enamored. It's like Animal Collective meets Smile. A trippy instrumental figure in the middle, a fake fade, and then the chorus comes back in. Third song is "Petty Lies," which lopes along like Neil Young's "Harvest Moon," with acoustic guitar, with angelic backup vocals. The song stops and starts, with a simple orchestral interlude that's kinda like Van Dyke Parks meets Ennio Morricone, and then the guitar and organ: "There's no place for me in your life/ I can't beg you for mercy/ You told me not to try." Crikers. Devastating. "Sick of Fighting" has an andante pizzicato thrust, driven by what sounds like a harpsichord. "If the candle burns at both ends, which flame will burn out?" Anaya asks. "Are you running scared?" There's a lot of space in the track, which coalesces into heaviness on the chorus, and there's more of that Sergio Leone-movie guitar and organ. I really love what follows: "Mood Ring" opens with cello and flute, which flower into a string quartet, an effect that's beautiful and dreamlike. "I would walk for miles to hear you sing," Anaya croons in a gentle melodic figure that soars upward in Wilsonesque fashion. But it's the way the track finishes that's truly jaw-dropping; after a very nice, sailing-into-the-sunset melodic vocal tag comes a string arrangement that rises from the ocean like Botticelli's Venus.

So that's the end of what would be side one; side two begins with "Receive," a slow-moving track that stops and starts like a throwaway from David Bowie's Hunky Dory, then bursts into an atmospheric stomp toward the end. Again, a simple figure rendered profound: "We can grow if we receive," Anaya sings. A bass clarinet signals an imaginative brass and percussion arrangement on "Meant to Be," a fairly short track that moves slowly beneath Anaya singing his wishes for a bucolic existence. Very Randy Newman. Dunno if the next track is called "Loose Fur" or "Lucifer," but it's a dreamlike waltz that's been rattling around in my head for a week, until I finally realized its melody reminded me of Grant Lee Buffalo, or the kind of John Lennon-meets-early Elton John thing Grant-Lee Phillips might write. Then, "Shape of Hearts," a dirge with a plaintive, minor-key, almost Japanese melody and a spare but exotic arrangement. "I don't want to beg for you, I can't hold my promise/ I don't want to beg for you, I can't hold my pride," Anaya sings. Incandescent. That song segues into the album's closer, "Cruel Mistake," which makes for a pretty transcendent way to go out: gentle guitar, a little organ, Anaya's voice singing one of the record's most winning melodies. Then the track builds, with background vocals. "Just give me a little sign/ I'll leave myself behind." Then, the fade. Beautiful.

It's a short record, clocking in at a little over 35 minutes for 10 songs. But with music this good, who says you need a double album with a die-cut gatefold cover to make your point? And while I never caught the bug of An Angle, Anaya's previous band, I'm going to have to revisit everything that band did as a result of this one. And one more point: Anaya's a brilliant songwriter, but I'm told Joe Davancens did the arrangements, which are nothing short of masterful. He's like Ben Mink to Anaya's k.d. lang, a comment that will make sense if you've ever heard lang's remarkable 1990 exotica album, Ingenue.

I think I can confidently say that this gets my vote for the best album of 2010, by anybody, anywhere. I can't imagine anyone topping this, and if they do, it will be a very, very good year for music. It's the kind of record I wish I could walk into Lenny Waronker's and Mo Ostin's office at the Warner/Reprise ski chalet circa 1975, lay this on their desks and say, "Lads, have you had your massive musical boners today? Because, boy, do I have a treat for you. Here. Listen."

I do hope this comes out for public consumption, and soon. Because you're just going to melt.

@ @ @ @ @

So here it is late August, and I still feel the same way about this band. I've gotten to know Kris Anaya a little bit since then, I've seen DoomBird play a few times, and the last time I saw the band, at a packed room upstairs at the Town House a few months back, I was completely floored. So, my advice: Run, don't walk, to Harlow's this Sunday night (August 29, 8:30 p.m., 2708 J Street), for an evening with what's arguably the finest musical act this town has produced to date, and that's with a lot of stiff competition. You will be really glad you did.

Downtown walking tour offers snapshot of local music history

2010-05-13T03:11:36Z

Yes, that really did happen here.

The complaints and rumblings about music in Sacramento have been mounting for years: a perceived disconnect between the local music scene and the community, the glaring lack of consistent all-ages music venues in the downtown area and a debilitating middle child syndrome caused by big name touring acts that often pass the Capitol City over for gigs in the Bay Area.

In the face of the retrospective on local music provided by Downtown Sacramento Partnership’s newest walking tour, it becomes hard to find anything to complain about.

Entitled “Locally Grown, Internationally Known: The history of the Sacramento Music Scene,” this hour-long tour offers not only several nuggets of information on Downtown’s musical past, but a sense of where the Sacramento scene is now, and where it wants to go.

The tours run every Friday afternoon beginning at 4 p.m. The walk begins at Cesar Chavez Plaza at the corner of Ninth and J streets, travels east to 15th and J Street, then back up L Street, ending back at Cesar Chavez Plaza at approximately 5 p.m., right at the beginning of the Friday Night Concerts in the Park, a series that runs through Aug. 13. The cost for the tour is $10. As always, the concerts are free.

“Locally Grown, Internationally Known” is the latest offering in the Downtown Partnership’s stock of themed walking tours, a series that also features tours on early Sacramento history, architecture, public art, kid-friendly spots and more.

