PHOTOGRAPHER JOSEPH GOMEZ’ LENS MANIA
INTERVIEWS! TAKING BACK SUNDAY & B-REAL
MAY 28, 2009 JUNE 10, 2009
Bako’s biggest annual bandapalooza is back to blast you into summer!
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BAKOTOPIA STAFF
EDITORIAL Olivia Garcia Publisher ogarcia@bakersfield.com 395-7487 Matt Muñoz Editor/Product Manager mmunoz@bakersfield.com 395-7660 Gene Garaygordobil Managing Editor garaygordobil@bakersfield.com Teresa Adamo Associate Editor tadamo@bakersfield.com
ART Kent Kuehl Designer kkuehl@bakersfield.com
ADVERTISING Jaime De Los Santos Sales Manager jdelossantos@bakersfield.com 716-8632 David Alanis Sales Executive Katie Blair Sales Executive Gustavo Carrillo Sales Executive Angela Espinoza Sales Executive Samantha Vilchis Sales Executive Mark Wells Sales Executive
OFFICE
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t’s been a strange trip for Bakersfield's Rockin’ Roots Fest. What started out as a reggae fest with irie vibes and hacky sack has now turned into a monster of a rock show - we mean that sincerely. Promoter Tim Gardea, who always has some crazy idea rollin’ around his cranium - has returned to give music freaks and fans more of what they want. With top notch headliners, plus some of Bakersfield’s hottest local bands, it’s bound to be another scorcher. To give you a taste of what’s going down at this year’s party in the sun, we have interviews with Taking Back Sunday’s Mark O’Connell, Cypress Hill’s B-Real, and all of our regular fabu features. PLUS! Check out all the fantastic photos by Joseph Gomez. If you were at last year’s fest, you saw the Millionaires’ show get so crazy, that wild fans almost made the stage collapse. Well, our favorite Bako cover/party girls from the OC are back again this year - make sure you check ‘em out. They gotta lotta of love for Bako. Oh yeah, bring sunscreen and drink a lot of water. Bako heat can put a damper on even the wildest punk, headbangin’ metal chick, and shoe gazing emo - so be warned. Keep this issue close to maybe score an autograph, and stop by our Bakotopia booths coming to the KRAB Free 4 All 2 on May 30, and at Rockin Roots on June 7! Thanks to all of our fantastic advertisers who keep Bakotopia free for you and yours. Congrats to my son Mark and his friend Lily on your graduation - get ready for high kiddoes! We’re all proud of you! Peace,
Marisol Sorto Office Administrator msorto@bakersfield.com 716-8640
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P.O. Box 2344 Bakersfield, CA 93303
Matt Muñoz, Bakotopia Editor
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May 28, 2009
About the cover Above: model Micaela Carrasco
At right: Bakersfield makeup artist Salina Marie applies some touch up to model Micaela Carrasco during the Bako covershoot on May 15. Photographer Joseph Gomez
PHOTO BY MATT MUNOZ
By Matt Munoz, Bakotopia Editor hotographer Joseph Gomez, what can we say? He definitely has a way with the ladies. If you’re familiar with his work making waves around previous issues of Bako and on the Web, you know what we mean. Pretty models, and musicians are his photo forté, so if you need to get your act together with some good face promotion - he’s
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your guy. Take our latest cover model for example - the very lovely, Micaela Carrasco, from right here in Bakersfield. Poised to be a force to be dealt with in the modeling world, the girl’s “it” factor is off the Richter … Wow! Thanks to Joseph and Micaela, and make-up artist Salina Marie for their fantastic work this issue. Check out cool behind the scenes video
from the photo shoot at our youtube channel:
www.youtube.com/bakotopia Want the Joseph Gomez photo treatment? On the web:
www.myspace.com/josephgomezphoto E-mail: Josephsgphone@gmail.com
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May 28, 2009
BECA Beckons You! Some of Bako’s most creative forces have come together and need your support By Jen Raven, Bakotopia.com Contributor ECA ... that word has been thrown around a lot, lately - and if you’re involved in the local arts scene, you’ve probably heard it mentioned more than once. But do you know what it stands for? Or, more important - do you know exactly who BECA stands for? It just might be you! Bakersfield Emerging Contemporary Artists, or BECA, is a new arts organization, and an offshoot of the “Burn the Witch” movement. BECA founder and President Nyoka Jameson saw how much real progress was being made among the women in our arts community, as a result of participation in “Burn the Witch” each year; and she decided to take that progress a step further with a new club ... one for the dudes, as well as the chicks. “Not that ‘Burn the Witch’ was ever a guy-bashing movement, or anything like that,” Jameson is quick to point out. But it has been a community-building movement. This annual event has given local artists new confidence through team-building, skills and presentation workshops, and active participation within the event itself. Jameson is hoping to further build up this sense of community on a larger, co-ed scale, with BECA. “Activism for Artists!” is the club’s motto; and at only six months of age, this club is already extremely active, and working to build and better our arts scene. Working out of The Basement Gallery in downtown Bakersfield, BECA holds free meetings, and all artists are welcome and encouraged to participate. But this group does a lot more than just sit around and talk. They’ve already helped to raise money for The Alliance by pairing up with The Empty Space for V-DAY. They represented with their fellow artists
