Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "memorial auditorium"

Drewski's combines food truck fare, sports bar

2012-01-17T01:24:21Z

After less than a year on Sacramento’s streets, local food truck Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen is adding a brick-and-mortar establishment at 908 15th St. that blurs the line between sports bar and food truck.

The Republic Featuring Drewski’s is set to open the week before the Super Bowl (Feb. 5), and Drewski’s owner Andrew “Drewski” Blaskovich said he’s excited to be part of the growth in downtown Sacramento and to offer a late-night food and entertainment spot, closing around 3-4 a.m. on the weekends.

“It’s going to be a sports bar,” Blaskovich said. “We’re going to have 12-15 TVs, pool tables, video games and – we’re hoping – skee ball.”

The four pool tables will complement old-school video games such as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, and entertainment will be provided by live bands as well as DJs.

Moving to add a traditional restaurant and bar is something many food truck owners aspire to, but Blaskovich said he has no plans to rein in the food truck aspect of the business.

“The trucks are my babies,” he said.

And that is trucks – plural.

“We’re going to be adding another truck, and we’re shooting for about two months,” he said.

One of the biggest problems that comes with operating the trucks is solved by opening the brick-and-mortar establishment, Blaskovich said.

“For the truck, I don’t have any storage, so I have to shop every day,” he said. “Now, I have a place to prep all the food, take deliveries and store it so I have to shop only once a week, plus I can save money by getting discounts on things in bulk.”

Blaskovich is partnering with a bar operator, whose name he is not yet releasing, and he will focus on the food.

The cuisine will include the menu from the food truck, but the full kitchen will allow an expanded menu.

“We’re going to have some street tacos, and we’re doing a variety of burgers, different hot wings, chicken sandwiches and all kinds of good stuff,” he said.

Meals will run about $10, he added.

Appetizers, including garlic rosemary tater tots, will be included, as well as salads and other sandwiches. A variety of sauces such as Thai peanut sauce, a tangy barbecue sauce and others will accentuate the dishes.

Plates won’t be used, with all the food served in the cardboard boats with paper linings that those who frequent the food truck are familiar with.

Those who want to challenge themselves will have the option of facing down a massive burger, getting their photo on the wall and a T-shirt if they’re up to the challenge.

The 18-Wheeler will be a 4- or 5-pound burger that Blaskovich said will be a meal for about three people, but anyone who finishes it in a set time, possibly 20 minutes, will earn a spot on the wall.

Formerly Dream Ultra Lounge & Restaurant, The Republic Featuring Drewski’s is getting a facelift with black ceilings, a roll-up door facing Memorial Auditorium that leads to one of two patios, and interior décor of faux brick and wood molding with either mirrors or stained glass artwork.

Downtown Sacramento Partnership Marketing Director Lisa Martinez said it’s unique to see a food truck open a brick-and-mortar establishment in Sacramento, and the location should be a successful one.

“They’re in the middle of an entertainment district, and it’s a great amenity,” she said. “I think the beauty of it is they already have a successful following, so the business is coming in with an established clientele.”

Across the street from Memorial Auditorium, the business is close to the Torch Club and not far from the Wells Fargo Pavilion, the newly opened Maydestone apartment building and the future site of Coyote Tap House.

Blaskovich said he is looking to appeal to the after-work happy hour crowd, opening around 4 or 5 p.m., as well as anyone looking for late-night eats and entertainment, or people leaving Memorial Auditorium after a concert. Sunday brunch will be served and will likely feature a dish of waffles and fried chicken, which is growing in popularity.

“I’m from Sacramento, and I’ve always been a big supporter of downtown Sacramento and the growth we’ve experienced in the past,” Blaskovich said. “I want to be a part of that, and this gives people downtown the chance to have Drewski’s if the truck is out in Roseville or Elk Grove or something.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

The California Museum Hosts Star-Studded Event

2011-12-10T01:45:46Z

Limos filled with celebrities lined J Street for the 2011 California Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony at the Memorial Auditorium Thursday.

The first ceremony in Sacramento was in 2006. The prestigious event was established by former California first lady Maria Shriver. The event was created to honor legendary people in California who encapsulate California’s “innovative” spirit.

Many of the inductees were no stranger to the limelight. Rob Lowe, Lucy Liu and previous inductee Clint Eastwood, among others, graced the red carpet this year. The crowd cheered for the diverse group of inductees as they made their way down the red carpet.

The 2011 inductees were astronaut Buzz Aldrin, The Beach Boys, Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, community activist and author Father Gregory Boyle, entrepreneurs and Gap Inc. founders Doris and Donald Fisher, basketball superstar Ervin “Magic” Johnson, disability rights advocate Ed Roberts, Grammy Award-winner Carlos Santana, novelist Amy Tan, and California Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Traynor.

Previous inductees have included James Cameron, Barbra Steisand, Levi Strauss, Harvey Milk, Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, Ansel Adams, Steve Jobs, César Chávez and Walt Disney.

Fans lined the streets to maybe catch a glimpse of a celebrity or two. Kids yelled, “Ma-gic! Ma-gic! Ma-gic!” as Johnson exited his limousine. While many of the event-goers avoided the red carpet, others posed for pictures and were whisked away for interviews.

Beach Boy fans had album covers and various memorabilia waiting to be signed. Although many were able to snap quick pictures of those in attendance, Santana was rumored to have entered through the back door, leaving many music fans disappointed.

Some of Sacramento’s dignitaries were also in attendance: Gov. Jerry Brown and first lady Anne Gust Brown, Mayor Kevin Johnson and, despite his battle with Parkinson’s disease, Wells Fargo regional vice president Chevo Ramirez, who is known for his charitable contributions to good causes in Sacramento.

During the ceremony, all inductees received the California Hall of Fame medal, named Spirit of California, created by the Los Angeles artist Robert Graham.

The California Hall of Fame exhibit opened today at the California Museum and will feature the newest inductees. The California Museum is a nonprofit organization and is funded by museum admission, facility rentals, gift shop sales and donations.

In order to attend the celebrated event, party-goers had to purchase a California Hall of Fame membership, with proceeds benefiting the California Museum.

Review: Conan O'Brien Can't Stop

2011-06-23T09:44:12Z

by Tony Sheppard
Capitol Weekly

Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop
Directed by Rodman Flender

Last summer, Sacramento’s Memorial Auditorium was one of the venues for Conan O’Brien’s “The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour.” That tour is now the focus of the behind the scenes documentary “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” – a somewhat unflinching look at an attempt to make show business lemonade from a deluge of unwanted lemons (or perhaps, in some opinions, a single unwanted Leno).

For those who live in caves, go to bed at 9pm, or go to bed at 9pm in caves, last year saw messy contract negotiations over late night programming at NBC. Years earlier, O’Brien had been promised the holy grail of talk shows, “The Tonight Show” at 11:35pm. However, when the moment arrived, incumbent host Jay Leno made it clear that he wasn’t ready or willing to retire. Rather than risk the possibility of having Leno end up with a competitive show on another network, NBC created an earlier 10pm talk show for Leno, and simultaneously attempted to cash in on the fact that shows of this nature also happen to be cheaper to produce than hour-long dramas, traditional favorites in that time period.

But the experiment failed. Leno fans, and other fans of “The Tonight Show” who preferred to get to bed sooner, now had a favorable option 95 minutes earlier in the evening. Meanwhile later night audiences and O’Brien fans watched the traditional timeslot, with both shows generating what were considered by the network to be disappointing ratings. Leno was still reluctant to walk away and NBC pitched a desperate attempt to solve the problem by suggesting that Leno return to 11:35pm, but in a truncated 30 minute format. O’Brien would then follow at 12:05am, with Jimmy Fallon’s later show being pushed back from a 12:35am start to 1:05am, and Carson Daly going even later.

O’Brien rejected this plan, saying at the time that he didn’t want to be the host who took “The Tonight Show” into a timeslot that meant it was no longer “tonight.” He also clearly felt that his contract was being breached and that there was a lack of good faith in both the way that he was being treated as well as the ripple effects that would impact the hosts of the later shows. And so he walked away from the prize franchise, leaving himself out of work, contractually prohibited from appearing on television, heavily compensated, but also overwhelmingly angry. And the short term result of channeling that anger was the aforementioned tour.

The film goes behind the scenes as the tour is planned and executed, and examines the dynamics of life on the road – in this case for someone unused to that schedule. Fans of O’Brien get to see a side normally hidden from view, as he works with his creative team, not always entirely positively – and he doesn’t attempt to hide his feelings about the situation. Non-fans will likely find it a fascinating examination of celebrity, including the difficulty of remaining upbeat in front of adoring fans. It’s not unusual to hear fans of certain artists complaining about abrupt or inhospitable encounters with their idols. What this film illustrates is how remarkable it can be that any celebrities ever manage to avoid that kind of behavior in the face of constant demands for their time, regardless of what else is happening. At times, O’Brien seems like he won’t make it, not because of the already grueling schedule of the shows themselves, but because of the endless extra commitments: Meet-and-greets, private parties, extra shows, hordes of adoring fans, and even his own college reunion at Harvard.

The title of the film is taken from an exchange in which it becomes apparent that O’Brien can’t imagine not working and, as was reported at the time, some of his motivation also came from trying to keep at least some of his production team employed. The end result is a neat film about a funny guy dealing with a difficult period in his career in what appears to be the only way he knows how – by laughing about it, and hoping others will too. It’s insightful, personal, and well worth checking out.

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop opens on Friday, June 24th at the Crest Theatre. Information and showtimes can be found at www.thecrest.com.

The film's official website, including the trailer, can be found at www.conanobriencantstop.com.

Rock & Roll Tour and Pub Crawl

2011-05-09T09:54:54Z

The Downtown Sacramento Partnership (DSP) conducts several walking Tours in the downtown area. The walking tours introduce visitors to people, places and events that have created California history. DSP’s mission is to establish downtown Sacramento as a vibrant business, cultural and entertainment destination in Sacramento via private and public partnerships consisting of residents, visitors and investors. This Friday they conducted a Rock & Roll History Tour and Pub Crawl.

The tour began at the corner of 9th and J Streets at one of the entrances to the Concerts in the Park held at Cesar Chavez Plaza. The walk began at 6 in the evening. By this time, Wahnder Lust had begun their set at the first Concerts in the Park event. This year marks the 20th year anniversity of Concerts in the Park and Jerry Perry has been promoting the event for the past 15 years.

The series of walks around downtown Sacramento being offered includes one especially for kids, a Speakeasy tour, a Sacramento architecture and art tour as well as the Rock & Roll History Tour and Pub Crawl. It's a walk that explores the history of Sacramento’s music scene. This tour is still being developed but it will run every Friday until the end of May. The day of the tour may or may not change after that depending on how it develops.

The tour guide for the walk is Shawn Peter who’s been with DSP since 2000. John, who also works for DSP, was on hand for the tour as well. Shawn has been part of the Downtown Walking Tour Program since its inception. Besides his vast knowledge of Sacramento’s Gold Rush-era and historical architecture styles, Shawn is well versed in music and is a member of a band named Single Second. His music knowledge of Sacramento and bands who have played here allow him to discuss many genres and time periods of music. During the tour, performers such as Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys, the Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Beastie Boys, Tesla, and many others are discussed and how they fit in the Sacramento music scene.

As we started the walking tour Shawn began by saying, “A lot of people seem to think Sacramento is a really boring town where nothing really happens. You know what? It’s quite the opposite really.” Shawn’s personal knowledge of the Sacramento music scene is immense and through the walk it was apparent that this would be an educational and fun walk as we departed from the corner of 9th and J streets.

Shawn talked about the two radio stations that started the music scene in Sacramento. One of the stations was KBFK who Shawn said had a house band that ended up playing for many of the touring acts that came through town including Frank Sinatra, Jack Benny and others. Shawn was very enthusiastic while relating this and other stories.

As we walked down J Street away from 9th we could still hear Wahnder Lust as they continued their set. Shawn related that the other local station that helped the Sacramento music scene was KROY. KFBK and KROY were basically the only two stations, both AM stations, that played popular music. Shaw continued and passed on information spanning the 1920’s to the 50’s and the places where the bands played.

The tour becomes alive with Shawn’s storytelling as he relates stories that helped create the history of rock music in Sacramento and everywhere else. His stories were so intriguing that I feel like I should relay them to the reader in this article but the best part of the tour is the exchange of questions and stories. You kind of have to experience the tour yourself to get the most from it.

As Shawn talked about rock artists we were able to exchange stories about the artists who came from Sacramento as well as those who visited our town. These exchanges during the walk become meaningful as everyone was able to relate to the subject. We talked about the bands that visited Sacramento and the bands that could attribute their success to Sacramento.

The Memorial Auditorium has been one of the primary venues for bands coming through town and if you have a friend that loves music you’ve probably heard of a story about a band that played at the Memorial. How about you, do you have a memory of attending a musical event at the Memorial that left a lasting impression? One of my first recollections of the Memorial was taking a couple of my kids to go see Offspring and Cypress Hill at a show and seeing Scott Pollard while he was the Sacramento Kings at the concert. I’m sure many readers have a memory of their first concert in Sacramento or one that’s memorable.

KZAP, as Shawn tells it, was one of the first Sacramento FM stations and their original station was located within the Elks Tower on 11th and J. At the time KZAP had a free form format where they played everything from Frank Sinatra to Frank Zappa.