According to tour guide Shawn Peter, these specialized tours have been running for about a year and a half, ever since the Partnership decided to break up its large-scale walking tour in favor of shorter, more specifically concentrated jaunts.

“Me being a musician, I pretty much know the history (of the local scene) like the back of my hand,” Peter said. “I’ve been sneaking out and going to shows since about 1990, so that’s 20 years of history.

“Mike has been going to concerts since the late ‘60s. We thought, ‘You know, Mike would be the perfect guy to do the rock and roll tour with me,’” he added, referring to fellow tour guide Mike Becklehimer, who joins Peter in leading this newest tour.

Having been with the organization since 2000, Peter is the Downtown Partnership’s original tour guide and is credited with authoring its Early California History tour, according to the organization’s website.

“There’s so much information between the two of us, so it was like, ‘What are we going to talk about, and what would be the basis of the tour?’” said Peter, who has been game-planning this musical stroll with Becklehimer since January.

The tour embarks on J Street with some snippets about Prohibition-era Sacramento music and a bit of retrospective on topics like the KFBK Radio band, which would back up the likes of Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington when they would roll through town.

Peter and Becklehimer will point out several spots of sonic significance that are now masked by retail facades like FedEx Kinko’s, which was once a booming music store, and McCormick & Schmick’s Restaurant in front of the Elks Lodge, which used to house the “free form rock and roll” of the KZAP 98.5 (now 98 Rock) studios.

The tour provides a heavy dose of history on acts that have come through Memorial Auditorium at 15th and J Streets, where Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards once electrocuted himself (it really should be no surprise that he survived it) in 1965 and Ted Nugent made the ceiling rain chips of plaster in 1977 with the teeth-rattling guitar riffs of “Stranglehold.”

There is even some history at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church across the street, where the Grateful Dead once played an impromptu concert in 1968 after a gig at Memorial was cancelled.

If any well-connected tape traders out there have a recording of that show or know where to get one, the folks at DSP want to hear from you.

Peter and Becklehimer also dish up plenty of info on more recent happenings as the tour moves through the corner of 15th and L, the former home of downtown’s most thriving all-age venue, Capitol Garage.

They can tell you where members of the Cramps used to live, direct you to some postage stamp-sized spots where Cake used to play, tell you about the bands that were getting weird with it at Esquire Grill and even show you some footprints made by Kurt Cobain.

It’s a tour that could easily switch gears from a local history lesson to the kind of rock and roll chat session you’d expect to have at a café table or on a barstool with your concert-going buddies. That’s how well Peter and Becklehimer know their stuff.

Using the tour as an interlude to the current happenings in the Sacramento scene, the two guides can also tell you plenty about the bands that will be tuning up their guitars and warming the amps at Cesar Chavez Plaza when the trek wraps up.

“I like to think that people who take this tour will think, ‘Wow, Sac really is a cool place, and it’s not boring,’” Peter said.

“Maybe we can get people not afraid to go to a nightclub that has a live band,” he added. “You may become that band’s next biggest fan. That’s my own personal energy that I’m trying to get across.

“Here’s some bands at Concert in the Park, and they might be playing down the street in a couple weeks - go enjoy yourself.”

For more information on this and other Downtown walking tours, visit the Downtown Partnership’s website at www.downtownsac.org or call (916) 442-8575.

Jazz Talent Casey Lipka

2010-02-24T05:36:38Z

Jazz enthusiasts should be aware of a new talent in town. If you haven't had the opportunity to catch the very beautiful and very talented Casey Lipka perform, opportunities abound this spring.

When did you get into music?

Music has always been a focal part of my life. As a kid, I would belt out pop songs, often along with my younger sister, in the car as we drove to school. My dad is a huge Beatles fan and plays guitar, so I was fortunate to grow up with live music in the house. My elementary school in Santa Monica, Calif., had a strong music and performing arts program, and it put on school-wide musicals each year. I was also exposed to Haitian music as one of the parents was from Haiti. My grandfather also contributed to my eclectic musical background. He loved Chinese opera, and I would come back after visiting with him and pretend I was a Chinese opera singer. In addition to singing, I started taking piano lessons at age 10, and in middle school I played clarinet in the school orchestra. While I was studying in Montreal, I started playing the upright bass that I often now play when performing along with singing.

Who inspires you?

I think the idea of jazz itself is incredibly inspiring. Within jazz there is a set form, but it allows so much room for improvisation and transformation.

Along with jazz itself, singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding has been a huge inspiration for me. When I first picked up the bass, someone told me there was a girl who simultaneously sang and played bass. I heard her music and fell in love with her sound when studying in Montreal, and two weeks later, I saw she had a show in New York City. I hopped on a bus and went. When I saw her perform, it reinforced the idea in me that music is so powerful. I want to be able to inspire and touch people in the way she did for me.

Tell me about your sound. Where and what did you study?

My sound combines jazz, soul, funk, contemporary and Brazilian. While I sang and played piano before college, I formally began studying music just prior to my year-long exchange program in Montreal at Concordia University. Concordia was really the beginning of my formal training and the time I decided I really wanted to pursue music. Being around such talented musicians propelled me to further my own development. I am now finishing an undergraduate degree at California State University, Sacramento, in the Vocal Jazz Program, led by Kerry Marsh and Julia Dollison. Being here has allowed me the space to try new things and further my own music.

