Norcal Noisefest 2011, Sacramento's fifteenth annual gathering of experimental musicians and noise artists, returns this week for a six-day noise marathon featuring over 50 performers from across the continent. Starting on Wednesday September 28 and running every day until Monday October 3, this year's Noisefest has expanded in both time and space: on Thursday night, simultaneous shows will occur in both Sacramento and San Francisco, followed by an on-air Noisefest performance on KDVS, 90.3 FM, in Davis. All other performances take place in Sacramento--at the Naked Lounge downtown, the Geery Theatre in Midtown, Luna's Cafe, and Sol Collective at the edge of Curtis Park. Noise is difficul

Q: I am having some issues with my neighbor. My neighbor doesn't mow his lawn, has quite a bit of stuff laying around his yard (junk) and regularly has loud parties late into the night in his backyard that disrupt my evening. I don't want to create a strained relationship on our street because we both plan on living here a long time. The last thing I need is a vindictive neighbor. If I am not willing to straight up confront this guy, does that mean I just have to live with it? A: To answer your question in an honest but blunt fashion, yes. If you are not willing to confront your neighbor, and if he isn't doing anything illegal, then you do have to live with it. The unfortunate reality i

DGC/Interscope band Escape the Fate will headline the Dead Masquerade tour at Ace of Spades this weekend, joined by support acts Alesana, Motionless In White, Get Scared and Drive A. Las Vegas-based hard-rockers Escape the Fate are touring in support of their self-titled third album and recently released “Issues Remix” EP, featuring remixes of their first single "Issues" done by Jakwob (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lily Allen), LA Riots (Tiesto, The Ting Tings), Wolves At The Gate (The Cure) and Does It Offend You, Yeah? (Muse, The Raconteurs, Bloc Party). The band currently graces the cover of Outburn magazine, which declares, “the band’s new album is a compelling modern day masterpiece.” Bassist

San Francisco art-pop band Deerhoof kicks off a new tour at Harlow's Thursday in support of the hot-off-the-presses LP release "Deerhoof vs. Evil." The quartet is recognized by many as pioneers of improv-style experimental pop, with its distinctive sound influencing many others: Sleigh Bells, Of Montreal, Xiu Xiu and more. Count on a striking sonic mix of poppy melodies, waves of noise, and chaotic fun from these former Radiohead tourmates. Potentially challenging, but sure to be fresh and different. Deerhoof performs at Harlow's at 9 p.m. Thursday, and tickets are $12. Nervous Cop opens.

What has 66 inch tires, a supercharged fuel injected big block American V8, 1300-2050 + horsepower and can suck up to 10 gallons of gas per mile? That’s right, the Advanced Auto Parts (AAP) Monster Trucks. These bad boys will be at ARCO Arena Friday, Saturday and Sunday jumping cars, riding the edge and just creating one heck of a good time. According to AAP, Monster Jam, monster trucks face off in two different forms of competition -- side-by-side racing and freestyle: Side-by-side racing – traditional bracket racing, where the first truck, with the least amount of penalties, crosses the finish line is declared the winner. Freestyle competition – allows drivers a limited amount of time

Show for all ages Day one of this year’s Norcal Noisefest was held on Friday, October 1 at Luna’s Café on 16th Street. About a dozen acts showed off their unique Noise (music) making abilities. Some of these acts, probably like people back in the Paleolithic Age, used any available material to construct music making instruments for their performance. Styrofoam, 10 gallon plastic water bottles, tin foil, bricks, soda cans, nails on a board, sticks, and other rudimentary noise making instruments were used to make rhythmic sounds. None of the shows I witnessed used the nails screeching down a blackboard but it would have been interesting. Traditional instruments played their part with some

 In follow-up to the prior Newsletter article about noise disturbances: a written request to prohibit garbage truck hauling service prior to 7AM (daylight hours) has been met with voluntary compliance from area garbage haulers. Sacramento Regional Solid Waste Authority (SWA) General Manager/ Engineer, Paul Phillco, and City of Sacramento Integrated Waste General Manager, Edison Hicks, have stated that January 2011, an ordinance amendment could allow an exclusive service zone in the downtown area to improve implementation of the City’s general plan. Such a positive change would limit the number of haulers, noise, route frequency and wear and tear on our streets. I'm happy to share their res

"So what do you mean by noise?" That's probably the #1 question about the Noisefest, except maybe "Do you have any earplugs?" The answer to the latter question is simple (yes, we do) but the first question is more complex. People know what noise is in the general sense, but not very many know what noise is in the musical sense. In some ways, the Norcal Noisefest is intended to answer that question by showing people what noise is, instead of simply telling them. The 2009 Norcal Noisefest, formerly known as the Northern California Experimental Music Festival, is the thirteenth festival in a series orignally started in 1995 here in Sacramento, intended to bring noise music to the public ear