As the walk continued on J Street we turned left on 15th. The Memorial Auditorium was on one side of the street and since this is called a Rock and Roll Tour and Pub Crawl, Shawn talked a little about the Torch Club as we entered the first pub of the evening to enjoy a drink.

Shawn talked about Tesla, the Deftones, Cake and other Sacramento area bands. After the Torch Club, we passed by other venues that have moved to their current site from another part of town. Some of these clubs were the Capitol Garage, the Torch Club and others,

Other venues that have hosted music events were the Cattle Club, Lush, Cal Expo, ARCO, the Convention Center, Tower Records, the Crest Theatre and St. Paul's Church among others. Many of the clubs have a rich music venue history that continues to this day. We also discussed the new clubs that have recently opened and host music venues.

A couple of more pubs were visited and many other rock and roll stories were told. As we winded down the tour we talked about how the walk could be improved as well as what can be left out of the tour. The music scene from the 20’s to present came to light as we talked about Sacramento and music during the tour.

It turns out that there's a lot of history in the few blocks that we walked. Shawn Peter was a great guide and is very knowledgeable about the local music scene. He has over 25 years playing music and says that he does about 100 shows a year with his band.

As we came back to Cesar Chavez Park it was apparent how much fun these type of tour/walks can be. It's also a great way of meeting people and getting to know the downtown area as well as some of its pubs.

This tour takes place each Friday evening during the Friday Night Concerts in the Park season and it's scheduled to run from May 6 thru August 12, 2011. Guests must pre-purchase tickets via Event Brite to secure their place in the tour. The tour lasts approximately 2 hours and participants must be 21 years of age or older. Ticket prices does not include the cost of drinks.

Once back at Concerts in the Park there was still time to enjoy more live music. The tour was scheduled to end in time for the headline act and that was the case. Aaron King & The Imperials had already performed and a young lady by the name of Gabriela was playing when we returned to Cesar Chavez Plaza. Gabriela wasn’t on the schedule and after she finished her set the Tattoo Love Dogs came on stage to end the first day of Concerts in the Park for 2011.

Log on to the Downtown Sacramento Partnership website to view other tours and walks being offered as well as to purchase tickets for the Rock and Roll History Tour and Pub Crawl.

Jerry Brown takes office on a "very emotional day"

2011-01-04T04:32:12Z

Jerry Brown was sworn in Monday morning as California's 39th governor, saying he has the opportunity to follow in his father's footsteps again. He also joked he was following in his own footsteps, referring to his return to the governor's office after 28 years. Brown served two terms between 1975 and 1983.

Memorial Auditorium hosted the ceremony, which featured a cappella performances by the Oakland School of the Arts Choir. The choir opened the ceremony with a rendition of "This Land is Your Land" and sang the National Anthem as the Oakland Military Institute and California Cadet Corps Honor Guard presented the colors.

Brown's wife, Anne Gust Brown, spoke first, describing the day as a "very emotional day" and acknowledged former governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger and their wives. The two former governors sat next to each other in the front row of the auditorium, along with other dignitaries such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Dianne Feinstein and members of the Brown and Gust families. After introducing her husband, she stood between Jerry Brown and newly sworn-in California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who administered the oath of office. With his left hand on his wife's grandfather's bible, and raising his right hand, Jerry Brown recited the oath. When he reached the part where he swears to take the obligation freely and without mental reservations, Brown turned to the audience and repeated, "Really, no mental reservations!" The audience responded with laughter and applause.

In his 16-minute inaugural address, Brown thanked Schwarzenegger for "keeping California the great exception that it is." He spoke about the difficulties facing Californians and recounted the challenges facing his great-grandfather who traveled from Germany to America and crossed the Great Plains and mountains to reach California. Brown also introduced his aunt, who will turn 99 this March. Commenting to those who may be "hankering after" his job, Brown said it may be a while, referring to his "good genes". Ironically, Brown returned to the wrong place in his speech, stammered and then quipped about his age. He adroitly moved on to stress his point, saying, "Every Californian is heir to some form of powerful tradition, some history of overcoming challenges much more daunting than the ones we face today."

Speaking on the budget challenges, Brown used general terms describing his proposed budget as "painful, but it will be honest." Saying, "This is the time to honestly assess our financial condition and make the tough choices," he promised there would be no smoke and mirrors on the budget. He also stressed that California's schools should be places of real learning and that students should have the "skills, zest and character to keep California up and running the best."

Jerry Brown closed his speech by quoting a line from the song, "California, here I come, right back where I started from." As Brown left the auditorium, the choir sang, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

Other gubernatorial inaugural events included an open hot dog picnic in Capitol Park and a private reception at the California State Railroad Museum.

Photos by Kati Garner and Ron Nabity

Camellia Symphony plays beautifully, quietly

2010-11-22T05:20:04Z

The Camellia Symphony Orchestra gave a spirited performance at Memorial Auditorium Saturday night. Conducted by maestro Dr. Allan Pollack, the 86-piece ensemble performed a collection of three works by Bach, Beethoven and Mahler. The collection was dubbed “The Titans” for the power, grandeur and breadth of emotion the compositions typify.

Though beautifully performed by the musicians, Pollack’s promise of “sounds so powerful that they will lift you off your seat” was not fulfilled.

“It’s a very beautiful building, and it’s old and it’s beautiful from the outside, and it’s historically interesting from the inside,” Pollack said. “But the stage definitely needs some kind of shell. If enough attention were paid, it could be acoustically sound.”

Acoustic problems weren’t an issue for the musicians at first. The first performance was Leopold Stokowski’s arrangement of Bach’s “Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor,” a legendary work known for its complex weaving structure and breathtaking beauty.

The musicians performed Bach wonderfully, each section doing its part without overpowering the sound of another, gracefully fading in and out like the runners of a relay race passing the baton without missing a step or fumbling for a moment. The lack of digital amplification or proper acoustics didn’t hinder the first performance, rather a crowd of more than 700 was treated to a glimpse of the past – perhaps this is what it was like to listen to music in 1713. The musicians, mindful of the room’s shortcomings, played ever the more carefully, imbuing Bach’s genius creation with a fervent delicacy.

With Bach finished, accomplished piano soloist Hélène Wickett entered the stage as her instrument was wheeled to the center and nearly half of the orchestra trailed offstage. Next was Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major,” the “Emperor Concerto.”

The problem that became noticeable after the ensemble was reduced was how quiet the performance was. Wickett and the orchestra complemented one another nicely, but with nothing to funnel the sound toward the audience, listening to the performance began to take on the feel of watching a band play from across the street. There was no feeling of the music wrapping around the listeners.

The final performance was Mahler’s “Symphony No.1,” “Titan.” Despite being played by the full ensemble, including nine additional horn players who entered the stage during the final moments of the fourth movement, the performance occasionally suffered from the same problem as before: sections of beautiful music interspersed with sections of music that may or may not have been beautiful – it was simply too quiet to tell. “Symphony No. 1” is meant to be subdued at parts, but without expansive, titanic moments of the fourth movement to contrast with the quiet ones, much of the performance’s impact was lost.

The acoustic shortcomings must not have overly bothered the audience, because they gave the orchestra a long and thundering standing ovation at the evening’s end.

Ken Miller and Enid Morris, who drove from Cameron Park to listen to the Camellia Symphony Orchestra for the first time, were among those who enjoyed the performance and said they had no problem with the volume and that they would consider attending again if the selected music was to their liking.

“We were really drawn by this piece – Mahler’s symphony,” Miller said.

“It’s supposed to be quiet,” he said when asked about the volume. “It was great.”

Many enjoyed the performance, but many also complained of Memorial Auditorium’s poor acoustics, including some musicians and event organizers themselves.

The stage where the musicians sit in Memorial Auditorium is rectangular and has nothing to guide the music toward the audience. When the musicians play, the sound doesn’t just go toward the crowd, it goes toward the crowd, toward the ceiling and everywhere else. The sound quality suffers from this and it will take an investment to fix the problem.

“I’ve got it all measured out,” production manager Dennis Yep said, smiling. “Acoustical shells cost about $5,000 each, and for this room we would need about 24 of them.”

Photos courtesy of Camellia Symphony Orchestra and Rusty Rogers.

Camellia Symphony presents "a night of big music"

2010-11-16T20:04:16Z

Lovers of classical music might normally expect a soothing musical experience from the Camellia Symphony Orchestra, but when the ensemble performs “The Titans” at Memorial Auditorium Saturday, concertgoers will witness some of orchestral music’s most dramatic and hard-hitting pieces.

“It’s going to be big, and it’s going to be loud,” Executive Director of Camellia Orchestra Roberta McClellan said.

“Most people are used to seeing smaller ensembles, but this has a lot of people all playing this music together.”

More than 85 Sacramento-based musicians will take the stage to perform two of the three pieces, which include Bach’s “Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor;” Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 5, ‘Emperor’ ” performed by soloist Helene Wickett; and Mahler’s “Symphony No. 1, ‘The Titans.’ ” Additional horn players will perform on Mahler’s piece.

McClellan said it is a really big piece that calls for as many French horns on the crescendo as possible: Eight horn players will take the stage, and extras will be summoned from the audience’s floor level to contribute to the climax.

Sending out the call for reinforcement horns was UC Davis and Sacramento State professor of horns Pete Nowlen. Nowlen coordinated a “horn call” to music teachers in Sacramento County.

McClellan said there have been a number of replies from students, including high school students from Amador, and she hopes to have horn players of all ages to make the performance a real community effort.

Camellia Symphony Orchestra is a Sacramento community-based orchestra that was established in 1963. It is in their 48th season, and in its sixth season of performances held at Memorial Auditorium, which the orchestra calls its home venue – the only local company that does so, McClellan said.

The event is titled “The Titans” not only after Mahler’s piece, but also because each of the three pieces to be performed are large and sonic pieces, McClellan said.

Camellia Symphony will, for the first time, welcome Steinway artist Helene Wickett to perform with it. As a Steinway artist, Wickett is a chosen representative of the world-renown piano manufacturer. Wickett has performed throughout Europe, Latin America, the United Kingdom and the United States. McClellan expressed great admiration of Wickett’s abilities and confessed that there are not many people who can perform Mahler’s piece, calling it “athletic, challenging and complicated.”

“It’s a very strong piece,” McClellan said, “it requires great intuition.”

With $8 children’s tickets, McClellan argued that it’s cheaper than going to a movie theater. And with the purchase of a ticket (adults: $25, seniors: $20, students $15) attendees also gain access to a preconcert performance by the Camellia Juniors Orchestra, which consists of local high school-aged performers; wine-tasting from the Carvalho Family Winery and a holiday silent auction.

From the triumphant blast of horns joining the crescendo on Mahler’s “The Titans” to Wickett’s performance of Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 5,” McClellan said it will be a very dramatic night.

Doors open at 6 p.m. For ticket information, call (916) 808-5191, visit tickets.com, or camelliasymphony.org.

Celtic Thunder: It's Entertainment

2010-11-05T23:32:58Z

"Listen for it as it comes…the pure, imperial sound of…Celtic Thunder."

Sundry vocals, Irish folklore and dry ice poured majestically atop a meadow backdrop at Sacramento’s Memorial Auditorium Thursday, one of 70 stops the Irish supergroup will make in support of its third PBS television special “It’s Entertainment,” a performance series showcasing both the old world and the new.

The rhythm of heartbeats from the sparse yet euphoric audience resonated with the thunderous percussion of traditional Celtic instrumentation. An amalgamation of cello, harp, fiddle, keyboard, piccolo, guitar, concertina, bagpipe and mandolin merged with the steadfast drumbeat to introduce the six voices of the illustrious Celtic Thunder.

Irishmen Damian McGinty, Keith Harkin, Paul Byrom, Ryan Kelly and Scotsman George Donaldson command the colorfully lit stage with the group’s first song, the harmonious Irish folk song “Heartland.”

Following the tradition of previous releases (“Celtic Thunder: The Show, Act Two” and, “Take Me Home”), the group ran the gamut of musical styles and vocal range as the musicians paid homage to both traditional Celtic composition and six decades of popular hits by artists.

For the second song of the evening, 18-year-old McGinty, the once-spritely alto-turned-dashing tenor, sang the Gaelic tale “Buachaill On Eirne.”

Kelly performed the fourth number, “Black is the Colour,” a reference to his true love’s hair, as he caressed strands from the fiddle player’s long locks. As the song intensified, he stood and raised his fists in the air to the steady beat of the bass drum as the studio lights flashed. The fiddle flowed freely. Locks swayed, and the room roared with a clash of clapping and cymbals.

Act 1 continued with a number of original compositions by Musical Director Phil Coulter as well as old-world favorites such as “Home From the Sea,” “Skye Boat Song,” “A Place in the Choir” and the electric “Whiskey in the Jar,” an old Irish traditional song popularized in the ’90s by metal the mavens of Metallica.

Act 2 then unfolded to display a starry night sky shining down on a white terrace, tea lanterns, silhouettes of bare trees, black suits and ties, and flowing gowns of chiffon. While the first act celebrated traditional Celtic culture, the second interpreted six decades of popular icons from several genres of music: Phil Collins, Bryan Adams, Leonard Cohen, Dean Martin and U2, among many others.

Toward the end of the set, Donaldson, his bow tie coolly untied around his neck, began “Hello Again.” A woman in the audience shrieked, “Ah, Neil Diamond…And on-key!”

Sue Wissler, a native of Rocklin, seconded that.

