Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "the crystal method"

District 30 brings life to K Street Mall

2011-06-06T06:06:04Z

In an attempt to bring vitality to the once desolate K Street Mall in downtown Sacramento, District 30, one of the newest night clubs, is still thriving after four months of business.

You can’t miss the bright lights of District 30. The glowing LED projected sign they have at their entrance is enticing. If it wasn’t your friends who lured you there, or what you’ve heard, it was the sign.

There appeared to be a hustle and bustle about the area which wasn’t too crazy for a Friday night, but it was still early – 11 p.m.

You’re greeted by multiple doormen who guard the black velvet ropes to enter the club.

The cover is $15 unless you sign up on the e-mail guest list days in advance on their website. That’s not a lot for a “premier nightclub and special event venue,” as they describe on their website.

For a club that is relatively new, it has been amping up the downtown scene by bringing in big-name DJ acts like Steve Aoki, The Crystal Method, Benny Benassi and Los Angeles’ LMFAO.

When they aren’t having an event, it’s just another night at the club that is open Wednesday through Saturday.

The District 30 experience is all in the eye of the beholder. It could be hit or miss depending on the crowd, who you’re dancing with, or in this case, the day of the week.

You walk in and everything is plush from the tall ceilings to the carpeting design that mimics hardwood floor. From the art on the walls and the brown and gold glass-blown light fixtures above the bar to the granite bar top and white leather booths lining the walls, it screams modern class.

People were dressed to impress. And they were dressed to attract in their heels, collared shirts and cologne. It was “Flirty Friday” according to their website. There seemed to be more women than men that night.

DJ Cams, the regular Friday night DJ, was spinning new hip-hop, pop and dance music mixed with classic oldies. He went from 50 Cent to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” to Ke$ha.

District 30 attracts an older crowd mixed with younger adults who enjoy the scene. Jhamey Jones, 30, was leaning against the wall on the disco ball-adorned dance floor scoping out the scene.

“I’ve been here one time before,” he said. “There’s good music variety and different cultures,” he said. He liked it enough to come back, which seems to be the consensus for District 30 club-goers.

Perhaps it’s the music. I could feel the bass vibrating through my body, not surprisingly because of their state-of-the-art sound system with special tri-axial speakers generate sound at various frequencies, creating a fuller sound.

Perhaps it’s the flat-screens, or “one-of-a-kind glowing LED puzzle art” as they describe on their website, on the walls surrounding the dance floor that project visuals and artsy clips, or the colorful array of visual light designs shifting on the dance floor.

It could also be the VIP treatment. That’s what keeps Stephen Northrop, 27, coming all the way from Roseville every weekend.

“I come with a bunch of people, so for $400 bucks my friends and I can get a booth and a bottle for like $50 each,” Northrop said.

If you aren’t VIP, the bar drinks are relatively inexpensive. It’s about $4 to $5 for a bottled beer (they don’t carry any on tap), and cocktails start around $6.

“It’s fun, but for a Friday it’s different,” Northrop said. “Saturday is a better night to come. Usually the line is around the block,” Northrop added.

Doorman and VIP manager Alex Enriquez said there were about 200 people there, which he said is slow considering Wednesdays and Saturdays are the club’s busiest nights, which can be “packed” with up to 600 people.

Regardless of how many people were there, people appeared to be having fun. They were dancing, they were laughing, they were drinking their cocktails and they were on the prowl or on the wall taking it all in.

Beth Q., 34, came with her boyfriend and had been there once before.

“It could be a better crowd, but you have room and your own space to do what you want to do,” she said. “I like to people watch. The vibe is good,” she added.

It’s the kind of place where you can unwind after a long work week if you’re a young professional, or a person just looking for a good time, a new scene and a new experience, or if your friends happened to drag you there. Chances are you’ll have a good time.

The Crystal Method Lays Down the Law: District 30 Style

2011-04-09T03:08:56Z

Human Soup: the mixture of dancing bodies, exhausted deodorant, sweat and frenetic stirred lovingly by an artisan DJ that is the signature of any good dance club experience…

Entering the District 30 on Thursday night the usual early-evening club atmosphere presented itself as the crowd milled around the bar, ordering drinks and preening in the see-and-be-seen milleu of Sacramento’s newest trendy nightclub. Local spinner DJ Benji worked the booth in anticipation of the headlining act, coaxing people on to the dance floor with a selection of club-friendly hits. At first, patrons’ directed their focus on the bar with the exception of a few intrepid girls dancing it up on the floor.

Although there were a few people valiantly trying to bring back rave culture by dressing in furry boots, or sporting the occasional glo-stick-as-hair-accessory, most of the crowd was well-dressed thirtysomethings and nerdy white guys eagerly awaiting the appearance of one of electronic music’s trailblazers.