How did you get into performing?

Initially, through other musicians who I had the chance to perform with. From there, I sought out my own opportunities locally in Sacramento and Los Angeles, where I am from originally. Performing has given me a chance to expand, experiment and grow. Besides doing community outreach at local schools in Sacramento, I play gigs around town and often drop into the Tuesday night jams at the Capitol Garage where other music students and faculty at Sacramento State perform.

What do you listen to?

I am always listening to different people. Right now I am listening to Baden Powell, Ahmad Jamal, Michael Jackson, Wayne Shorter, Chet Baker, Gretchen Parlato, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Thelonius Monk, Joao Gilberto and Forward Kwenda.

Casey can be reached via her website at: caseylipka.com or by e-mail at caseylipka@gmail.com

Talented Musicians at Naked Lounge Downtown

2010-02-19T03:33:35Z

They already serve espresso ranked in quality the best two percent of the top ten percent of the world’s coffee, and now the Naked Lounge has also been dishing out a fair share of awesome talent, as well, in their recently opened Downtown Venue. With shows Thursday through Sunday, there’s a good chance you’re somewhere near this coffeeshop on one of those nights and there is no reason not to pay a minimal cover charge to hear one of these bands. It’s a place to have a beer and meet some interesting people, even if you only talk to the personable staff, some of whom you can also see performing on stage.

Admittedly I’m here to promote my girlfriend’s show to be held on April 23, which is far enough away to plan ahead for and worth marking down on a nearby calendar. Her name is AJ and she’s new the area and glad to share her music with new crowds and new faces. Headlining said show on April 23 is local favorite Autumn Sky, who AJ happened to meet at Autumn’s birthday show a few months earlier. Have your hearts melted like butter when you hear these artists sing back to back. All that to say, there will be plenty of other shows to see in the meantime, so go on down to Naked Lounge Downtown and check out the venue. Try the pumpkin cheesecake muffin, experience the Kerouac espresso martini, and find a new favorite band.

Then I’ll be seeing you on April 23rd—I’ll be the guy who gets to kiss AJ after the show.

Jazz Concert at Beatnik Studios

2010-02-13T01:31:33Z

Beatnik Studios was graced Thursday with performances by local jam band CFR and Oklahoma-based postmodern jazz band Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (JFJO).

Beatnik Studios hosted the benefit show for the Music Never Stops Foundation, as part of an ongoing Winter Jazz Concert Series running through April. The collaborative photography studio, off Broadway on 17th Street, has become a space for community engagement and a venue for the jazz series, band launches, a music school and local craft fair, to name a few.

There was a real sense of community to the evening as supporters danced to the music of CFR, which has performed at Second Saturday and other local venues and has many loyal Sacramento fans.

Following CFR’s funky, danceable set, JFJO emerged from its road home -- a mystery trailer in the backyard of Willie's Burgers -- and broke into “Sensation of Seeing Light.”

The music opened with a false start, then built and picked up before careening into a full-on jam session.

Considering JFJO has been in the game for 16 years, the band seems young. This may have something to do with the chronically evolving lineup. JFJO broke out in 1994 as an eight-piece band with emcees and horns. Since 2008, the reconfigured lineup is has been an instrumental quartet.

You’d expect the sound to be stripped down, but it was as complex as ever, with piano and acoustic bass layered with lap steel guitar and melodica.

JFJO is known for its progressive take on classic styles. Accompanied by a 45-piece orchestra at the Oklahoma Mozart Festival in June, the band will exhibit its “Ludwig” project, a contemporary reinterpretation of Beethoven’s third and sixth symphonies.

The music was sweeping; it built and relaxed. JFJO's “Trampoline Phoenix,” about (guess what) the joys of jumping on a trampoline with friends, struck me as something that would play on a Wes Anderson submarine -- something you wouldn’t want to dance to but makes you grin.

By the set’s finale, I was forced to reassess. Lots of people were moving, and not just the hardcore jam-band groupie dancers.

One of the most enthusiastic of these dancers was Andrew Larson, a Sacramento City College student and South Land Park resident.

“This band takes jazz in a whole new direction,” he said.

For more information, visit CFR and JFJO on MySpace.

The next night of the Winter Jazz Concert Series is February 25th at 8 p.m.

Jerry Perry Brings Haiti Relief and Sam Cooke to Old Ironsides

2010-01-28T03:52:21Z

Seven local musicians are getting together at Old Ironsides this Friday to not only pay tribute to music legend Sam Cooke but also help with the Haiti earthquake relief effort.

"Havin' a Party: A Tribute to Sam Cooke" was originally going to be just a show about Sam Cooke until concert organizer Jerry Perry saw the destruction in Haiti from the Jan. 12 earthquake. Perry decided to put on a benefit show to help.

"When things like this happen, we like to try to put together relief shows," said Perry, who also organized relief benefit concerts for Hurricane Katrina and Sept. 11.

"Whatever money we can raise through the door, we're going to take and give it to the Red Cross," he said.

The Haiti show was originally going to be on the night before the Sam Cooke tribute, but Perry decided to combine the two.

"I started to put something together, but it was ridiculous," he said. "There was a really good show on the Friday with a lot of bands on it."