“The musicians are unbelievable in that there’s such a wide scope of instruments that they play … and how they can take a modern song and make it a new work of art. The production value was much-improved tonight,” said Wissler, who first brought her daughter to Celtic Thunder at Arco Arena in 2009. “You can bring your whole family to the show. Everyone’s going to enjoy it.”

Celtic Thunder ended with “Ireland’s Call,” the kilt-clad crooners proclaiming, “Irish together standing tall…shoulder to shoulder, we’ll answer Ireland’s call!”

Celtic Thunder vocalists also answered the crowd, who called for more with whistles and swaying glow sticks. They sang one last chorus, waved and retreated behind the scenes.

Until the group’s next local performance, Sacramentans will have to settle for experiencing Celtic Thunder this holiday on PBS’s “Celtic Thunder - It’s Entertainment Christmas,” which will air more than 500 times during the 2010 holiday season. They can also get the group’s newly recorded “Celtic Thunder Christmas CD,” or visit the official YouTube channel, “Thunder Tube.”

Photos by Steven Chea

Sac derby girls host Western Regionals

2010-09-28T01:36:21Z

The Women's Flat Track Derby Association 2010 Western Regional Tournament is coming to Sacramento this weekend. And the Sacred City Derby Girls are stoked.

The skaters in one of Sacramento's two flat track roller derby leagues have not only become eligible to compete in the regional playoffs for the first time — they won Sacramento the honor of hosting one of four qualifiers for the national championship in November.

Sacred City's travel team, the Sacrificers, and teams from as far away as Colorado and New Mexico will be skating at Memorial Auditorium Oct. 1-3.

The league's founder, Gabriell Garcia, also known as "Chica Loca," said skating at the auditorium will fulfill a dream for many girls on the team.

"We've wanted to play at the Memorial ever since we started," she said. "Big dreams for little girls."

But at 5 feet 11 inches without her skates, Garcia is no little girl. She sports a skull and crossbones tattoo under her right ear and a gap-toothed smile when she's not wearing a plastic mouth guard.

They wear other protective gear, too, such as helmets and knee and elbow pads. While Garcia didn't lose her tooth skating, injuries are part of the full-contact sport of roller derby.

Last week, the 37-year-old Limelight bartender joined two dozen other women at their last scrimmage practice for the upcoming tournament. Sacred City bought an old, 12,000-square-foot brick warehouse at 1501 N. C St. last year. They practice there on an 8,000-square-foot multi-purpose sport court six days a week.

Last Tuesday night, skaters warmed up with a pace line looping around the track. Women with nicknames such as "Rose Villain," "SpillHer" and "Malevolent" practiced bumps, pivots, stops and how to get back onto the track quickly without cutting in front of opposing players, to avoid penalties.

Coach Donny "Dirty D" Welch, once a competitive in-line skater, taught strategy and moves, such as how to get around a block or send another skater flying out of bounds.

The skaters range in size from petite fireballs to solid hitters like Rena Garcia, a 36-year-old Vacaville resident whose nickname is Shadow Soldier. Every one of them has their strengths, said 27-year-old Nelly Wollenberg, aka "Attila the Honey."

"I love the fact that it's a place where women can still be women but we can be aggressive," she said. "This isn't a league of weak-spirited people. These are all strong women."

The sport has exploded since skaters formed the WFTDA and created a standard set of rules in 2005.

The WFTDA now has 98 league members around the country. The Western region has 27 teams and is considered the organization's most competitive region. So just getting into the tournament is an accomplishment.

Sacred City qualified for the No. 10 spot. That means Sacramento's derby queens will be going up against teams that are all considered better. Competitors include the Oly Rollers of Olympia, Wash. — the 2009 WFTDA national champions.

General admission is $20 on Friday and $25 Saturday or Sunday. Three-day passes are $60. Children under 6 get in free. The tournament will bring 200 skaters, 100 referees and statisticians and 1,000 to 2,000 spectators to the Memorial, Garcia said.

Sacred City's first bout is set for noon Friday, when they take on the No. 7 team, Jet City from Everett, Wash.

If they win Friday, Sacred City Derby Girls will advance to a higher bracket and compete against the best teams in three more games over the weekend. If they lose Friday, they'll play two more games. The top three ranked teams go to Chicago for the WFTDA Championship Nov. 5-7.

"We're just trying to come out a better team than when we go in," Welch said.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Sacred City Derby Girls to host “Rollin’ on the River”

2010-09-20T22:26:07Z

2010 WFTDA Western Regional Tournament

Sacred City Derby Girls is pleased to be hosting the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) 2010 Western Regional Tournament at the historic Memorial Auditorium in downtown Sacramento, Oct. 1-3.

The tournament will feature the top 10 ranked WFTDA teams in the Western Region, regarded as the most competitive of all WFTDA regions this year. At the close of the weekend, the top three teams will move on to compete in the WFTDA Championship Tournament in Chicago in November.

“Rollin’ on the River” is WFTDA’s Western Regional invitation-only tournament. This year’s participating teams (in order of ranking) are Oly Rollers, Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, Denver Roller Dolls, Rose City Rollers, Rat City Rollergirls, B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls, Jet City Roller Girls, Duke City Derby, Tucson Roller Derby and Sacred City Derby Girls.

Each team wants a spot at the national championship tournament, “Uproar on the Lakeshore,” to be held Nov. 5-7 in Chicago, so “Rollin’ on the River” will be competitive, fierce and first-class.

WFTDA is composed of 98 full-member leagues representing 41 states and provinces, with 27 of these member leagues in the Western Region. In addition, there are 43 leagues in the WFTDA Apprentice Program, as well as dozens of WFTDA rule set- compliant leagues across the country.

“Rollin’ on the River” is a high-profile event and is expected to attract spectators from across WFTDA’s Western Region, which spans from Northern Washington to Southern California and from Hawaii to New Mexico. In addition, the Sacred City Derby Girls bring their own fan base to the track; an average of 850 fans in attendance at their interleague home bouts.

Besides planning and arranging all aspects of this major event, the Sacred City Derby Girls organization is thrilled to be invited to skate at the regional tournament for the first time in its four-year history.

Sacred’s dreams of being a nationally competitive team and bringing world-class flat track derby to the central city are now being realized with “Rollin on the River 2010.”

The tournament will be held at one of the most recognizable and beloved buildings in the region, the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, located at 1515 J St.

Tickets can be purchased online at rollinontheriver.net or by calling the Memorial Auditorium box office at 916-808-5181.

Three-day passes to all bouts are $60 general admission and $100 VIP. The daily price for Friday is $20 general admission and $35 VIP. Saturday and Sunday tickets are each $25 general admission and $40 VIP. Children under 6 do not require a ticket if accompanied by a ticketed adult. VIP admission includes reserved seating in Dress Circle and access to the VIP room with satellite bar and food servers during peak times. Doors open at 8 a.m. on Friday.

For more information on the tournament and sponsorship opportunities, visit rollinontheriver.net.

About WFTDA

The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women’s flat track roller derby and a membership organization for leagues to collaborate and network.

The WFTDA sets standards for rules, seasons and safety, and it determines guidelines for the national and international athletic competitions of member leagues. There are currently 98 WFTDA member leagues and 43 leagues in the WFTDA Apprentice Program.

About Sacred City Derby Girls

Sacred City Derby Girls (Sacred) was founded in the spirit of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association's (WFTDA) "by the skaters, for the skaters" mantra.

As a WFTDA member league, Sacred is owned, managed and operated by its skaters. Sacred City Derby Girls formed in September 2006 with high hopes of being accepted into WFTDA, and by October 2007 those hopes were realized. For the first time since its inception, Sacred is both hosting the Western Regional Tournament and playing as seed No. 10.

For more information about Sacred, visit sacredcityderbygirls.com

For more information about WFTDA, vist www.wftda.com

This is an official press release from the Sacred City Derby Girls

Disclosure Note: Marc McLaughlin is the official photographer for the Sacred City Derby Girls.

Primus plays the Memorial Auditorium

2010-09-16T07:31:42Z

The Primus Oddity Faire tour kicked off in Sacramento Tuesday at the Memorial Auditorium.

The first act to take the stage, a group from Los Angeles, was called El Bronx. The group consisted of a mariachi band decked out in traditional black mariachi suits with a rock-and-roll flare.

The singer brought a ton of energy to the stage, talking to the crowd and encouraging everyone to clap along. Fans of Primus who would normally be moshing in the pit were dancing and having a good time.

At first listen, El Bronx sounded like an ordinary mariachi band, but once the violin kicked in and the singing began, it was obvious that there was something odd about the mariachi tunes.

The subject matter of the music is what made El Bronx unique. Even though the group’s sound is very upbeat and Hispanic, its lyrics deal with everything from prison to political issues. The combination of the darker lyrics and the somewhat-humorous beats of the mariachi sound made El Bronx an act to remember.

Next up was a performing troupe of dancers and contortionists called the Vau-De-Vire Society. Their performance mimicked an old Vaudeville show, minus the slapstick elements.

The first person to take the stage was a lone guitarist who provided the soundtrack for the entire performance. Next, a dancer clad in red and twirling a large python in the air emerged.

Various other dancers came next. The show featured everything from sword-balancing acts to handstands. But of course what made the dances so much more intriguing was the sexy clothing the performers wore – the girls were dressed in bright red lingerie and ripped stockings.

Since no burlesque-meets-vaudeville-meets-circus act is complete without an element of danger, the performance also showcased ascantily clad man who cracked a whip to break roses off their stems from such provocative places as the female dancers’ mouths.

Furthermore, a rebel cowgirl also popped balloons and tipped over cans with a pellet gun from various places on the dancers’ bodies. The high point was when once of the dancers did the splits while in a handstand and a can was placed between her legs and shot by the cowgirl.

Finally, the lights dimmed and Primus was ready to play.

The band opened with the first song off of its album “Frizzle Fry,” entitled “To Defy the Laws of Tradition,” and Les Claypool emerged wearing an absurdly tall top hat.

Interestingly enough, the next few songs played were the next few songs off of “Frizzle Fry,” and it soon became apparent that Primus was going to play “Frizzle Fry” in its entirety.

While “Frizzle Fry” is one of Primus’ first albums and it is very well-loved by fans, hearing the entire album played front-to-back took away any element of surprise from the show. Older fans of Primus who have seen the band live many times probably loved hearing the whole album, but people who were seeing Primus for the first time might have wished for a little more variety. With such an extensive repertoire of songs (20 years’ worth of material) it seemed strange that the band chose to limit itself to a single album.

Now, as Primus fans know, it’s impossible to go to a bad Primus show, and Tuesday’s concert was no exception. Les Claypool and the gang can do no wrong, and certainly there was nothing wrong with hearing such a fantastic album. However, it was very odd that “Tommy the Cat,” probably Primus’ most notorious song, wasn’t played.

After “Frizzle Fry” was finished, Claypool broke the silence he had maintained for all of “Frizzle Fry” to interact with the crowd a little. He spoke lovingly and jokingly about his bass, making everyone who is familiar with his custom basses laugh.

“This stringed piece of furniture is rather a beastly thing,” Claypool said. “I have sort of a love/hate relationship with it. Though it looks exquisite, it’s made with very fancy, exotic wood. And it feels good in the hands … Uh, ‘Jerry was a Racecar Driver’ anyone?”

After his little spiel, Claypool, Ler and Jay did play a few more songs off of other albums, namely “Jerry was a Racecar Driver” and a few songs off of “The Brown Album” (i.e. “Over the Falls” and “Shake Hands with Beef”).

When the show ended, it seemed like Primus would come out for another mini-encore, but, sadly for everyone in attendance, that was not the case, and the show ended with “Shake Hands with Beef,” a song that Claypool claimed the band hadn’t played in quite some time.

Overall, the show was amazing. Claypool always manages to bring together such talented groups of individuals when he tours, and The Oddity Faire was certainly no exception. A fair of odd people the concert most certainly was, and that’s how the Primus and Claypool fans like it.

Primus to play at Memorial Auditorium

2010-09-08T02:06:25Z

Primus is probably best known for blending funk-based slap bass riffs and interesting and usually humorous characters and situations into long and often psychedelic songs.

Vocalist and bassist Les Claypool tells tales of fisherman, controlled substances and downright ridiculous antics with a twang in his voice and (usually) a Carl Thompson bass in his hands.

Although Claypool has a number of other musical projects such as Oysterhead, Frog Brigade and a number of albums under his own name, he is reuniting with Primus bandmates Larry “Ler” LaLonde (guitar) and Jay Lane (drums) for a full-blown Primus tour across the states.

In regards to the North American Oddity Faire tour, Claypool’s website claims: “Primus will take to the road this fall as part of the 2nd Annual Oddity Faire. The Oddity Faire is a freak show like no other and this year the tour starts off with a stop in Sacramento, and promises to get really strange with a special two night stand at the Club Nokia in downtown LA. The Oddity Faire will head up through the Northwest and come to Canada for the first time before returning to the states for some dates into October. Primus will be joined by some great bands such as Mariachi el Bronx, Portugal. The Man and Split Lip Rayfield.”

Even though there have been no new Primus albums released for this tour, Primus does have a free download of four songs available through its website.

The EP is from the June 2010 rehearsal and includes four songs – “Pudding Time,” “American Life,” “Duchess and the Proverbial Mind Spread” and “Harold of the Rocks.”