The Crystal Method stormed the booth at 11:30 and from that moment they took over to the very end of their set, the floor was crammed with bodies all facing the booth. They started their set, continuing the vibe with melodic tunes to get the crowd into the mood. At a quarter to one, the dilettantes began to clear out as they transitioned to more hard-hitting Drum ‘n’ Bass/Jungle styled beats.

Established fans of the group were disappointed at the lack of older tracks as the guys focused mostly on cuts from their newer works such as “Divided by Night”, and the current EP/single “Sine Language.” However this did not stop the crowd from flooding the dance floor for the entirety of the Crystal Method’s nearly three-hour set. Arguably, the biggest response of the night came when they mixed in a taste of their most well-known song “Busy Child” from their platinum-selling album “Vegas.” The crowd roared in response to that familiar hook and unbelievably, the dancing became more frenzied.

The Crystal Method flitted from track to track with hummingbird intensity and if there was one real complaint it was that in their urgency to keep up the energy they only focused on a song for a few minutes before moving on to the next track. That meant that if one were at the bar and heard something intriguing, by the time one pushed through the crush to a spot on the dance floor, the moment had passed. This left little option but to plant oneself on the floor and dance all the way through. Luckily this was not a problem for the crowd. (It was however, not as good for your intrepid reviewer, who found it difficult to take notes while being jostled by enthusiastic clubbers.)

They finished their set at nearly two and almost immediately the crowd emptied out of the club, leaving DJ Benji to play out the staff and the last of the stragglers closing out their bar tabs. Soon the only ones remaining would be the poor schlubs left to sweep up the remains of the human soup.

The Crystal Method coming to District 30

2011-03-31T01:22:46Z

Electronic music duo The Crystal Method will be coming to the new District 30 venue April 7, and Ken Jordan, who founded the group with Scott Kirkland in the 1990s, spoke to The Sacramento Press about the upcoming show.

The Sacramento Press: How would you describe your music?

Ken Jordan: I would say it’s electronic dance music. It’s hard and soulful, and it’s more of a, well, not-quite-underground sound. There’s lots of jargony words I could use to describe it, but it’s cool, electronic dance music.

SP: You’ve been nominated for Grammy awards twice for best electronic/dance album (2009’s “Divided by Night” and 2004’s “Legion of Boom”). What does that sort of recognition mean to you, and has it changed anything in how you make your music?

KJ: It’s great. Ever since they’ve had the electronic music category, our two albums released since then have been nominated. We lost to Lady Gaga (“The Fame Monster”) this last time, and, you know, she had a really big year. It’s great to be nominated, but it’s never a goal. Our goal is always to create a record that’s good and something we enjoy.

SP: When it comes to creating electronic music, how have the technological advances since you formed more than 10 years ago changed the way you work?

KJ: It’s changed a great deal. The creative part of it is essentially the same. When we were first making music, though, just disc storage and RAM memory was all at such a premium. I can remember the first time we had 44-megabyte cartridges for memory and that was a big deal. Overall, the hard disc size and speed – all of that has come so far. That was always a technical limitation that cramped creativity. All of it is so cheap and so fast now that it’s become something you don’t think about so much.

SP: What are you looking forward to in Sacramento? Are you familiar with District 30?

KJ: I know it’s a new venue, and some of the people from Ruby Skye in San Francisco own it. We trust that element of it, and we’re excited about the new club. The last show we had in Sacramento was at Harlow’s. That was 2008, probably, and it was a lot of fun, but this show is going to be totally different, so it’s still something fresh.

SP: How is this show different from the last one?

KJ: That was a live show. We had keyboarders and drummers, and this one is going to be a DJ set. We usually play live shows with keyboardists and drummers and some additional people when we’re promoting an album, but we’re currently not promoting a new album. It’s going to be a really cool show. What we like doing the most when we tour is playing places (for) the first time or ones we don’t hit that often. It’s a fresher crowd.

SP: Will you be playing music from your albums, or will it include more than that?

KJ: We play lots of music that’s ours and remixes we’ve done and remixes of our music done by other people. There’s a lot of Crystal Method music in the set. We just finished a remix for the “Tron” soundtrack, so we’ll play that. What we’re working on right now is a couple of scenes from a big movie that’s coming out later this year. We will possibly play those.

SP: What is the name of the movie?

KJ: I can’t say. I’m in a non-disclosure contract.

SP: In doing work for TV, movies, video games and your own albums, which do you prefer?

KJ: Working on our albums is always the No. 1 priority. You get more satisfaction out of that, since you’re making it for yourself. On the other (projects), you’re making music for another project.