The seven artist line-up is a stylistic mix, including The Visceral, Gillian Underwood, David Houston, Nancy Zoppi, Richard March, Four Eyes, The Inversions and Brian Rogers, who were all supportive of using their music to help with the disaster in Haiti.

"Performing at this benefit is an obvious way to show our support for those that are suffering and to share the message to our Haitian brothers and sisters that they are not alone and that people care about what is happening to them and their country," said Rob Klein of The Visceral.

There will not be any shortage of great songs, either.

Sam Cooke was a star in the late 1950s, with 29 Top 40 hits in his career. He was shot to death in 1964, and was known as a pioneer for soul music. He was posthumously awarded with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. His hits include "Another Saturday Night," "You Send Me," and "Havin' a Party."

The show was originally pitched to Perry by The Inversions as a way to honor Cooke near his birth date of Jan. 22. Now it serves as a way for concert-goers to give to the Haiti earthquake relief effort.

Perry likes that idea, noting that Cooke was a civil rights activist.

"It just felt right attaching the Haiti relief show to this show, and using the music of Sam Cooke to raise money for the relief," Perry said.

Perry, who is a fan of Cooke and his songs, promises a good time.

"It's just going to be a night of great music," Perry said. "It started out to be a Sam Cooke tribute night, and ultimately at its core that's what it is."

"For those that choose to attend the show, be prepared to have a good time and leave a little bit of your heart in Haiti," Klein said.

"Havin' a Party: A Tribute to Sam Cooke" will be at Old Ironsides on Friday at 9 p.m., and there is a minimum donation of $8. Old Ironsides is located at 1901 10th St. in Sacramento. The show is for ages 21 and up.

Local impresario Brian McKenna celebrates 20 years by playing favorites at Harlow's

2009-10-17T02:53:40Z

Brian McKenna is marking 20 years of booking and promoting shows in Sacramento. In the mercurial world of show business, that’s a long time.

The event on Saturday also is his 40th birthday; McKenna figures the first shows he promoted in 1989 happened earlier in the year. But who wouldn’t want to throw a birthday party with a bunch of cool bands?

“I decided to get all the people I started promoting shows with 20 years ago, who are also some of my favorite people,” McKenna says.

The birthday-anniversary show at Harlow’s will feature Victoria, B.C. punk band Nomeansno, resurgent local stoner-rock combo Kai Kln, and Triclops!, a San Francisco band formed by members of Victim’s Family, Fleshies, and Bottles and Skulls. Also on the bill is Mike Watt, once the bassist for the iconic San Pedro-based Minutemen, which morphed into fIREHOSE after frontman D. Boon was killed in a van rollover in 1985.

McKenna saw fIREHOSE playing one night at Bojangles, an erstwhile gay watering hole turned live venue on Folsom Boulevard. At the time, he was managing a local band, It’s Not What You Think. “I walked away thinking, what a crappy place to see a show,” he recalls. “And then I spent the next five years of my life booking that same room.”

McKenna, a Del Campo High School graduate, teamed up with Jerry Perry and Lisa Moraga to begin promoting shows at Bojangles, which they renamed the Cattle Club, in 1989. Soon, they were featuring the cream of what was turning into a renaissance of local bands: the aforementioned Kai Kln, along with Cake, Deftones, Phallucy, Go Dog Go (which later evolved into Magnolia Thunderfinger), the Earwigs and many others.

At the same time, the Hollywood hair-metal aesthetic was being eclipsed by a new wave of loud bands from Seattle – Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone (later Pearl Jam) and Nirvana – along with a more funk-based underground from such Bay Area punk-thrash bands as Primus, Limbomaniacs and Fungo Mungo. These acts approached touring the same way as pioneered by the Minutemen, Black Flag and other early 1980s groups, eschewing big rooms and established promoters in favor of smaller rooms.

“At the time, there really wasn’t any [branded] alternative rock yet,” McKenna explains. “There was no 120 Minutes on MTV or modern rock station in Sacramento; it was still in the formative stages."

When McKenna began doing shows 20 years ago, concert promotion in Northern California was dominated by impresario Bill Graham. Any promoter who dared to tred on Graham’s well-guarded turf was committing an act of bravery.

“I never got the late-night, screaming phone call [from an angry Graham],” McKenna says. “But I know people who did – other promoters. But we certainly felt the wrath of his company when we crossed certain lines.”

Moraga left in the first year, leaving McKenna and Perry to book the club, which featured such luminaries as D.J. Dennis Yudt, a.k.a. “The Master Bastard,” and soundman Eric Bianchi, an early member of the Groovie Ghoulies. Perry concentrated on bringing in local talent, while McKenna quickly developed an acumen for booking national talent.

“I leaned a lot toward the touring groups, starting out with the Bay Area punk-thrash acts, and then booking national acts like the Dead Milkmen,” McKenna says. But many times it was a local band, such as Kai Kln that was the big draw. But other groups that played the Cattle Club included ones that would become major acts: Nirvana, Pearl Jam (performing as Mookie Blaylock) and Pavement. McKenna can tell stories of Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan hanging out with Hole's Courtney Love in the bar, the latter eyeing Nirvana's Kurt Cobain as he played in the main room.