The first stop on the tour is in Sacramento at the Memorial Auditorium, and what that performance holds in store for fans is unclear, but set lists for shows back in August have songs from older albums ranging from “Frizzle Fry” to “Pork Soda.”

One thing is for certain – Primus is playing two nights at the Club Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, and the first night the band has scheduled the entire evening to perform the album “Frizzle Fry” in its entirety.

According to the Primus Facebook page: “As part of our special two night run in LA, the band has decided to play Frizzle Fry in its entirety on Thursday (Sept. 16) and do a completely different show on Friday night (Sept. 17). It's going to be great.”

Primus’ first official album, “Suck on This,” came out in 1989, and to date the band has released six more albums with complicated and tough-to-duplicate bass riffs remaining the star of each.

The band’s latest release, “Antipop” (1999), features song titles such as “Lacquer Head” and “The Ballad of Bodacious.”

“Lacquer Head” is about a boy who uses inhalants such as paint and gasoline, while “The Ballad of Bodacious” tells the story of Bodacious the bull, who famously injured a rider, Tuff Hedeman, so badly that he had to have facial reconstruction surgery.

Claypool is not the only talent behind Primus, however, his name is well-recognized because of the degree of difficulty behind the bass riffs he writes. Not only does he invent wild slap solos like in “Tommy the Cat,” he also uses a custom six-string fretless bass for a sound that is distinctly “Claypool.” His visionary bass playing makes the bass guitar the focal point of the music, even though bass as an instrument is usually relegated to the task of keeping rhythm with drums.

One of Primus’ most recognizable songs can be heard on older seasons of the show “South Park” on Comedy Central. The theme song was written for the show by Primus, and it’s not really surprising considering the affinity for cartoonish humor the band possesses. One need only glance at the clay artwork from any of the earlier album covers to get a feeling for what the music holds in store for listeners.

Claypool also wrote the theme song for another popular cartoon series on Adult Swim called “Robot Chicken,” which can be found on Claypool’s album “Of Whales and Woe.”

The song fits so well with the opening credits of the series that it’s hard to tell whether the song was written for the credits or the credits for the song.

Primus has even had a song, “John the Fisherman,” featured on the popular video game series Guitar Hero, and the band makes an appearance in the film “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey” during the battle of the bands scene.

Although Claypool is most famous for his bass skills, he is not a one-trick pony. He has ventured out into the world of winemaking and has also written a book.

“As I tiptoe through the entertainment industry, dabbling in mediums beyond the microphone and my four-stringed piece of electric furniture, I once again find myself venturing into a new foray,” Claypool claims on his wine’s website. “What started as an attempt to fill our own personal wine cache has turned into a ‘boutique’ wine venture. Having forsaken some of my past ‘indulgences,’ I found myself becoming an avid consumer of wines from my neighborhood. After kicking the notion around for a year or two with some pals, it eventually came time to dive in and make some ‘fancy booze’ of our own.”

Claypool has developed two lines of wine, titled “Purple Pachyderm” and “Pink Platypus.”

“Purple Pachyderm” is described by the website as possessing “aromatics ... of supple black cherry, ripe red berry, and ginger spice along with hints of spearmint and almond.”

“Pink Platypus” is a less-expensive rose pinot noir. The wines are currently being served in Claypool’s choice wineries and restaurants that he “personally endorses” (http://claypoolcellars.com/index.php?page=Happenings&item=2), several of which can be found in Northern California.

Claypool’s book, “South of the Pumphouse,” takes place in El Sobrante and tells a tale of methamphetamines, fishing and murder.

Like his song lyrics, the book is very verbose, and the dialogue between characters exists perfectly in the “Claypoolian” world of offbeat and colorful characters.

The book is very much an extension of Claypool’s talent for storytelling, and his literary voice is as strong as the bass solos in his songs.

To find out more about Primus, Les Claypool, and the Oddity Faire tour, visit Primus’ website.

Rumble in the Auditorium: Battle of the Badges

2010-08-31T01:03:55Z

Boxing returned to Sacramento Saturday night with Battle of the Badges VII, an annual charity boxing event featuring correctional officers, police officers and firefighters from the Northern California area.

Fifteen bouts of three two-minute rounds took place in front of an estimated 2,000-3,000 boxing fans at Memorial Auditorium, benefiting such charities as the Firefighters Burn Institute, Sac Fallen Officers Resource Fund, The Sacramento Sheriff’s Toy Project and Sacramento SPCA.

Some agencies represented in the matches included the Sacramento and Vallejo fire departments; the Sacramento, Davis and Woodland police departments; the California Highway Patrol and California State Prison, Sacramento.

There were 14 male bouts and one female bout. The majority of the fighters had never boxed before, but have been training for several months at places like Grimz Gym and LA Boxing.

After weigh-ins and a pre-party at Blue Cue, the prematch action began at Memorial Auditorium Saturday afternoon. Fighters were in many different states of mind as fight time drew closer. Some listened to music through headphones to calm the nerves, and others prepared their muscles by shadowboxing in front of a mirror.

After all fighters had their hands wrapped for support, a meeting backstage was held for the corners and fighters to go over the ground rules of the matches: Don’t hit boxers when they’re down, no hitting below the belt, no “rabbit punches” (hits to the back of the head), and others.

After the singing of the national anthem by Roxanne Devera and a prefright ceremony performed by the California State Prison, Sacramento, and California State University, Sacramento, Army ROTC Honor Guard, the bouts were under way.

Fighters chose the music they walked out to, and the songs were played by DJ A-1 accompanied by Justin Barnes on live drums. For those who are curious, “Gonna Fly Now,” also known as “Theme from Rocky,” was indeed chosen by one fighter, however, "Eye of the Tiger" was not.

The ready-for-action crowd erupted each time a fighter let loose a flurry of punches, as well as when fists connected hard with their intended targets – mainly faces.

The bouts were engaging for the fans, and the crowd was enticed to stay involved between rounds with the help of the Corona Ring Girls.

The event featured its share of blood, sweat and knockdowns. No one was knocked out, but there were TKOs (technical knockouts), and many fights went the distance, and the winner was decided by decision.

One of the most intense moments of the night occurred during the match between Ryan Dodd (Department of Child Support Services) and Raymond “Sugar Ray” Cancel (CSP, Sacramento).

During boxing matches, an indication is made that there are 10 seconds remaining in each round by knocking loudly on a table with a hammer or similar instrument. Saturday night, the 10-second warning was created by slapping the floor of the ring several times with a large, flat instrument.

When the 10-second warning was sounded before the end of the first round for this particular bout, a disoriented Cancel mistook this for the bell signaling the end of the round, dropped his hands and turned to walk to his corner.

His opponent, Dodd, took the opportunity to cock his right fist back and unleash a devastating, unchallenged right punch to the side of Cancel’s now-undefended head, knocking him to the floor and ending the bout with a TKO. A fair punch within the rules, it still elicited a deafening amount of boos from the crowd. Dodd was awarded the Knockout of the Night belt later in the evening.

Battle of the Badges was created in 2003 by correctional officers Israel Montes Jr. and Yvonne Vasquez of California State Prison, Sacramento, to raise money for related charities. Montes said he hopes in 2011 he can bring firefighters and policemen from New York to compete on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11.

Corona Girls model the Championship Belt at the Pre-Party event at Blue Cue.

Shawn “The Rock” Correa (California State Prison-Sacramento) receives a physical before the fights.

Ilya Bezuglov (Davis PD) stares down his opponent after their weigh-in.

Julie “The J-Cat” Williams (San Quentin)

The Championship Belt on display whets the appetites of the boxers the night before the fights.

A fighter gets his hands wrapped before his bout.

Referees go over the rules with fighters backstage at a pre-fight meeting.

Tyrome Johnson (CSP-Sacramento) listens to music in his dressing room before his fight.

Katie “Pacwoman” Hartwig (Sacramento Sheriff ‘s Dept)

Memorial Auditorium

Matt Jameson (Woodland PD), left, appears to dodge a blow from Noel Montes (California Correctional Peace Officers Association).

Corona Ring Girl

One of the judges waits to hand in a decision to the referee.

Cain "The Brawler" Bramasco (Deuel Vocational Institute-Tracy) is victorious over Craig "Ramblin" Hamblin (CSP-Sacramento).

Shawn “The Rock” Correa (CSP-Sacramento), foreground, gets a ten count from the referee after being knocked down by Rich De Los Cientos (Sacramento Sheriff’s Dept).

Before intermission a $10,000 check was presented to the Firefighters Burn Institute.

Tyrome Johnson (CSP-Sacramento), left, takes a blow from James Smith (CHP).

A fighter rests in his corner before the next round begins.

Ralph “Big Nasty” Heredia (CSP-Sacramento), left, cocks a right hook for Ilya Bezuglov (Davis PD).

Julie “The J-Cat" Williams’ (San Quentin) left hook connects with her opponent, Katie “Pacwoman” Hartwig (Sacramento Sheriff’s Dept).

Hartwig gets a pep talk from her trainer between rounds.

A warm reception for Javier Banuelos (CSP-Sacramento) as he enters for his fight.

Banuelos, left, connects with his opponent Gomez’s jaw.

Master of Ceremonies Lance Corcoran

Javier Banuelos (CSP-Sacramento)

A dazed Raymond “Sugar Ray” Cancel (CSP-Sacramento) slowly gets to his feet after being knocked down by his opponent, Ryan Dodd (California Dept of Child Support Services).

A bloodied Cancel is checked by ringside physician Dr. Gary Furness after being knocked down by Ryan Dodd.

A left hook from Carlos Cabrera (Sacramento Sheriff’s Dept), foreground, glances the face of Larry “Pitbull” Fernandez (CSP-Solano) during the Main Event fight.

Cabrera, right, throws a hard right punch at Fernandez.

Cabrera, center, victor of the Main Event.

Photos: Steven Chea

Bruises and beat-downs for a good cause

2010-08-25T00:31:16Z

It’s not often that bruises and beat-downs have anything positive associated with them.

But that’s exactly what will take place Aug. 28 at the seventh annual “Battle of the Badges” charity boxing fundraiser.

Police officers, correctional officers, and firefighters from throughout Northern California will step into the ring at Memorial Auditorium to duke it out all in the name of a good cause.

The event was founded in 2003 by correctional officers Israel Montes Jr. and Yvonne Vasquez of California State Prison-Sacramento before a third officer, Pablo Vasquez, joined the team. Vasquez passed away in 2007.

The annual tradition began as a small-scale event held at the Boys & Girls Club in downtown Sacramento and has outgrown the various halls and auditoriums used since then.

Montes said the event was started to “build camaraderie, unity and competitive sportsmanship among peace officers and firefighters” in addition to raising money and supporting what he call “worthy” local charities.

“The benefiting charities are chosen through careful consideration and at the recommendation of fighters. I want them to feel they are competing for a worthy cause,” Montes said.

Specific charities include beneficiaries from last year (The Firefighters Burn Institute, The Sac Fallen Officers Resource Fund and The Sacramento Sheriff’s Toy Project) along with new additions California Association of Highway Patrolmen Widows & Orphans’ Trust Fund and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Jim Doucette, executive director for the burn institute, said, “The Firefighters Burn Institute is very happy to be one of the charities that will benefit from this year’s Battle of the Badges. All of these charities do wonderful work for our community.”

Last year’s event,“The Raley Field Rumble,” raised approximately $10,000 for the benefiting charities and this year’s event is expected to raise even more.

Around 2,500-3,000 peace officers, firefighters, and family and friends are expected to fill the auditorium Saturday night.

There are approximately 15 fights lined up with three, two-minute rounds during each when Montes says the fighters will “battle fiercely representing their respective agencies.”

“We hope that all of the boxers do well, but of course we will be cheering for our firefighters!” Doucette said.

Before the action begins, there will be a pre-fight ceremony honoring fallen officers, firefighters and soldiers. The ceremony will include performances by the Sacramento Firefighters Pipes & Drums and the California State Prison-Sacramento Honor Guard.

On Friday night before the fights, weigh-ins and a pre-fight party will be held at Blue Cue and is open to the public, which Montes credits the event’s success to.

“This event would not be possible without the support of participants, sponsors, volunteers and fans,” Montes said.

Ticket prices are $40 for assigned floor-level ringside seating, $30 for lower-balcony/general seating, and $25 for upper-balcony general seating. Tickets can be purchased at the Sacramento Convention Center Box Office at 1301 L St. with no surcharge or at Tickets.com.

The Memorial Auditorium is located at 1515 J St.

Blue Cue is located at 1004 28th St.

See the complete fight card here.

For more information, visit the official Battle of the Badges website or Facebook page.

Photos from last year's "Raley Field Rumble" by Bob Knapik, restorem@surewest.net

Anthony Bourdain is coming to Sacramento

2010-08-21T07:19:26Z

I adore food, I love to travel, and it is my dream to write for a living.

As you might imagine, writer, chef, Travel Channel star and bon vivant Anthony Bourdain is an idol of mine.

When I saw the erstwhile chef of Les Halles Brasserie and current host of "No Reservations" would be making an appearance at the Memorial Auditorium in September, I called up my liaison at The Sacramento Press and begged her to let me cover the event.

A couple days later I got a note in my inbox:

"Lindol, they're happy to have you cover the event on the condition that you don't mind doing a preview, and interviewing Mr. Bourdain."

I've never said "yes" with more enthusiasm.

A few days after that, I got a note from his assistant, Laurie, with a phone number and time to call.

Two p.m. Monday the 16th arrived in a hurry.