SP: Is there anything else you’d like people to know about The Crystal Method?

KJ: We’re a couple of nice, American boys from Las Vegas residing in L.A. A lot of times people ask us if we’re from England. A lot of our sound is based in classic rock and ’70s punk and early hip hop. We’re not that far out there. Anyone that likes music, if they give us a listen, they should like it. Even our parents like our music.

The Crystal Method’s show will be held at District 30, 1022 K St., from 9 p.m. - 3 a.m. April 7. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

The Crystal Method lights up Harlow's with electric show

2009-06-18T02:39:00Z

Twisting hundreds of knobs, playing several keyboards, and filtering sound through two Apple laptops, The Crystal Method worked at a frenzied pace entertaining the hyped crowd inside Harlow's on Tuesday night.

The diverse crowd donned sunglasses, earplugs, glowing necklaces and even light emitting shirts as The Crystal Method wowed them, distorting breakbeats to perfection and putting on a dazzling performance.

DJ LA RIOTS opened the show at 8 p.m. to a nearly empty dance floor. As the clock neared 10, the crowd had grown substantially in anticipation for The Crystal Method.

Nearly 150 people on the floor and 50 more in the seats cheered as The Crystal Method crept through ambient fog onto the small stage, making quite an entrance.

On the day of the show, rumors that the venue had changed from Empire Event Center to a smaller Harlow's were confirmed by The Crystal Method's Twitter and promoter, Brian McKenna. Switching venues turned out to be a plus.

"This many people at Empire looks like a disaster, but [at Harlow's] it looks pretty good," McKenna said.

As the band began its set, at least six people took out DSLRs. A unique light show offered opportunities galore for photographers to capture the band in an array of red, blue and yellow light.

The Crystal Method, a duo consisting of Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland, surrounded themselves with electronic music gear. They played a 90-minute set of their hit songs, each song flowing seamlessly into the next.

Each little piece of equipment, knob and keystroke helped to perfectly recreate the band's signature sound.

Several additional sound technicians added to the band's audio presence, including one who manned a soundboard with 50 faders the whole night. Another played the Australian didgeridoo, a tubelike instrument (see photo above).

Kirkland occasionally used a talk-box, a device which made his voice sound robotic. During one song, the two entered a call-and-response dialogue with their keyboards and knobs.

As the bass thumped, many in the audience waved their hands in the air and twirled their wrists in circles. Illuminated by white, purple and pink lights, the audience lit up but never let up.

"Thanks so much Sactown," Kirkland screamed near the end of the show. "It's good to be back."

"Shout-out to my parents!" added Jordan, who pointed at his parents in the audience.

Tuesday: The Crystal Method rocking Harlow's

2009-06-16T04:41:48Z

Why should you see The Crystal Method on a week night at Harlow's?

Band member Scott Kirkland gives a modest reply: "I know the economy's bad, and it's on a Tuesday night, but it's a real big show."

What speaks more than an intimate show at Harlow's is the band's longevity. According to Kirkland, "longevity," is still the band's greatest achievement. Over the last 15 years, the band has cut four albums, three remix albums and scored two No. 1 records. A platinum record and a Grammy nomination have also been bestowed on the band.

Now on tour to support its latest album Divided By Night, the electronic music duo got an unexpected start in a grocery store.

Ken Jordan and Kirkland met in the break room while employees of a Las Vegas grocery store. Kirkland was messing with a drum machine, Jordan walked in and the two coworkers started to talk about music.

The next thing they knew, the two young musicians were making music together. Nine months later, they had both moved to Los Angeles and in 1994, they dropped their first single "Now is the Time."

Both Jordan and Kirkland grew up listening to metal, rock and roll and pop. Their first three albums incorporated the riffs and beats from these genres, while the duo added vocal samples and distortion.

That was until their latest album. In Divided by Night, guests like Matisyahu and Emily Haines of Broken Social Scene bring hip hop and indie elements into the mix.

"We're trying to create something different from the last album," Kirkland said. "With the vocalists, we kind of look at them as another layer. We're creating something new to continue to expand ourselves."

At the show, the musicians will be playing their old hits like "Keep Hope Alive" and "Busy Child," along with new material. (links open up music videos). Inspired by their Las Vegas roots, a light show will add to an entertaining stage production.

"[The current tour has had] the best responses for a live show in probably 10 years" Kirkland added. "I think everyone's going to be really happy with the show. It's [going to be] a fun night."

The 21-and-over show will be at Harlow's, located at 2708 J St. Opening band L.A. Riot is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at harlows.com or at the door. Tickets that were purchased for the Empire show will be honored at Harlow's.

*Photograph credit Maura Lanahan