In 1994, after rumored acrimony, McKenna and Jerry Perry parted ways. McKenna prefers not to comment on the split. Perry continued to book local acts and publish the now-defunct monthly music tabloid, Alive & Kicking, while McKenna hung out his shingle as Abstract Entertainment, booking shows at Melarkey’s (now a sushi joint on Broadway), Carmichael’s El Dorado Saloon, the Guild and Colonial theaters and the Boardwalk. He also returned briefly to the revived Bojangles, and played shows at Big Shots, a Roseville billiard parlor.

McKenna also worked briefly with at least one local band, 7th Standard, branching into management and an independent record label. But his métier appears to be promoting shows, and that’s where he focuses his energy.

Today, McKenna books shows, albeit not exclusively, at Harlow’s, the Blue Lamp, Empire and, occasionally, the Radisson Hotel's Grove and the Crest Theatre. Empire, which McKenna has been booking since 2004, was viewed with high hopes by local rock fans, who were hoping for a Sacramento version of the Fillmore. McKenna says he’s booked several hundred shows there.

"Empire works for a lot of shows that might have passed on playing this market, because we didn’t have the right-sized room," he says. "We were able to do Patti Smith there, the first time she’d ever played Sacramento.”

McKenna’s ubiquitous black handbills attest that he’s all over the map. “What I’ve tried to do over the years is a little bit of everything,” he says. “Nowadays, my schedule of shows is geared a little more toward things I like, rather than the ‘throw it against the wall to see what sticks' idea.”

What McKenna likes, apparently, is progressive rock. “I’ve been known to spin the occasional Yes and King Crimson record,” he says, mentioning a show with Adrian Belew, guitarist for King Crimson in the 1980s. He’s big on the music that followed in Frank Zappa's wake, bringing such guitar greats as Steve Vai to town from time to time.

One of his go-to bands is Rush, Canada’s contribution to rock complexity. McKenna cites the Mars Volta, which combines the Byzantine nature of Rush, Yes and others, as one of his recent favorites. “To me, they sound like Rush, Santana and Led Zeppelin put into a blender. Throw in some punk-rock sensibility, and that’s what you’d get.”

McKenna also has a soft spot for jam bands, he says, “although my tastes tend to lean to more of the New Orleans funk thing than the completely self-indulgent soloing." He also leans toward what the music business calls “heritage acts” from the 1980s and 1990s, bands such as the Pixies, X and Pavement.

For McKenna, there’s never a shortage of bands to book; the problem is to find places for them to play. And fans to fill the venues. "Hopefully the economy will pick up soon," he says, "and it will be a little less of a struggle to get people out."

Early Times to Play Hometown Show at Harlow's

2009-08-13T04:57:05Z

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 Sacramento building his reputation in the local scene. His past nominations for nine different Sacramento Area Music Awards, including Best Rock Band, Best Blues Band and Best Jazz Band, showcase the broad scope of his influences. He made the move to Manhattan a year after winning the Critics' Choice Award as Sacramento's Best Guitarist in 1997.

"I try to make it out to Sac once a year," Early said via phone en route to Sacramento from Minneapolis, Mo. MN. "It's pretty much around this time, too. There are plenty of people in the music scene there I'm still in contact with."

As for his categorization, it seems that the wide space of "multi-genre" is the only one Early is comfortable occupying. "You pretty much have it with that classification," Early said of his sound being described to him as "broad and tough to pin down." "When I was in Sacramento, I would play a jazz club for a few nights, then a blues club and maybe a rock club, all in the same week sometimes."

The show this Friday will be a mix of old and new songs from Early's career and will "probably include some improvisations here and there," he said.

Early's lineup will include his longtime rhythm section of Neil Franklin (drums) and Artis "A.J." Joyce (bass). The main guitarist will be The Sacramento Press' own Sales Manager, Sonny Mayugba. Aside from the main lineup, the set will also include appearances from a range of other local musicians. "I'm not sure who will be making it out, but whoever does will be sitting in and joining whenever," Early said. "It's always a big party when I play."

A compilation CD of unreleased tracks, titled Sacramento's Most Wanted: 1990-1997, will be available at the show. "It's pretty much a bunch of stuff I did awhile back but never found a spot for," Early said. "Most of the songs have been played live, and I like them all enough to have them on the record."

His adventurous and unpredictable blend of genres is sure to thrill the crowd at Harlow's. The show starts at 9 p.m. at 2708 J St. It is 21+.

Early Times' biography and samples of his music can be found here:

http://www.myspace.com/earlytimesband

LA Band Red Cortez: Iconic Magic

2009-06-19T19:52:40Z

A week ago, I fell in love with new music for the first time since I stole my brother’s worn copy of Led Zeppelin’s Song Remains the Same album. I was fourteen and was smitten. Recently, a friend who road manages (I love his life), texted me, said he’d be in town with a new project at Marilyn’s on K Street, said he’d put me on the list—Tracy plus one. Normally, I avoid club bands I’ve never heard of, because they’re a dime a dozen and the best you can hope for is good in a sea of mediocre. But my LA pal is cool and has good taste, so I said why not. I wasn’t there five minutes, settling into a cush-backed chair, sipping refreshing water with bubbles, when they began to wail, and I felt that in-your-gut recognition of being in the presence of iconic brilliance. I know this makes me sound like a Fangirl, but I don’t care.

Red Cortez, formally The Weather Underground, not to be confused with the radical group from the 1970’s who started street riots, escalating to bombing federal targets as a means of confronting their failing U.S. government—although one can’t help but wonder at the intellectual, aesthetic choice of the former band name—stole my rock and roll heart. They opened my eyes to the fact: there is indeed life beyond big hair and lighter ballads. You just have to be willing to let go.