I took a deep breath and clumsily dialed the number I had been given. The phone rang twice before being picked up by the man himself.

"Hello?"

And thus began my interview with Tony Bourdain.

I introduced myself and told him what a thrill it was for me to talk to him before getting down to business.

I started by asking him what his fans can expect at the show.

"Anything can happen,” he said. “It really depends on what's been bugging me that week."

It's unscripted. Although he recently released a new book, "Medium Raw," he probably won't be reading excerpts from it. ("This isn't a book tour.")

The only thing he could guarantee is that a significant portion of the show will be dedicated to questions from the audience.

So on Sept. 17, you'll have the chance to ask Tony whatever you'd like. Here's what happened when I was given that opportunity:

Have you been to Sacramento? Have you spent much time here?

I haven't spent much time, unfortunately. I've been through for one night, and didn't get a chance to see anything.

Well, we're glad to have you. I have a question about your writing. Have you always written? Did you write even in the bad old days? Is it something you were always driven to do?

No, not really, no. I've been given a chance to write, and I did. I wasn't working on unpublished manuscripts while I was cooking, I had a full-time job.

What country do you think has the best street food? That's a passion of mine.

Street food. . . . It'll probably be Vietnam or Singapore.

Since you brought up Vietnam, I read somewhere that you're gonna go to Vietnam and live there for a year?

Well, I hope so, if they ever cancel the damn show. I love it there. I just think it's a really special place, I'd love to really get to know it well, wake up there every day and go to sleep there every night, see what that’s like.

Andrew Zimmern is known as the "Bizarre Food Guy," but you often eat a lot of crazy things. I'm always intrigued by the alcoholic beverages you end up drinking. I seem to recall one that looked like Pepto-Bismol from, I think it was Peru. What's the gnarliest alcoholic concoction you've imbibed?

Ah man, there are some really strong versions, wherever they ferment stuff and then distill it. Once you get pure alcohol, theres not that much variation. . . does it have a rice aftertaste or a corn aftertaste, or whatever. It's actually the low-alcohol drinks that are actually kind of problematic, the ones that they ferment with saliva in Peru or palm wine in Africa or India. You know you gotta drink a real lot of that stuff to get any kind of a buzz, and it's not very appetizing.

I recently watched the Rust Belt episode you did, and I loved it. I like the gritty American city ones that you do probably even more than the wild tropical locales. What was it like eating lunch with Snoop? (actress Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, who played hit-woman and all around badass Snoop on "The Wire").

Oh, it was so awesome, she was really really really good to us. She was just a real joy to work with. She was really nice, funny as hell, her friends were great. I'm a huge fan of hers, I'm a huge fan of “The Wire.” She was just a delight from beginning to end: funny, warm, busted my balls in the best of possible ways. I'm a big fan of her work. (She’s) easily the most terrifying female villain in the history of television. It's one of the things that makes having my job a really good one is I get to say, hey, wouldn't it be cool if we could work with Snoop from "The Wire"? Lets see if we can do that.

For my money, no offense to “No Reservations,” “The Wire” is the best show on television, probably ever.

I would agree with you.

Another one of those, in that same ilk, which I liked was the Cleveland Episode. I wanted to say that that was a brilliant and touching eulogy that you wrote to Harvey Pekar.

Thank you.

I was wondering what you thought of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

I despise the whole idea. I hate it. Im waiting for somebody to be inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame and say fuck you, take your trophy and shove it up your ass. That would be Rock and Roll.

I read recently that you love In-N-Out burger. Have you had a chance to try "The East Coast In-N-Out" Five guys Burgers and Fries?

I have had a Five Guys. . . actually. . . pretty decent. . .

But no In-N-Out?

I'm all about In-N-Out.

What was the last meal that you cooked?

Let's see. . . I think I made Venetian style calf liver for my wife a couple nights ago.

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I have a friend who hypothesizes that sometime in the mid ‘90s you must have sold your soul to the devil ala Robert Johnson at the crossroads. You're an incredible writer, you get to travel all over the world, wherever you like, you eat anything and everything, and you never seem to gain weight. . . Is there any credence to this theory?

I'd just say it's proof there is no God.

This is one of your favorite questions. If you were going to die tomorrow, what would you have for your last meal? I don't know, lately. . . one piece of sushi, a really really good piece of toro tuna or sea urchin. Good San Diego sea urchin roe with top-quality sushi rice and really high-test seaweed.

I know you're a big Yankees fan. Have you had a chance to go to the new Yankee Stadium?

I haven't. . . I hate the whole idea of it. . . I’m still getting used to the fact that it even exists. I'm not a good sports fan because I'm never around long enough to go to a game or even stay abreast of the games.

I was wondering if you have plans for the night after your show?

I'm probably gonna crawl into bed, ’cause I believe I’m shipping out the next morning. If it's anything like all the other gigs that month, I'm up at like four in the morning and move to the next town.

Alright, well if you change your mind there's a Trombone Shorty show right up the street. He'll be playing his brand of Super Funk and you have a standing invite, you're on the guest list if you'd like to check it out.

Thanks man, I appreciate it.

Somehow, Bourdain was even cooler on the phone than he is on the show. It's a wonderful thing when your idols live up to your lofty expectations. It's even better when they exceed them.

Anthony Bourdain, author of "Kitchen Confidential" and host of Travel Channel's "No Reservations," will be appearing at the Memorial Auditorium at 8 p.m. Sept. 17. A limited number of VIP tickets will be available for $85.00, which includes a post-show meet-and-greet and book signing with him. Reserved seating is available at $46.50 and $36.50 at tickets.com.

City Treasurer Russ Fehr rocks with The Newz Makers

2010-08-11T01:21:01Z

There’s a lot more to Sacramento City Treasurer Russ Fehr than you might think. Yes, he knows all about municipal finances and wears a suit at City Council meetings. But he also plays guitar in a rock band with fellow city employees.

Fehr, age 58, is one of six members of The Newz Makers, a city-employee band that started rocking in 2006.

For band gigs, Fehr exchanges his suit for casual garb and goes by the stage name “Luke.” He loves Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones, and was a member of a Sacramento group that was the precursor to the Rutabaga Boogie Band.

Fehr’s band mates are Joe Valenzuela, a police captain; Jim Berg, an information technology supervisor; Tom Moore from Human Resources; Roni Yadao, a procurement division employee; and tree pruner Vince Hernandez.

As the city treasurer, Fehr is concerned about the city’s money. He told The Sacramento Press again and again (and again) that the city does not pay the members of The Newz Makers to play.

The band performs at city events free of charge, Fehr said. Band members do not receive money from tickets to city events. The band does not use city equipment, and members do not practice their tunes during work hours, he said. The band only receives payment when it plays gigs that “have nothing to do with the city,” he said.

Now that the details of the band’s financing are clear, let’s hear from Fehr on why and how he rocks with The Newz Makers.

Sacramento Press: A lot of your reports on city finances are dry. So, I’m a little shocked that you’re a rocker. How do you go back and forth from analyzing city finances and rocking out?

Russ Fehr: It’s difficult because I think it involves different parts of the brain and ... your cognitive processes. So, the transitions sometimes take a little while. In some ways, music is sort of a harmony of mathematics and emotion. The relationships and notes and how chords are structured, and a lot of it is very mathematical. But playing is also a real emotional experience.

(The) approach at work is coldly rational and has to be.

SP: Does your band have any crazy stories about gigs?

Fehr: I think our best story is the very first time we ever played — at Memorial Auditorium. It was for a city event, and it was at 8 in the morning, which is an odd time to be playing music. We’d been together for a couple months; we’d only practiced three times.

It was kind of interesting because growing up here in Sacramento — and watching concerts at Memorial since the mid-’60s and playing in a band since 1966 — one of my lifelong goals was to play at Memorial Auditorium. And now, twice I have been able to do it. It’s a real thrill. So, I think that’s the biggest thing.

But we’ve played at a crab feed fundraiser for the police union at the Newman Center there by Sac State —

SP: Did that get rowdy?

Fehr: Well, we were safe. We were well-protected.

SP: Your band really hasn’t sought much publicity. Why is that? And why are you not aspiring to be in Sacramento Magazine?

Fehr: There’s way too much shameless self-promotion in the world. We’re exposed to it all day long.

We don’t actively seek any publicity. A couple guys in the band still have younger kids at home, and so there are limits on time. My children are in their 20s and in school, so I don’t have that same kind of limit. But we have our website.

I think we’d like to play more ... One thing we don’t want to do is go back to playing 9 till 1 in the morning at the bars.

SP: Were you doing that for awhile?

Fehr: Yeah, it’s been a long time. I’ve done it; I know some other guys in the band have done it in the past. None of us want to do that. We do play occasionally at a bar, but it’s kind of a one-time thing.

SP: How can the general public see your band?

Fehr: In the future — at playing events like the National Night Out, or some of the events that council members host in their districts, or city departments host. We are often asked to play, and when we can, we do. And those are free, open public events.

SP: Can you talk a little bit about what kind of music your band plays?

Fehr: We’re a rock-’n’-roll band. And the set list — we have some songs that are contemporary. It’s a cover band. We play with some originals and do some jam things, but basically it’s a cover band.

I think our songs are really focused in on baby boomer classic rock. Mid-’60s, mid-’70s are the bulk of it. We do some older things. We do some stuff going back to the ’50s, some Elvis, and “Summertime Blues” by Eddie Cochran.

Our singer, Roni Yadao, can just flat-out sing. She’s extraordinary.

SP: Is there anything you’d like to add? Anything else you want to let the public know about the Newz Makers?

Fehr: I’m so grateful that the people I get to play with are just fine people ... It’s just a joy to be 58 years old and still play guitar in a rock-’n’-roll band. I’m not the greatest musician in the world, and there’s probably 30 people or more that can play guitar better than I can that are employed by the city. But darnit, I’m in a band. And I just love it — getting to play, whether it’s practice or publicly.

There’s something about it. And other hobbies have this, but I think music...it takes you away. While I’m playing, nothing else exists.

And all the worries and woes about the economy, and the challenges facing the city ... family issues, health. I’m at the point now where people I grew up (with) pass away.

We were playing Tuesday night, and I was kind of standing over by Vince — and I just couldn’t believe — along with hearing the whole band — how good our guitars sounded. The tone was different, so the parts were coming out crystal clear. We were pretty loud. I got in front of my amp, and I could feel the wind move, coming out of the speakers.

For that four- or five-song set, it’s all there was in the whole world — the band and the music.

It’s healthy; it’s a good thing. I hope people who have hobbies, like gardening or whatever it is, get that same mental break from the real world.

Photos courtesy of The Newz Makers.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

First Annual Designing Dreams Fashion Show

2010-08-10T22:43:47Z

The First Annual Designing Dreams Fashion Show at Sacramento’s Memorial Auditorium went off without a hitch. The Tiana Vega Collection was the anchor piece of the fashion show. Tiana and six other designers participated in this gala event that was co-produced by Couture Connections. Beautiful designs were modeled down the runway, something that the Memorial Auditorium has not seen since the early 1940’s.

(Tiana Vega)

Couture Connections did a fantastic job putting together this show that has been in the works for months. Everyone associated with Couture Connections did a great job greeting guests, distributing literature, escorting media and VIP guests to exclusive sections of the show. They worked hard to put this show together and hopefully it will be the start of similar and bigger shows in the future.

(Couture Connections, Kim and Sean)

Adrienne Bankert, from KCRA, served as Master of Ceremonies. Her sense of humor, sense of fashion, beauty, and presence on stage made her, in my opinion, the ideal person for the evening’s ceremony. Adrienne introduced the show, talked about the designers, and the purpose of the event. There was also a raffle and silent auction where many local businesses had donated goods and services. Adrienne encouraged the audience to purchase tickets for the raffle and continue to bid on the auctions.

(Jennifer Richards, Adrienne Bankert)

The event was not only an exquisite gala affair but it was a fund-raising benefit event for the Sweet Dreams Foundation as well. A portion of the proceeds from the event were scheduled to go towards designing a dream bedroom for 8 year old Aimee who’s been fighting Xeroderma Pigmentosa (XP) since birth. Aimee’s condition makes her skin extremely sensitive to the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation, preventing her from direct exposure to sunlight and forcing her to spend most of her time indoors. It’s extremely hard to fathom a child not being able to enjoy the outdoors. By creating a dream room, designer Jennifer Richards helps the child enjoy the room of their dreams that can help ease the pain and also help in the healing process.

Designing Dreams is the result of collaboration between Tiana Vega and Jennifer Richards. The two met at a charity event that Jennifer was taking part in. Both started to talk about working together and this resulted in the creation of Designing Dreams. Both put together their ideas and later established a working relationship with Couture Connection. The three parties talked about their ideas and all became involved in putting on the Designing Dreams Fashion Show. This collaboration, if it continues for a period of time, may inspire similar collaborations throughout the Sacramento area. There were many local designers, fashionistas, businesses, and models at the show. Networking and having a central place to gather and share ideas may help these businesses by getting involved in helping the community via similar charity or fund raising events. Not only that but it can also help the Sacramento community as a whole.

The fashion show began with models showing off designs from Jules Thor, Yennie Zhou, and Melissa Kay. Each designer had outfits that inspired comments from people around me. “Beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, look at the back, wow, I want that” and other similar comments came from those sitting around me. Some outfits inspired much more appreciation from the audience. After each showing the designers came out for a short on-stage appearance and all received shouts and ovations of appreciation.

