A Sacramento Comedy.Com Interview Getting to the essence of veteran comedian Doug Stanhope is both easy and difficult at the same time. He's so simple, yet so complex. Because of that, he is also completely controversial. Actually, to say that Stanhope is "controversial " is a vast understatement. Many people only know Stanhope through his short-lived hosting of "The Man Show" with Joe Rogan and his participation in the late-night, titillating "Girls Gone Wild" infomercials, which he said was only for the money. Stanhope's true fans know him as an outspoken, uncensored, honest and libertarian comic who looks at the world and questions aloud how we have turned a blind eye to how we ar

For a number of Sacramento's magazines, the phrase "labor of love" takes on a double meaning. Three of the best-known local magazine publications are run by talented couples. Sactown Magazine is run by husband-and-wife team Rob Turner and Elyssa Lee, and Midtown Monthly is run by married couple Tim Foster and Liv Moe. Sacramento's newest couple-run magazine, Submerge, is run by Jonathan Carabba, 24 and Melissa Welliver, 29, who are unmarried. This Saturday, their biweekly will be celebrating its two-year, 50th issue anniversary with a party at Marilyn's on K. It will feature live music from hip-hop artist TAIS, dub artist CHLLNGR (formerly Dub Defender) and DJ Mike Diamond. "I think (wo

There is so much to choose from this New Year's Eve in Sacramento. New Year's dancing venues are detailed in this article. Sacramento Press community contributor Barbara Ambler-Thomas wrote about the Empress Hornblower Cruise in Old Sacramento and Julia Beckner previewed several family activities. The following is a guide to several of Sacramento's New Year's Eve concerts featuring (mostly) local bands. Twitch Angry, White Minorities, Prylosis, Nekrosylum, Chernobog and Lycanthrope What: "New Year's Cancer's Evel" will feature metal and punk bands, hosted by music video and MySpace star Metal Sanaz. The event is also a cancer research fundraiser for the Derek's Wish Foundation. All age

Stephen Kellogg is not the type to brag about sharing the stage with Melissa Etheridge and hanging out with Carly Simon, James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett. In fact, the musician never mentioned it in his interview with The Sacramento Press. Kellogg's favorite moment in his 15-year musical career wasn't even playing music. It was a humbling moment watching the drummer in his band help a soldier in the Middle East. "In Kuwait this past spring, we met this Army Ranger shipping out that night for Afghanistan," Kellogg said. "He was hanging out, listening to us play, and it came up that he played banjo. Boots, the drummer from our band, who also plays banjo, gave his banjo to the Army Ranger. It

Aaron Young can't stop writing new songs. "I'm sort of plagued with it," he said. "I write every day, no matter what I'm doing." It's part of a work ethic that came from growing up on a pecan orchard in Mississippi. "I don't know if you've picked pecans to make some money, but you need a lot of them to make a pound, so you're out there a long time," he explained. "It taught me how to stay disciplined at something [and] develop patience." It's Young's patience and discipline that helped him through rough times, like being dropped from a record label and being homeless in San Francisco. This Friday night, the currently West Sacramento-native soul singer will bring his uplifting lyrics a

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

"Exhilarating, like running naked through a bee storm," said music magazine NME of Middle Class Rut, or MC Rut for short. The duo headlines Friday's Concert in the Park in which Lite Brite, Consider The Thief and Early States will also play (click links for MySpace pages). MC Rut's style has been compared to Jane's Addiction and Rage Against the Machine, but the duo evokes a simpler feel than the The White Stripes, a band with similar instrumentation. Even so, the two-piece packs a fury of sound that never lets up. They recently released an eight-song EP entitled 25 Years and completed a tour of the United Kingdom. Lite Brite is a rock and roll trio that exudes a punk attitude, but can

Right now Mike Doughty is driving north toward Santa Barbara, which is on fire. It's Thursday, and though 30,000 Santa Barbara residents are fleeing the fire, the former leader of Soul Coughing is driving toward the city. He has no idea whether his gig has been canceled. Unfortunately, the show has been canceled, but Doughty will continue his west coast tour, which spans from San Diego to Vancouver, stopping in Sacramento on Sunday, May 10 at Marilyn's on K. Doughty will be playing an acoustic set as a duo with cello player Andrew "Scrap" Livingston. Mike Doughty -- known simply as M. Doughty while leading Soul Coughing -- grew up on various army bases in the United States and Europe. He

Unless you're a musician, or particularly observant, you don't notice The Sound Guy. But if he weren't there, you'd notice his absence. A good soundman balances the volume levels and adjusts the equalization (basically, treble and bass) of every instrument's amplification. He is also responsible for something you don't hear, but which makes a huge difference in the quality of a performance: He adjusts the same things on the monitor mix, or the sound that the musicians hear on stage. A band on stage without good monitors can't hear each other, can't even, often, hear themselves. Which means they can't tell how they're playing. And at that point, you don't want to hear it, either. A bad so