They blew my mind with their wholly inventive and totally unique, urban, melodic folk-like lyrics and generation-marking mix of beats and composition infused with Latin, alt rock, punk, blues, country, Mariachi, jazz, and R&B sounds. At once, Red Cortez is hard to define, impossible to peg them into any particular musical corner. But they’re also achingly familiar. I was poignantly attracted to their, melodic storytelling lyrics and their cosmically spiritual, sometimes whimsical arrangements. It’s something when you can forget you’re in space and time and music lifts you into its power and flow, the way history-making bands always do. This is Red Cortez.

I could go on about Diego Guerrero’s percussion, a skin hitter who seems to understand rhythm as if it were in his DNA, or Harley Prechtel – Cortez, whose voice, keyboard fingers, and lips around the harmonica are pure sex and every girl’s night in shining armor without alienating his male fans because he sings like his testicles are titanium. I could wax forever about Ryan Kirkpatrick’ bass lines, that seem betrothed to the cores of his brother’s souls, and I could ramble ions over Calvin J. Love’s guitar, which reminded me of The Edge in U2 who has a unique guitar delay which Love seems to channel, but whose virtuoso, commanding control of tempo and emotion oozes from his strings in a way that he can call his own. I could go on, but I won’t.

I’ll just predict these guys will become a Grammy-winning, iconic cornerstone of this generation’s musical lore, if they don’t screw it up. Mark my words: Red Cortez will make their nut in the emotional angst of this generation’s raw truth, and they will continue to ingratiate young and oldish alike to their stylings every time they grace us with their presence. You watch. They will.

It’s good to be in love again.

MOD '09 brings fashion, art, and music together

2009-03-09T08:08:10Z

Fashion, music, art, Hipsters, hip hop-heads, well-dressed moms with their kids…Where can you find all this? Sacramento's very own MOD ’09, an electrifying fashion event that brought all kinds of people together.

On the night of Saturday, March 7th, at the artisan building in north Sacramento hundreds of people came to support Sacramento's finest boutiques and designers.

Movement of Design was organized by a large group of people that included boutique owners, designers and artists. Among those in the group was Paul Bricuela the owner of United State Boutique, Bricuela worked hard to get the music together and worked with designer Michael Hargis to fuse things together.

"We basically wanted to build this synergy of art, fashion boutiques, have some vendors plus a music event,” Bricuela said. “There wasn't really anything going on beside the sell-out buy-out event."

A trunk showroom where about 15 boutiques and designers set up clothes and accessories to sell was busy all night. One of the designers was Donald Ambroziak, who for the first time ever sold his screen print shirts and walked away surprisingly happy. For the low price of $5 he almost sold out, leaving with only four shirts. Not only did Ambroziak do so well in sales, but it also allowed him to network with already-established boutiques that have requested to sell his T-shirts.

"I didn’t really think this through,” Ambroziak said with a smile. “I just did it for fun. This night turned out so much better than I expected.".

Other Midtown favorites such as French Cuffs, Buff Castle, Artifacts and Faedrah clothing all had booths. This was much needed in a time when boutiques are suffering from the economic state.

The art in the gallery by Julie Baker could not have been more fitting, with all soft fashion inspired pieces, including a mini dresses made of paper towels. This room was also never empty, and people were left in awe after viewing Baker’s art.

Upon walking in, the lounge area had a DJ spinning dance hits. The cafe was selling food and drinks, including fine pastries and coffee blended drinks, alcohol was served to those 21 and older. Still, this event was family–friendly, and visitors saw a good handful of children with their parents in their most stylish outfits.

The fashion show was packed and quite possibly the highlight of the night for many. The spacious theater room turned into a runway, and the band New Humans played live as Atelier and Van Der Neer displayed their vintage and unique designs. This alone created an atmosphere that could only exist in Sacramento. After a full set by the band, singer Melee Beats, who was reminiscent of Robin Thicke, started things off for Havoc boutique. United State followed. They both had independent urban designs being modeled by women and men with a lot personality. At the end of the show, free T-shirts were thrown into the crowd, and the DJ played music for dancing.

With so many DJs, including Rock Bottom, The Robot&JJ and Greg G, people stayed to dance and enjoy themselves. Bows and Arrows dropped off free sunglasses while supplies lasted. MOD ’09 was a successful event that differentiated Sacramento’s fashion scene from any other city. That is how MOD attendee Nick Stephenson, who attended the event to support Havoc boutique, said he feels.

"I like the fact that when I shop here, I know it’s less likely that I'll see someone wearing the same shirt as me,” Stephenson said. “It'd be very sad if these boutiques closed, because then more people would walk around dressed the same."

walking spanish down the hall

2009-02-28T06:23:28Z

At 20 years old, Alex Nelson doesn’t yet know where his music is going or where it’s going to take him. It continually changes, like most gifted young musicians, Nelson is constantly practicing, learning, recording and experimenting with his music. As long as his music is changing, Nelson will be doing the same.

Nelson and his famous brother, Jackie Greene, look a lot alike, but their music floats in different directions. With a blend of Japanese and Caucasian, they have an unassuming look about them that makes you want to learn more. Nelson has the ability to take his music as far as he wants.