(Designers left and below)

Virginia Quintel came on stage to talk about her son Braycen and what Sweet Dreams had done for him. She spoke about her son’s illness, who is only 4 years of age, and has already gone through over 25 surgeries. Virginia indicated that her son is afflicted with Rubenstein Taybi Syndrome, a condition that affects every part of the body. As she spoke you could hear the hurt in her voice and you could see it in her facial emotions. As I listened to her I could feel a warm streak of tears rolling down my cheeks. I’m sure I was not the only person who shed tears for Braycen and his mom. What really got me was her parental observation when she said “This is one owie I can’t make go away.” You could tell how much she loves Braycen and what she wouldn’t do to relieve his pain. Virginia also relayed a story about a recent fire that destroyed parts of their house except for Braycen’s room that seemed to have escaped damage. Virginia said, (regarding his room after the fire) “His room was untouched like angels had stood on the walls guarding him. From the bottom of my heart thank you Jen and everyone involved. Thanks for giving him the chance to be a kid in the park.” The Sweet Dreams Foundation had created a room for Braycen with a Park Theme design. Her presence and story about Braycen was very inspirational and heart touching.

(Virginia Quintel)

A video with Aimee and Jennifer Richards followed. Aimee will be the next beneficiary of the Sweet Dreams Foundation. In the video Jennifer and Aimee sat and worked on getting the things Aimee wanted in a room. Sitting on the floor they drew ideas on paper and talked about what the 8 year old girl liked. Her condition, XP (xeroderma pigmentosa), makes the skin highly sensitive to sunlight. Can you imagine a world without sunshine? Designing Dreams brings some sunshine to these kids. These kids, including Aimee, however emit sunshine from within that touch all those around them.

After an intermission Adrienne Bankert returned to the stage to announce raffle prize winners. Fashion designs by Linzel Couture, Nelli Rosh, and Shamini followed the announcement of the raffle winners. I talked a little to Shamini before the show and found that she had attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles with Tiana. They are good friends, “we’re like sisters” Shamini noted.

(Shamini)

There was a wide mix of styles parading down the runway all through the evening. Many elegant night gowns adorned the models and awed the audience as they were displayed on stage. Several semi-traditional dresses along with some that seemed as if they were stitched together from newspapers (truly amazing designs). Other garments had ornate and elegant designs with some having open backs. Many were one piece outfits but separates adorned the models as well. Once the models got on to the catwalk the show went by quickly. Each model individually walked to the end of the runway and then back. They all came out in a single line parading one more time and each designer followed. It was all very glamorous.

I think this was a well received event. Many people, behind the scenes, worked very hard. The make-up and hair stylists worked feverously to get the models ready. Image ProvoCateur provided hair styles and make-up with Kayla, Heather and others on site. Wardrobe adjustments continued up until the show began, if this event continues I believe that it can only grow. Sacramento has a wide pool of talent and many fashion artists are looking for a venue to display those talents. The collaboration exhibited at the Designing Dreams Fashion Show can work and perhaps it can bring Sacramento fashion to the same level as markets that exist in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

There are many people and businesses that contributed to the success of the event (too many to mention here). Congratulations are in order for all the parties involved in making this event a successful venture.

Photos:

Above photos and more can be found at Designing Dreams Fashion Show

Cedric The Entertainer Arrives In Sacramento

2010-07-27T22:38:43Z

A SacramentoComedy.Com Interview

Comedian Cedric The Entertainer is one of the hardest-working men in the entertainment business. Perhaps you love him from his roles in "Barbershop," "Be Cool" or "The Original Kings Of Comedy." You may have became a fan of his voiceover roles in "Madagascar," "Charlotte's Web" or "The Proud Family." Maybe it was his starring role in the hit "Johnson Family Vacation." Any way you look at it, Cedric IS "The Entertainer."

Even with his success as an actor, producer and director, Cedric The Entertainer is coming to Sacramento's Memorial Auditorium and going back to his roots of stand up comedy.

We spoke to Cedric, (Mr. Entertainer?), by phone as he was recovering from a minor surgery performed last week.

Have you worked in the Sacramento area before?
Yeah, I was in Sacramento about three years ago at one the local clubs and then at, I think, the same venue that I am playing on Thursday, so it's been a while.

Fantastic! I know that you rescheduled from Saturday, and you tweeted out that you had some minor surgery.
Yeah, I had a little hernia I had to take care of.

Everything's OK now?
Yeah, I'm ready to get back at it, you know, I'm up moving around and doing 110 crunches a day, so I'm good. (chuckling).

Cedric, you are truly a complete package as an entertainer. You act in comedies and dramas, animated movies and plays on Broadway. You also write, direct and produce. What gives you the most satisfaction?C
I started with stand-up, and I think that probably ranks pretty high up there with the opportunity to get immediate reaction to your thoughts and commentary. Having that audience response so immediately is one of the greatest satisfactions.

I also enjoyed directing my first movie, and I look forward to seeing what people think about that when it comes out.

Have you decided on a title yet? I heard it was a toss-up between "Chicago Pulaski Jones" and "Dance Foo Fighting."
We decided that the title is "Dance Foo - The Legend of Pulaski Jones" (laughs).

So, nobody won, but you just compromised!
Yeah, (chuckling), at least that's settled.

Most people don't know that before you were Cedric "The Entertainer" you were Cedric "The Insurance Salesman." What was the big step you took that put you on the stage?
I started stand-up almost the same week that I started at State Farm (Insurance), and it was kind of weird that I felt like my life was calling at the same time I found the best job that I had ever had since getting out of college. But I worked for State Farm for over two years before I decided that I could do comedy full time, and so I just built my initial career around St. Louis then got an opportunity to tour on a national tour with the Funny Bones comedy clubs, and that's when I decided to go for it. It was a relatively short period for most comedians. I know a lot of guys that put their 13 or 14 years into their careers before they got a real break.

I always knew I was a performer. My mother was a schoolteacher and was all about the education in our household, and I remember trying to convince her to let me go to a performing arts school where I could sing in talent shows and stuff like that. I have always had a knack for it. But I didn't really try to act until I was out of college.

The story about how you got your "The Entertainer" moniker was that you wanted to charge more money so you had to do more time.
Yeah, (chuckling). You know comedy is all about time. The opener does 10 minutes, the feature act does 30 minutes and the headliner does an hour, so when I started, I wanted the money for at least the 30 minute guy.

I didn't have a lot of material, so I would sing songs, do poetry, paint pictures. I would do whatever I had to do. They said I was entertaining, and the guy (MC) kept calling me a comedian, and I said, "No, don't call me a comedian, call me an entertainer." So, he introduced me as Cedric "The Entertainer," I had a good show, the name stuck and that's what it's been.

You have a daughter who's 6 years old and a son who's 9 years old. You have done a lot of animated shows and movies including; "Charlotte's Web," "Madagascar" and "The Pride Family" doing voiceovers, and you worked with Oprah Winfrey. How do your kids react to watching and hearing their dad?
They do get more excited about the other people in the films, though I do love telling the story that my son had no idea who Oprah was. When I was doing "Charlotte's Web," we (Oprah and I) were in the studio together at the time, and I said to my son, "This is Oprah Winfrey," and he goes "And you do what? Do you know that my dad is Cedric The Entertainer?" (laughing) and I told him, "There you go son, that's telling her!"

You've worked with so many of the greats in comedy, sports, actors and even politicians. Who have you most enjoyed working with?
I guess I'd have to say that I have had the most fun working on the "Barbershop" movie with Ice Cube, who is a very interesting character to work with. We had great laughs with Jim Carrey on "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," and also in "Be Cool" with John Travolta. He was actually a very cool dude too. He liked to sing old Motown songs on the set, and we had a good time.

Is there anyone who you still want to work with on projects that you haven't yet?
Yeah, even though I kind of got to work with him while doing voice work on "Dr. Doolittle 2," I still would like to do something with Eddie Murphy. Something big like a comedy where there's a lot of comedic minds there and we're all having a great time. I also have the opportunity to work with Tom Hanks in his latest movie, "Larry Crowne" so that's a big deal. Eddie Murphy will probably be someone on the top of that list that I would want to have the opportunity to be around and laugh, do something funny and create something special and unique with.

Is there any one project that you have worked on that you look back and say, "I wish I hadn't done that?"
No, not really where I wish that I hadn't done it. "The Honeymooners" was something that I really enjoyed, and it was a big brand. We had another idea that we were going to do when we started off, and then the studio got involved and changed it and made it something else. It was one of those things where I wish we could have done our original ideas. It would have been a lot funnier and more true to the characters that Mike Epps and I were going to bring to it. At one point it didn't turn out that way. It was such a big franchise and we would have had the opportunity to make so many more and add to it's success. Sometimes you just look back on it and say, "Man, that was really disappointing!"

The bigger the budget the less control you have?
The less power you have. You don't have the say in the overall direction of the movie. We had a new executive come in on the movie and change the movie into something he thought would make sense. He was trying to make a name for himself at the studio. You had to deal with the politics of that and that's what was going on. You end up falling prey to studio politics.

I heard that you were interested in doing more TV. Do you have anything in the works?
We are developing a couple of different things. The title of one project is "Anger Management" based on the Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson movie. It's a sitcom, so it would be about me as an anger management therapist who actually has anger issues of his very own. It is set in Brooklyn, New York, and I am looking forward to doing that. It is still in early development though.

I'm also developing a reality show where I show up and kick in on people's family reunions where I try to convince the families to try to eat better. We thought it would be fun to go to family reunions, Superbowl parties and anytime people are gathered together, eating wings and drinking beer and I'm like, "Alright fool, can we change this out and try something different?"

You're one of the hardest-working people in the business. Do you have any thoughts of taking a break or retiring anytime soon and just kicking back and enjoying life?
I've always kind of set my eye on being 50 years old and being able to downshift a little bit. I have about four or five years left for that. Yeah, I'm definitely planning on being able to slow down and travel and enjoy life and just do the fun things before I'm just old and gotta do it on a cruise ship. I just want to be able to still cause some debauchery and trouble, maybe get on the news!

Cedric The Entertainer is appearing at 8 p.m. at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J St. Tickets Here.

If you enjoyed this interview and would like to have all of the SacramentoComedy.Com features, interviews, news and reviews delivered to your iPhone, iTouch or iPad, download the SacComedy App at iTunes.

Steven Bloom is the founder of AmericasComedy.Com, the official guide to the Sacramento comedy scene. This website is dedicated to comedian interviews, comedian biographies and videos, and consolidation all of the Sacramento comedy events into a single comedy calendar for your convenience. You can send your questions directly to The Comedy Guy at Steven@AmericasComedy.Com.

'Laser Spectacular' denotes one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death

2010-06-24T16:28:46Z

"Laser Spectacular’s The Spirit of Michael Jackson" will light up the Memorial Auditorium on the first anniversary of Michael Jackson’s passing (June 25, 2009).

Steve Monistere, creator and producer of the multimedia tribute performance to the King of Pop, has a background in the music scene playing bass in a band, producing music, concerts, and writing radio jingles.

Monistere began the project late summer of 2009 and the first show ran late October of the same year.

“What I think people will get when they walk away from it is this real sense of how much he really impacted pop music," he said. "He (has) the title 'King of Pop.' I think people will come away with a sense of music history.”

The show will tour the West Coast for the next few weeks then it will make its way to the South and East Coast shortly after. Monistere compared this production with his very successful 25 years touring "Paramount's Laser Spectacular Featuring the Music of Pink Floyd"

“It is two different worlds," he said. "Pink Floyd progressive rock is strictly a multimedia show. This is a pop music show more of a live performance although it has all the elements of the laser show in it.

“The demand for the Spirit of Michael Jackson is greater than the Pink Floyd show is.”

This production includes a live performance from one of the top Michael Jackson impersonators from the Vegas stage, Raul Rojas, along with a stage equipped with a video projection screen, a combination of lasers, concert lighting and an impressive 50,000 watts of sound.

The audience will be taken through the years of Jackson’s life. The performance highlights his legacy to pop culture through his music and stage presence. It's a show that all ages can enjoy.

TICKET INFORMATION

Thursday, June 24: The Saroyan Theater-Fresno, 6:30 p.m.

Tickets Now On Sale: Contact The Saroyan Theater Box Office, 1-800-446-9497 or ticketmaster.com

Friday, June 25: The Memorial Auditorium-Sacramento, 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Tickets Now On Sale: Contact the Community Center Theater Box Office, 1-800-446-9497 or tickets.com

Sunday, June 27: The Bob Hope Theater-Stockton, 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: Contact the Stockton Arena Box Office, 1-800-446-9497 or stocktontickets.com

Presented by: CONXION ENTERTAINMENT INC.

http://www.laserspectacular.com/michaeljackson/index.php

Alley restaurant row stalled

2010-06-24T04:45:03Z

A concept to develop a restaurant row that spills out onto a Midtown Sacramento alley has frozen in its tracks.

Not someone who gives up easily, developer Aaron Zeff took a step toward the alley's future use by launching a new Saturday morning event, the Midtown Bazaar, last weekend.

Zeff has been talking with city officials and prospective restaurant owners about creating an upscale culinary corridor on a Midtown alley near Memorial Auditorium. But that plan — one of three pilot alley projects announced last August — is not moving forward because financing and tenants are not yet available, Zeff said.

"Restaurant row is on a holding pattern, like most other retail businesses," he said.

