Looking to dance to the beat of a different drummer? Sacramento's DJ Rock Bottom strives to enable you to do just that. The first and third Friday of every month, Rock Bottom spins a dance party called "Hot Pants" at Level Up Lounge. Whether it's Prince, Black Star or remixes of old-school Motown, Rock Bottom said his goal is to "challenge people to push the envelope, get outside of their box and let go musically." Rock Bottom, born John Word, grew up in Gary, Ind., about 25 miles from downtown Chicago. He recalls as a child listening religiously to Common Sense (now Common), perhaps Chicago's most innovative emcee. He also emulated a cousin's musical taste by listening to Afrika Bambaat

The second annual In the Flow jazz festival brought music and art fans out to Broadway's hub with more than 30 bands, poetry readings and live painting. For $20, ticket holders were given wristbands that allowed entrance into all of the weekend's shows, which spanned five different venues along Broadway. For those who weren't wearing wristbands, several free performances were hosted at Records, Java Lounge and Records. The back-to-back schedules at the venues allowed for a constant stream of activity, and if ticket holders didn’t like one performance, they could walk down the street to the next one. The goal of the festival was to "showcase all of the different kinds of jazz you'll find

Take a million-dollar inventory of LPs, CDs and DVDs, arrange them on several 80-foot-long tables and place them into a 10,000 square foot room for three days. This is the recipe for Capital Public Radio's (CPR) annual Used Record and CD Sale. It will commence on Friday night with a "Preview Party" from 6 - 9 p.m. For a $20 cover charge, people can get a jump start on the musical feast while enjoying live music, food and wine. On Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., the public can dig in for free and search through the leftovers. It all takes place in suite 172 of the "Howe 'bout Arden" shopping center at 2100 Arden Way. All-in-all there will be approximately 45,000 vinyl records

Every year, Davis radio station KDVS holds a record swap where local record labels, record collectors and record stores can trade thousands of records. It's likely that a few CDs, T-shirts and turntables will turn up as well. This year's event will be held Saturday in Luigi's Fun Garden, and music nerds, casual shoppers and passersby can get in for $3. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. people will be able to visit booths of more than a dozen vendors, including punk-rock labels Gearhead and Prank Records. KDVS, Midtown Monthly and the 'Zine Symposium held July 11 will also have tables, according to event co-coordinator Heather Klinger. Also a DJ at KDVS, she's been coordinating the event with Tim Mat

Sacramento's record stores are world class. On Saturday, April 18, several record stores in the grid proved it during International Record Store Day, a celebration of real, physical record stores -- as opposed to online behemoths or corporations who sell music. Over 500 record stores across the country participated in the second annual celebration held on the third Saturday of every April. "Some of the best records stores in the entire country are in Sacramento," Hip Hop artist and record collector Lyrics Born said in a previous Sacramento Press article. "I think the record store is vastly under appreciated," said former 30-year Tower Records employee Mike Farrace outside of R5 records

On April 18, 2009, R5 Records will be having a huge record swap for the internationally celebrated Record Store Day! Record Store Day is a day where hundreds of independently owned record stores celebrate the art of music. When R5 Records had their celebration last year, over 1,000 people showed up to see tons of local bands play and to get their hands on some awesome music paraphernalia. This year we will once again have a huge lineup of local bands and DJs that are going to be playing great music all day long. Inside the store EVERYTHING is going to be on sale and you'll have a chance to find some awesome stuff in in the Rock n' Roll garage sale we're having. There's also going to be rec

I understand that shortly after the writing of this piece,  the Tower Record Store sign located at the closed chains Watt and El Camino store location will be coming down.  While I do not know how long the sign has been there, the store apparently opened in 1960.  The sign will be donated to local officials as a vital piece of history, eventially to be part of the Sacramento History Museum in Old Town Sac.  Alas this reminder triggers yet another sentimental trip down the infamous "Memory Lane".  While I have no pictures to share, maybe some reading this do.  I do know Tower Records over the years was the recipient of many of my hard earned dollars, dollars that these days most often go t

The Astro and the Elroy are quickly becoming one of Sacramento's coolest hangouts. The two newly renovated buildings, which were converted from motels, are collectively known as the RetroLodge. Originally meant to house 50 work/live studios, RetroLodge's amenities include bathrooms, conference rooms with kitchenettes, and shared courtyards. The style is meant to evoke 1950's and 1960's Palm Springs, but the most important feature the property boasts are its 50 parking spaces for lease, a rare find in midtown. One of the first tenants in the Jetsons-named Elroy building was Dig Music - the label of notable Sacramento musician Jackie Greene, perhaps the most successful Sacramento musical p

As a child born in the eighties, I didn’t have time for much of a love affair with the vinyl record. A few years laid out on our brown shag carpet listening to the soft whir and tick of the record needle – gone in a flash with the appearance of the compact disc player. With its built-in lasers and shiny discs that occupied less space on cramped apartment shelves, the new device easily charmed our family. The records were quickly scuttled away in pine boxes to the dank recesses of our storage space. There was no looking back. Now almost three decades later, armed with an iPod, a BlackBerry and a lovely home network of Macintosh computers, I find myself happily rediscovering vinyl. And I’m