"Jackie and Alex are brothers who share much of the same inspiration but march to very different drummers. Greene has gone on to become a world-class performer and critically acclaimed songwriter. He is driven by the roots of all that is Americana...the blues, folk and R&B," said Marty DeAnda, owner of local indie record label Dig Music.

"Alex revels in much of the same but channels a strong pop sensibility along with a fondness for classical rock,” DeAnda said.

Greene, who’s blues and folk roots began right here in Sacramento at places like Marylyn’s, the Torch Club and Blue Lamp, has since moved on to San Francisco and has been building a national audience while touring with Phil Lelsh and Friends for the last two years.

He released his fifth album “Giving Up the Ghost” in April of 2008. Greene and Nelson’s connection lies deeper than just music, though – they are family.

Nelson talked about his family, saying, “We all are ambitious people and trusting.” They are a close-knit family woven through the common thread of music. Nelson also has an older brother, Brian and a younger sister, Kelly.

“We were a middle-class poor family,” Nelson added. “My mom did a great job of hiding the fact we were poor.” To Nelson, Greene is his brother, not his comparison. He explained, “He has helped me tremendously for just being an older brother to me. I remember we use to go on hikes and he would tell me what plants were poisonous and which weren’t, just simple things like that.”

Their common ground is found through mutual musical influences like Tom Waits, The Allman Brothers and Muddy Waters. One way to put it is they started on the same path and are taking different ways to get to where they want to be.

Nelson’s band, Walking Spanish, released its album “Not Yet Now,” in 2007. Nelson plays five instruments including electric and acoustic guitars, piano, Hammond B-3, sampler and slide guitar.

Along with being lead singer, Nelson also wrote all of the songs. Intelligent songwriting can be found throughout the album, but in "Washed Away," there is a spark of lyrical greatness. With lines like, “All the world go round, we whispered to the edge of blaspheme and heavens never what you get to see,” Nelson has an infinite amount of talent and creativity to make the world go round.

Greene’s music is a major part in Nelson’s collection that includes The Clash and Tom Waits, Wilco and The Shins, Flaming Lips, The Beatles, The Band, Pink Floyd, The Allman Brothers, Iron and Wine, Elvis Costello, Boz Scaggs and the Decemberists.

The unique blend of music can also be seen in his personal life. A hizaem, which is an authentic Egyptian silk scarf, hangs on the wall in his room where a Gandhi photograph is also displayed.

Nelson is currently learning Arabic as well. Some of the local acts Nelson enjoys are Kate Gaffney, who is signed to Dig Music and An Angle, who opened up for Jackie Greene at the Radison Hotel.

In the future, Nelson hopes to be a successful recording artist, better musician and a better-rounded person. He sees everything that Greene sees, and maybe a little more.

Local hip hop artists releases mix tape.

2009-02-24T07:11:36Z

On a cold Friday night in a Rancho Cordova recording studio, Sacramento emcee C Plus, puts on head phones and steps up to the microphone. He reads rhymes from his notebook with intensity and a smooth flow. He plays it back with the beat, the song he just made is so intact that you wouldn't know that he's fighting a cold. Then, just like that, the last track is done, and The Purple Heart mix tape is complete.

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, C Plus, aka Chaz Wheeler of the group State Cap, will put out his second mix tape of the year, The Purple Heart.

If you ever doubted that Sacramento had hip hop artists worth listening to, this is the record that will erase them.

The Purple Heart has 13 tracks and is completely produced by Detroit producer, Black Milk. All the beats are fused with samples from Prince's Purple Rain album. A change of pace for Plus, he decided to go heavy on the writing and add more structure to the songs. Mostly his songs have no hook and are shorter.

With so many hip hop artists out already in Sacramento, his voice and lyrics set him apart from the rest. Plus has seen his share of success, being nominated with his group for a Sammie award last year and opening up for acts like Del The Funky Homosapiean, Dj QBert, Luck I am, and Pigeon John. Plus is still looking to grow – he's been featured in many Sacramento publications and regularly does live shows in and out of Sacramento.

Being a hip hop artist in Sacramento is not always easy but has shaped how he works,

"It's definitely made me more aggressive,” Plus said.. “I try to work on music all the time, I have to," he said.

Eager and working hard to get to the next level of success, there is nothing stopping him. Last month's mix tape, The Warm Up, was free and has been downloaded over more than 300 times online. For each day in March, Plus will post a new song on his MySpace.com page.

Plus is proud to be a long time Natomas resident and only hopes that he will be heard. "I am just another young African American kid from north Sacramento trying to make my mark on the planet and get the music out," he said.

The Purple Heart is available for free download at chaz.12ftdwende.com

Beer and Margarita's, (Sort of)

2009-01-20T23:02:25Z

I recently wrote a piece on the "Death of the Record Store." I was very impressed by the amount of feedback that the article received, be it in the Sacramento Press, via email or in person. Inevitably the conversation led to fond memories about fun times and good music.

I was reminded particularly of the live music experiences I've had. Along with the demise of too many record stores, I contend there is a serious lacking in the quality and quantity of live music available today, especially in the smaller to mid-size venues, and towns.

While the experience of a big Grateful Dead show in Oakland was always a fun time, the smaller, more intimate performances of a Jerry Garcia Band show at the Keystone Palo Alto were just that much more special, at least to me. While I do not know the whole history of clubs in the Sacramento area, I do know that the options available for live music are not what they were 20 some odd years ago when I first arrived, due to the loss of clubs like the Palms in Davis (thankfully this venue just moved farther away and did not fully disappear), the Cattle Club here in Sacramento, and many others.