Zeff owns several properties on the block containing the alley, which sits across from Memorial Auditorium. The alley is located between I and J streets from 16th to 17th streets. He wants to turn two big, old buildings he owns into mixed-use retail and office developments with alley-facing restaurants operating sidewalk cafes, similar to Belden Place in San Francisco's Financial District.

Restaurant owners in the Bay Area and Sacramento have been intrigued by Zeff's plan. But they are not able to get financing right now, and Zeff, as the landlord, has had trouble arranging loans for the level of tenant improvements they would like to get.

"Tenants in San Francisco's Belden Place have all indicated interest, but they're having a difficult go themselves," Zeff said. "So the last thing they're going to do is expand to a secondary market."

Last summer, Zeff applied for a permit to close or temporarily encroach on the alley for sidewalk cafe use. City officials denied the request. But in the meantime, they asked Zeff to organize one or two special events to get a better idea of the kind of impact alley closure would have in the area.

With help from orgainzer Sabrina Berhane, he decided to start a new weekly Saturday morning public market on his parking lot at 16th and J streets and one of his two buildings across the alley.

"We're doing interim use. It's a much smaller, less capital-intensive aspect of the big picture," he said. "But it's still activating an underutilized asset in the central city."

Last Saturday, an estimated 1,000 people and 75 vendors turned out for the first Midtown Bazaar, said Berhane, who has a background in marketing and special events for Enotria Cafe and Wine Bar and a local union.

Bistro tables will be set out on the alley for the public market this Saturday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. after Zeff got a one-time special event permit to close the alley, he said. That could not be confirmed with the city. Vendors have been lined up to sell hot dogs, carnitas and salsa, organic coffee and cotton candy.

The Sacramento City Council has to approve permanent alley closures. In addition, the city code does not currently have a provision allowing alley closure for private use or anything other than the prevention of crime or a public nuisance.

While council members said publicly they supported the restaurant row idea, they were not willing to approve an ongoing alley closure or consider revising city statutes to allow such a closure without information about tenants and potential impacts on traffic circulation, neighboring businesses and residents, city Senior Planner Stacia Cosgrove said.

"Either way, we agreed there needed to be public discussion in a public forum," she said.

Photo of Midtown Bazaar by Steven Michael Millington. Other photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter covering business and development for The Sacramento Press.

Midtown Bazaar opens Saturday

2010-06-17T04:02:11Z

A marketplace of colorful stalls will take over one of Sacramento's busiest corners Saturday.

Like an oasis in a concrete desert, a new public market called the Midtown Bazaar will spring up on a parking lot at 16th and J streets — across from the Memorial Auditorium and P.F. Chang's China Bistro — and flow through an alley into a cavernous old building for a few hours each week.

At least 75 local vendors offering art and other goods have already signed up for the grand opening, to be held from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. With an indoor location measuring 25,600 feet, the market will be held year-round. The old garage at 1630 I St. sports old timber trusses, a mezzanine and roll-up doors in back that will be open to allow the crowd to move between the two market spaces.

Organizer Sabrina Berhane, who has a background in marketing and special event planning, is partnering with entrepreneur Aaron Zeff to create the event. Zeff is president of Priority Parking Inc., and he owns the parking lot and garage where the bazaar will be located.

Hosting a public market there will offer artisans a place to sell their wares in the heart of the central city, in a way that doesn't require any capital, Zeff said.

"The creative class — to me, that's what will make Sacramento become a great city," Zeff said. "We've got to energize and nurture these people."

All proceeds from $1 admission fees will be donated to WEAVE, a local nonprofit fighting domestic violence. The cost of vendor space will be low to keep the market affordable. For the first month, all 10 x 10 spaces will cost $10 every Saturday. Spaces will be $15 to $25 starting July 17, Berhane said.

The event will grow to fit the community. Its name reflects the fun and energy an evolving public market can create in Sacramento, like bazaars selling gold, silk and spices in the old world, she said.

"When I think of a bazaar, I think of an outdoor market somewhere overseas — something exotic and fresh," she said.

Booths will carry art ranging from paintings, sculptures and photos to jewelry and hand-painted jewelry boxes, as well as handmade children's furniture, clothing, pet accessories and even Tempur-Pedic pillows. Half a dozen people will use their spaces for mini-garage sales.

She has a long-term vision that includes a farmers' market, flower stalls and organic, gourmet food sellers offering such things as artisan cheeses and olive oil.

Area farmers who regularly sell at other local farmer's markets have said they would like to be involved. But they have been hesitant to try something new. United Coffeehouse will sell hand-pressed organic coffee, while others will sell jerky and carnitas on Saturday. Flowers, honey and olive oil will be for sale the second weekend, Berhane said.

On Saturday, music will flow from a Sacramento cover band called the Connie Bryan Power Trio, which will play 1960s to '80s rock, and from radio station KBZC 106.5 FM. Berhane is still searching for a few good restaurants and musicians who would like to participate.

The alley will not be closed for the event. But if the Midtown Bazaar expands down the road, the Sacramento City Council's approval for such a closure may be sought, said Zeff, who has put on hold plans to open a restaurant row on that alley.

Sacramento has seen a growing interest in farmer's markets, the Second Saturday Art Walk and other organized events for local artists. A Thursday night farmer's market became popular on K Street Mall in the 1990s, until growing violence led it to be shut down.

The new public market is being established in Midtown within view of the Memorial Auditorium because the spot has a "cool, historic vibe" and can be reached easily by neighbors on foot or on bike, said Zeff, outgoing president of the Midtown Business Association.

"It's where the creative class lives, works and plays," Zeff said. "I'd like to have something here that the creative class wants, and I think we're going to deliver that."

For more information, contact Sabrina Berhane at 320-0366 or info@midtownbazaar.com.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

This day in Sacramento history: Internment begins

2010-05-13T17:47:53Z

68 years ago on this day, on May 13,1942, in the middle of World War II, buses began taking all people of Japanese heritage in the City of Sacramento (approximately 3800), including some from Southside Park neighborhood (citizen and non-citizen, adult and child, on no basis other than ethnic heritage) from Memorial Auditorium to a temporary camp at Walerga (near the present day Walerga Park near the intersection of Madison & I-80;) for internment, as part of the larger internment of people of Japanese heritage from all areas of the West Coast. I Street between 15th and 16th, and 15th between I and J, were blocked off for this purpose. The removal continued thru the morning of May 16. People stayed at Walerga for weeks; most were transported from there to Tule Lake Internment Camp in far northern California, and Walerga closed on June 26. Tule Lake, Manzanar, and the other internment camps finally closed in late 1945.

As you may be aware, you can see more about this episode in Sacramento history at the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts at 10th & O (http://www.californiamuseum.org/), where they have an exhibit with a reconstructed internment camp barracks. Local former internees, including at least one who attended our William Land School, are docents there. There's also an explanatory monument about this episode in front of the Nisei War Memorial Hall at 4th & O. And the book for young people, "Farewell to Manzanar" is a great introduction.

--Paul Trudeau
vice president, Southside Park Neighborhood Association

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.

Sacramento Hosts 2010 California Academic Decathlon

2010-03-16T02:38:20Z

Sunday marked the third and final day of competition for this year's state academic decathlon. The "Super Quiz" was held at the Memorial Auditorium on J Street.

Sixty-two teams from school districts all over California competed for the honor of state champion, as well as a spot in the National Academic Decathlon held in Omaha, Nebraska next month.

California remains a powerhouse in the national competition, winning seven of the last nine events, and Sacramento in particular, between rivals Bella Vista High School and Folsom High School winning the majority of events for the last 20 years at the state level.

Teams of nine, composed of three groups of three students, each with A , B and C grade point averages, spent the weekend taking tests in 10 academic disciplines, culminating in the "Super Quiz" with "The French Revolution" as its theme.

The teams were asked sets of questions covering obscure facts of the French Revolution. The cumulative score is added to the scores of the other tests and bronze, silver and gold medals will be awarded at the recognition ceremony Monday.

George Warren and Sharon Ito of News10 hosted the event and provided the required questions.

"In one of the toughest economic times we have faced, the academic decathlon is a prime example of why we must protect state educational funding," said California State Assembly Speaker, John Perez.

While the decathlon is nothing short of grueling, a little fun comes along with all the decathletes' hard work. Days were spent testing, but nights were spent on the town as teams visited the Esquire IMAX Theater, Old Sacramento and other downtown hot-spot restaurants.

Elliott Marx, Bella Vista decathlete and president of the student body, has spent the last three months with his team, meeting for several hours up to six days a week in preparation. While he recognized the hard work and dedication he and his teammates have put in, he was adamant that decathletes "aren't a bunch of nerds."

"There is a big social aspect to the decathlon," Marx said. "[The team] is like a family. It's become a really good relationship."

For more information about the California Academic Decathlon, visit academicdecathlon.org

Sacramento's Camellia Show - #86

2010-03-08T21:51:31Z

The Camellia Society of Sacramento held its annual Camellia Show this past weekend.

Here are some photo memories:

Matthew Enwia won Best Youth for his Nuccio's Carousel.

Ava Urbina's Elegant Splendor also took a Best Youth award.

Julie Vierra won Best Japonica - Medium, Elsie Morrison Memorial, Red Devil Variety.

Barbara Forbes won a Tri-Color award for Magic Slippers variety.

Pennie Chwalowski won a second place for Elegance, Magic Slippers variety.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ehrhart won a Best Tray of 5 Japonica - Over 4 1/2" - Michael Stout Memorial.

Elida Garibay took an Honorable Mention in Over the Rainbow variety.

SacPress Photos | Kati Garner

Camellia Festival Memories

2010-02-22T04:33:31Z

By Helen Plenert

It's almost time for the annual Sacramento Camilla Festival. Just last week I stopped by my parent’s house and my 85 year old father had laid out old photos of the many festivals he had worked on through the years. We sorted out more than 40 years of buttons he had accumulated as well.

The Festival was a huge part of my parent’s lives and as a result became a huge part of my childhood. I know it was about the flowers but that part is sort of a blur to me. I do have memories of the long tables of flowers with ribbons in the basement of the Memorial Auditorium. The folks, young and old, dressed in native costumes from around the world practicing for their upcoming performance in the hall ways was always more interesting. The event was free back in those days.

I usually took my seat with my Aunt, cousin, and sisters somewhere upstairs and waited for the festivities to begin. You could hear it beginning from a block away. The bagpipers would always start the show with a thundering hum. I never could figure out how that simple instrument could become so loud in the auditorium. We kids loved it.

The festival honored a different ethnic group every year. When the curtains would open to a stage set to this year’s theme it was always a huge treat for me. My dad and his ‘folk dance’ buddies created the huge stage pieces in our driveway in Carmichael. One year they honored Italians and they created a 16 foot Leaning Tower of Pisa. When Germans were honored it was a castle on a 20 foot mountain top. In 1976, for the bi-centennial, he had created a liberty bell with an eagle whose wing span was 20 foot. Every year was a new theme and a new huge stage design. My nice still has the castle, sans the mountain, hanging in her bedroom. The eagle is still in my dad’s garage begging for a huge wall.

The local Folk Dance groups have hosted the festival every year since the 60’s and invited groups from everywhere to participate. My parents belonged and danced regularly with at least 3 dance clubs in Sacramento. It was these Folk Dance groups who arranged everything at no charge to the city. In the bi-centennial year my parents finally got to actually do an exhibition dance on the main floor. The costumes were 1776 period and the dance was the Minuet. Their hand-made costumes, made by my mom, still hang in their closet.

Just like the Jazz Festival now attracts from around the nation and world, so did the Camilla Festival in the 60’s and 70’s. As a child I would always marvel at the beauty of the costumes, the expertise of the dancers and how far they had traveled to be a part of this Festival. I especially loved seeing the children’s groups who were every bit as polished as the adults. My parents immigrated to USA just before I was born. Watching them do the traditional dances just brought me a little bit closer to my ancestors. When Memorial Auditorium closed for renovations years ago it left the festival without a venue for a time. Even though the festival is now located in the CSUS Theater it’s just not the same as having it in the grand Memorial Auditorium in down town Sacramento.

Casspi celebrates Hanukkah with community

2009-12-12T04:55:19Z

Sacramento Kings forward Omri Casspi scored a career-high 20 points Wednesday, grabbed eight rebounds and notched two assists. Thursday, he noshed and schmoozed with about 200 people at a Hanukkah party at Memorial Auditorium put on by the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region.

Casspi sat in the lobby for nearly an hour signing autographs, talking to fans and posing for photos. He also spoke of how he celebrates the Jewish holiday in Israel.

"I usually (celebrate it with) a small group of family, we get everybody to come together, light the candles, sing songs and pray together," he said. "Usually we do that all week (and) on the last night, we go to my grandparents' house, invite all the family and go out together."

Casspi said he misses his father, but is happy his mother, brother and sister could come to Sacramento to celebrate Hanukkah with him. "I'm not a religious person, but I love to pray to God and celebrate all the holidays," he said.

Casspi ranked sixth on www.NBA.com's rookie rankings this week and teammate Tyreke Evans ranked first. He sounded happy about his first season with the Kings.

"It's great we have a young team," he said. "It's (a) very talented (team) and throughout the season, we're only going to get better."

Thursday's celebration included another guest from Israel, Lior Suchard, who provided what he called "supernatural entertainment." His one-hour performance blended magic, comedy and reading the minds of audience members.

Aside from honoring In addition to Casspi, the Jewish Federation honored three generations of Jewish activists -- Lou Weintraub, Dr. E. Scott Rosenbloom and Brian Fischer -- for community service. A man dressed as Judah Maccabee, founder of Hanukkah, passed a ceremonial torch to each of the three men, who then spoke.

Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabees triumphed over the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BC. The first of eight nights of celebration began Friday at sundown with the lighting of the first candle on the Hanukkah menorah, or hanukkiyah.

"It was great fun. We came because we wanted to support the community," said Anne Eisenberg, 69, of Congregation B'nai Israel. "They honored good people (who) work for the community and deserve it. The community only works because of volunteers."

Eisenberg's husband, Hal, 70, said their Hanukkah celebration will be different this year because their children are in France. They mailed Hanukkah presents and potato latke (pancake) recipes to them and will chat online via Skype during the gift opening.

Mike Singer, 64, a member of Congregation Mosaic Law, said he enjoyed the celebration, adding that Suchard was an astonishing entertainer. The board president of the California State University, Sacramento/UC Davis Hillel House for Jewish students described his ideal Hanukkah present.

"We've already raised $3 million for a new UC Davis/Sac State Hillel House," he said. "What we need is $1 million more."

The fun continued late into the night with plenty of gelt (Hanukkah chocolates) to be eaten, dreidels (Hanukkah tops) to be spun and Hanukkah children's book to be read.

Photos by Anthony Bento of Anthonybento.com

Community-wide Chanukah Celebration: Featuring world renowned supernatural entertainer, Lior Suchard and Sac. King Omri Casspi

2009-12-10T19:59:48Z

Join the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region for the 2009 Community-wide Chanukah Celebration! All are invited to see the one-of-a-kind performance by acclaimed supernatural entertainer Lior Suchard (click here to see exclusive video). The entire community is invited to see the show and stay for autographs and pictures with Israeli NBA superstar Omri Casspi (click here for an exclusive video invite from Omri). In addition, three generations of community leadership will be honored as we "pass the torch" from leader to leader, and hear words from Sacramento Vice Mayor Hammond.

This event will be one you will want to be sure not to miss! For event details visit www.jewishsac.org and for tickets call 916-486-0906. Tickets:$40 or Special Family Pricing: $110

Take A Bow

2009-11-22T03:23:32Z

As an event planner, it’s hard not to consider venues in terms of their capacity and cost. And, when you are well acquainted with an event space, you can’t help but take its amenities for granted.

For example, I know how cold it is when you arrive at the Memorial Auditorium (as early as the Convention Center staff). I can point out all of the electrical outlets and I know what your feet feel like after you’ve spent hours scurrying across the concrete floors.

That being said…I feel like I owe my old friend, the Memorial, an apology.

While it may not be state-of-the-art, the Memorial Auditorium has a mystique that is missing from most contemporary venues. Last night, Natalie Cole and the Memorial Auditorium were simply…unforgettable.

Volunteers greeted event sponsors at an exclusive pre-concert reception. Prior to taking their dinner seats, they were treated to live entertainment, wine and appetizers provided by the Paragary Restaurant Group. Hope Productions, a Sacramento-based non-profit, pulled this elite group of guests together for Hope in Harmony, a benefit concert featuring Louie Anderson and headlined by Natalie Cole.

I spent a few minutes backstage with Kitty O’Neal and Louie Anderson before the show. Kitty raved about Louie to the crowd before she introduced him. Meanwhile, Louie tried to remember if they had ever met. He was sure they had done a radio show together. I reminded Louie of her name, he meowed (literally) and took the stage saying Kitty in a way that only Louie Anderson could.

Louie’s set focused largely on butter, a substance with which he admittedly has a lot of experience. And, like butter, Louie had mass appeal. The crowd laughed as soon as he started talking and they didn’t stop until he thanked them all for coming.

In between acts, I tried to imagine growing up with the legendary Nat “King” Cole. For the first time, I realized I was about to see an icon.

I was stunned when Natalie finally graced the stage. She was breathtaking.

It only took one look around the room to see that everyone adored her. Her melodies truly moved the crowd.

When I got home, I did a little research on Natalie’s past. I still can’t believe she is almost 60 years old. And, you would have never known she was recovering from a recent kidney transplant. She looked remarkable in her black and white gown. She was in the best shape of her life.

The Hope Productions staff should take a bow.

From the red carpet crowd to Natalie’s rendition of ‘Walkin’ My Baby Back Home’, the event felt flawless.

Proceeds from Hope in Harmony will benefit several local youth charities including KidsFirst, Roberts Family Development Center and Special Olympics of Northern California.

Hope Productions provides fundraising & marketing resources at no charge to strengthen nonprofit organizations and benefit local children & youth programs. They do this through developing sustainable, large-scale and profitable community events that can be easily supported through a variety of partnerships. For more information about this organization, visit hopeproductions.org.

Camellia Symphony Season Opener

2009-11-13T05:11:34Z

The Camellia Symphony Orchestra opens its 47th season with "Prodigies from St. Petersburg" at the Memorial Auditorium on Saturday.

The concert will feature the music of three composers from that city: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev.

“Everything ends on a high note in all three of the pieces and the sounds that the audience members are going to hear are just breathtaking,” said Allan Pollack, music director and conductor. “I think it was a great way to start off the season.”

The performance also will feature local cellist Burke Schuchmann, who will perform during Shostakovich's “Cello Concerto No. 1.”

Schuchmann said he was excited to work with such a talented group of musicians and was particularly impressed with the string section.

“The strings sound very nice; the cellos, the violins, absolutely gorgeous playing and just a beautiful section.” he said. “And it’s a hard thing to build an orchestra with a good string section.”

“Prodigies from St. Petersburg” will begin at 8 p.m., but doors will open at 6 p.m. for wine tasting, a silent auction, the Camellia Juniors Orchestra mini-concert and a preconcert talk with Pollack.

The orchestra provides different activities in order to appeal to a broader audience, said Executive Director Roberta McClellan.

“We really want to give people a full experience,” she said. “ And we also like to feature local wineries if we can and any other kind of local business.”

McClellan said the orchestra, which has not raised ticket prices for five years, offers family concert packages. She said the symphony tries to make the performances accessible to all.

For more information, visit www.camelliasymphony.org.

Nor-Cal Victory Cup

2009-11-11T01:33:16Z

Nearly 100 cheer teams will gather at the Memorial Auditorium on Sunday for the Nor-Cal Victory hosted by Power All-Stars cup cheerleading competition.

"All the big power house teams are going to be here at the first competition of the season and are going to be battling it out," said Power Cheer owner John Herbert. "I wanted an effective and fun competition."

According to Herbert, 1,800 all-star cheerleaders ranging from 3-18-years-old will be competing for trophys while the level champions will compete for banners as well as the title of grand champions of the competition, but no bids to nationals will be given.

"I'm really excited, they worked really hard and they practiced everyday," said Cheyenne Merced, who's daughter will be competing with the Natomas Jr. Night Hawks. "I am worried for her because she is really competitive."

The competition will start at 9 a.m. at the Memorial Auditorium at 1515 J Sreet and awards presentations will begin at 5:35 p.m.

Spectator fee will be $10 at the door, cash only. For the final performance schedule, visit the Power Cheer website.

Dennis Newhall gives sneak peek of museum to Sac history group

2009-06-25T05:09:36Z

Members of the Sacramento County Historical Society were treated to a guided sneak-peek tour of the Rock and Radio Museum and a talk from music collector Dennis Newhall and Mick Martin of Mick Martin's Blues Party Tuesday night.

The museum, packed with Newhall's personal collection, normally only offers tours during Sacramento's Second Saturday Art Walks, but owner Newhall opened his doors to around 30 members as a part of the society's monthly meeting.

As an example of one of Sacramento's low points in music and a nod to how far the city has come, the talk opened with a story of the cancellation of Lou Reed's show at the Memorial Auditorium after being oversold by just two rows. While there have undoubtedly been the lows, the walls of the museum boast proof that Sacramento has been and still is a haven of rich musical performances.

Tour-goers reminisced and exchanged their own stories and concert experiences while they scanned the memory-provoking walls and rooms packed with handbills, ticket stubs, and concert posters. Thousands of bands have made stops on their already-successful tours in Sacramento and Davis at venues like The Boardwalk, Old Ironsides, Java Lounge and Memorial Auditorium.

Newhall said that although some bands played at gyms and some venues lasted mere months, they have all played an important role in music history.

Newhall is a media producer and former KZAP DJ who began collecting local rock music memorabilia more than 10 years ago. His collection has grown to around 2,500 pieces from the 1950s to the present and fills almost every inch of the walls in the six-room gallery that was once home to Oasis Ballroom concert hall.

Up until fall 2008, the museum was owned by Nakamoto Productions and doubled as a recording studio. Newhall's collection was merely a small display at the studio before Tucker Media Group moved in and allowed Newhall's collection to entirely take over the gallery. Newhall's collection made a comeback at this month's Second Saturday Art Walk and will continue to do so at future walks.

Some of the many notable names that make an appearance in his collection include the Grateful Dead, Smashing Pumpkins, Sting, Van Halen and, more recently, Death Cab for Cutie. The rooms and walls are broken up into different categories including the "AM" and "FM" rooms that will eventually be consolidated into one, the "Davis" wall, the "Sound Factory" wall and a living room-like setting decorated with Frank Carson's calendar designs for Tower Records.

"There are 600 [pieces] on the wall, but there is also a lot of history in the books that tells about the rise and fall of music in Sacramento," Newhall said in reference to the books of play charts on display in the museum's front rooms.

Coincidentally, the tour was given the same evening as The Crest Theatre's screening of "American Artifact," where rock poster artist Paul Imagine made an appearance and displayed his works of art.

In his talk to the audience, Newhall said Imagine is one of the few talented poster artists still creating in Sacramento. Some of Imagine's many colorful works are on display along with play charts in the museum's front room.

Doors to the museum will be open again to the general public in July during Second Saturday. Admission to the museum is $1.

The Rock and Radio Museum is located at 907 20th St.

To read about Paul Imagine on Sacramento Press, click http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/9781/Rock_poster_artists_in_American_Artifact_at_Crest.

Author's Note: The images above are of pieces in Newhall's collection and Dennis Newhall himself

Swearing-in of New Sacramento Citizens

2009-02-21T20:20:01Z

Becoming a U.S. citizen is a big deal, and that's exactly why nearly 3,000 people showed up at the Memorial Auditorium Thursday, Feb. 20. The approximately 900 new citizens crowded the auditorium, while their families and onlookers sat in the balcony to witness the event.

Doors opened at 7 a.m., but the ceremony took place at 10 a.m. By 11:15, the new citizens were out the door, many in line for a social security card. Outside the Memorial Auditorium, representatives from the Republican and Democratic parties registered new voters, and vendors sold frames for the citizenship certificates.

The line, which nearly reached all the way around the block, was filled with many people speaking in their native tongues. In fact, when approached, many did not want to talk, or could not answer questions in English.

Michael Biggs, Field Office Director for US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in Sacramento, which oversees the administration of the naturalization ceremony says, "upwards of 60-80 countries may be represented" at each ceremony.

Biggs added, "It's a very diverse crowd. Sacramento has a lot of ethnic and nationality diversity. Certainly there are more Mexican and Central American citizens than anybody else. One of the things we do during the ceremony is we call out the countries and everybody cheers when they hear their country. It helps celebrate diversity, and give them a sense of community, since at the end we declare them all American."

Jenny Ang, a young woman from Hong Kong, said she was "relieved" to finally be a citizen. "Now I'll have benefits like retirement." Before getting in line, she registered to vote and later said that she liked Obama.

Victor, who did not want to give his last name, said that he came from Russia 11 years ago and feels "good" to be a citizen. He was not able to speak much English and didn't register to vote.

One man, said Biggs, "tried to get everybody's autographs. This was an older gentleman, and he wanted my autograph and he wanted to capture the event forever. To him it was as big as being at the Oscars, maybe bigger. "

Two years ago the Sacramento USCIS started having only 300 people per month to naturalize. They used to have the ceremony at the courthouse, then when the numbers increased, they were forced to move to the Crest Theatre. Then the cost of naturalization was going up roughly around Jan. 2008, so everyone rushed to apply before the fee increased, and the Sacramento USCIS started having about 2000 people per month for a time.

"We were kind of scared, but we moved to the Memorial Auditorium, since it's the only venue large enough in town that's downtown and inside," said Biggs.

The staff, who are comprised of part paid workers and part volunteers, will increasingly be comprised of volunteers in the future. Biggs hopes to have more high school students volunteer as community service to assist the recent average of roughly 1000 new citizens per month.

As for the ceremony itself, which begins at 10:00 a.m. usually begins with someone singing the "Star Spangled Banner." Someone else may sing "America the Beautiful," then a guest speaker will speak for five minutes (this week it was congresswoman Doris Matsui), then the judge swears in the citizens, then a new citizen will lead the rest in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Eventually president Obama will have a video where he welcomes new citizens.

Next month's ceremony, taking place on March 18th at 10:00 a.m. will have a local high school band and choir performing at the ceremony. A student from the high school who recently won the school's public speech competition will give the keynote speech.

The monthly event, according to the Sacramento Convention Center website, "has been impacting morning rush hour and parking in the downtown area. Please expect delays before and after these ceremonies and allow extra travel/parking time."