A good friend who broadcasts numerous live shows on KVMR 89.5 recently related a story from a booking agent about how 2008 saw the shutting down of at least 20 venues that put on regular shows featuring traveling musicians which might be seen at venues such as the Great America Music Hall in S.F. or Sierra Nevada Brewery's "Big Room," or maybe Marilyn’s not to mention the numerous festivals that have called it quits. The result of all of this is fewer opportunities for musicians to pay the bills, and to make a living at their art!

This argument is leading to another of my favorite topics -- beer and margaritas! When I was in my prime clubbing days, the US had very different ideas about alcohol than we do now. While a senior in high school, I was 18 -- old enough for the clubs in New Jersey and New York City. It was also a time when drinking was not stigmatized or regulated as it is today.

Of course the argument can be made that we are better off with stricter alcohol laws and attitudes. I am not here to argue that point, nor am I here to promote drinking. I am writing this article to point out that I feel these changes have had a major impact on music, primarily live music. Back in the day, a venue could open the doors, allow for a low cover charge to see a great act -- known or unknown -- because liquor sales would offset the cost of the band and pay the rent.

But that is no longer the case. The loss of the under 21 drinking crowd, combined with other changes, has curtailed the stream of revenue from alcohol sales. This used to be a vital source of profit, and without it, clubs and musicians have run into considerable financial strain.

No longer can "guarantees" be provided to bands, as the risk is too great for the promoter or venue. Bands being offered just "the door" as payment run a big risk, which often can't be taken. The economics are basic: you have to have more coming in than going out, and the cost of traveling and playing is not cheap.

Think about it. A middle-aged band (or rather any musicians who really don't want to spend the night in the van), 4 or 5 members: 2-3 meals a day, gas, lodging, whatever is owed to the booking manager or "roadie," bills piling up back home... If you are not earning, you are spending. You're asked to pull into Sacramento on a Tuesday night, and hope that a hundred or so people will show up and pay to hear you play. Audience is the key, and while the risks are great for the band and promoter, likewise the risk is there for the attendee. One may pay $5 to go see an unknown commodity, but due to the higher price promoters now have to charge to attempt to cover costs, the $20-$30.00 fee becomes more of a luxury item for attendees, and risks become much harder to take. Thus the circle continues.

I think you get the idea; it's tough and the reality is it often just does not work. Maybe you are lucky enough to live in towns like Nashville, Austin, L.A or San Francisco, which have a large group of top-notch local musicians able to play the clubs and then head home. The pay may be low, but so is the expense.

But that is not the case in many if not most places. Luckily we are in Sacramento, which while not a prime spot for live music, it is still a lot better than, let's say, Boise, Idaho. Thanks to SF and Reno, artists do come to the area and we can catch a good show every now and then at a place like Marilyn's or the Empire.

I have read a lot about nightlife on line at sp.com, but I'm not sure what to do to change things around to create the win-win-win needed (artist-promoter-attendee). What will be the next club we read about in the obituaries? Hopefully upcoming shows with the likes of Todd Snider, Devil Makes Three, The Black Lips and others will be well attended, not to mention keeping the flow going for local favorites such as Kate Gaffney. Let's support music, whether it's those who make it, play it, promote it or enjoy it. We are the water that makes the plant grow (I know), and while you're at it, buy a beer or a margarita -- after all we do have an ailing economy to support!

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

Loaves and Fishes Benefit Concert

2008-12-09T01:43:27Z

Looking for a way to give back that involves music? Look no further than Fifth String Music Store this Friday, December 12th at 7 p.m.. The music store will be hosting a benefit concert to raise money and supplies for Loaves and Fishes.

This will be the 6th annual concert that the store has put on to benefit Loaves and Fishes. Ross Hammond, a local musician, came up with the idea after he started working as an instructor for Fifth String. Hammond had spent previous years volunteering for Loaves and Fishes during the holidays and wanted to do more for the organization.

Last year the concert raised $1200 in donations. All of the artists performing have some connection to the Fifth String school or store. John Green (owner of 5th String Music Store), Ross Hammond, Peter Kett, Steven Ward, The Inversions and others will be performing.

Concert-goers can expect to hear mostly folk, rock, bluegrass and jazz music. According to Hammond, the show will be very intimate and mellow.

Admission is either a $15 minimum donation or an item from the Loaves and Fishes wish list.

General wish list items include:

Toilet paper
New or gently used sleeping bags and blankets
Regional Transit passes
Toothpaste and toothbrushes
Small toiletries
Back packs
Band aids
Combs and brushes

For adults, requests include:

Gloves
Large to extra large sweatshirts
Reading glasses without prescription lenses
New underwear
Large to 3X sweat suits
Tube socks.

For children, you can donate:

Baby bottles
Diapers
Non-soy baby formula with iron
Baby food
Sweat suits
Knit hats and gloves

For more information on Loaves and Fishes, visit www.sacloaves.org or e-mail Ross Hammond at ross@rosshammond.com if you have any questions.

Fifth String Music Store is located at 930 Alhambra Blvd (corner of J St.).

The image above is from the Sacramento Loaves and Fishes Web site.