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Above: BECA teacher, Robyn Lace PHOTOS BY TODD POWERS
at Divine Fusion. And their first event, “Artuary,” was a smashing success. “We’re still getting calls and emails from artists, asking us, when are we going to put on another ‘Artuary?’ The response from the community has been very positive,”
work. “It’s nice to have a chance to just hang out together. Usually, we all only see each other when we’re working (an event),” Jameson points out. At a typical BECA meeting, you can find musicians and sculptors, painters and dancers - all in the same room - passing out flyers for their upcoming events, catching up on the latest gossip, and gleaning information from their fellow local artists. Need a portfolio photographer? Want the skinny on the best way to fire a clay pot? Searching for studio space? Chances are, you can get the answers to all these questions, and more, just by attending a BECA meeting. There’s no slowing down. This summer, Jameson has big plans for upcoming events with BECA that include a plein aire painting day, field trips to arts events in L.A. like “Cannibal Flower” and more. Above: BECA “We’re going to be hosting President, Nyoka Jameson our first group arts exhibit, ‘Fields and Foreclosures,’” Jameson says. “And, of course, we’re still having our regular free meetings for artists!” Scheduled upcoming BECA meetings and events: • 5 p.m., Friday, June 5, First Friday • 2 p.m., Sunday, June 7, BECA Meeting • 7 p.m., June 13, “Fields and Foreclosures” opening reception • 2 p.m., June 20, “Fields and Foreclosures” closing reception says Jameson. • 2 p.m., July 12, BECA meeting Since “Artuary” in February, severMeetings held at: The Basement al BECA meetings have included free Gallery, 1532 19th St. mini-workshops and lectures on topFor more information on BECA, or ics ranging from hanging hardware for artists’ requirements for the and artist’s statements, to self-proupcoming “Fields and Foreclosures” motion and business skills. The club group arts exhibit, please visit: also offers an excellent chance for www.myspace.com/activism4artists artists to meet, catch up and net-
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May 28, 2009
Dark Star Record’s B-Day Bash Bakersfield loves a party, so make plans to attend on June 14! By Meestro Bakotopia.com contributor If you have yet to experience the magic of Darkstar Records, now’s the time. They will be celebrating their one-year anniversary June 14, starting at noon in and around the store’s extended courtyard, across from the Rabobank Arena, at 1024 Truxtun Ave. at N St. Dubbed the “Darkstar Records Birthday Jam,”this family-friendly event is open to the public, and is as owner Dan Robertson says, “a thank you to the local music community for making this store possible.” Its quaint entryway soon takes a backseat to an aural and visual array of music and memorabilia unlike anything this town has ever seen. It’s like walking through a time machine or perhaps a crystal ball into Bakersfield’s future. Either way, it’s a great getaway from the norm; the location, inventory, and overall vibe capture the essence of every musician and music fan’s fantasy hang. This music dreamland has been downtown Bakersfield’s reality for the past year. Owned and operated by the Robertson family; father Dan, and his two sons Andrew and Steven, Darkstar is home to high-quality vinyl records, music and film related books, cult films, comics, and other related memorabilia. You won’t find cluttered aisles, dusty vinyl or 50-cent bargain buckets here. Everything at Darkstar is top-shelf quality, and each owner is happy to talk shop about their areas of expertise. Dan has played a part in the Bakersfield music scene for more than 30 years. A long-time employee and dear friend of the late Buck Owens, Dan has been able to build up a large knowledge and selection of all types of music, not just country. Stepping foot into Darkstar’s doorway, I feel the comfort of being in one’s home. The Robertson family definitely treats it as such, thus redefining “good hospitality.” It’s beyond service with them, it’s simply an extension of their lifestyle. Between the classic cuts that play over the store’s PA, to the tapestries and rare photos of Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead among other greats, I get an instant flashback to some of my favorite shops in the Haight and Ashbury district of San Francisco. Readers might be wondering how on earth a former employee of Buck, still located in a town of honky-tonk origins, could successfully meld his country roots with such inspiration from the Bay Area. Any fan of Jerry or the Dead would know the
PHOTO BY JOSEPH GOMEZ
Above from left: The Roberstons - Steven, Dan, and Andrew inside Dark Star Records. huge influence Buck and Merle both had on both their songwriting and live act. In any given night, you would hear two or three Merle Haggard songs blaring out of their earth rumbling Wall of Sound (setup by lead roadie and current Moonalice road manager, Steve Parish). Thumbing through Darkstar’s selection, you won’t only find the golden oldies, either... my last venture into the store landed me right in front of Bob Dylan’s latest release in both vinyl and CD formats. Local legends, and lifelong friends of Dan, Big House also have their latest release on sale at Darkstar. Big House band members Chuck Seaton and Monty Byrom, along with other local musicos like Matt Muñoz, Buck Owens, and Merle Haggard have inspired Dan to always carry a good variety of music. This inspired variety has also come in handy for Dan when working his other stint as an event MC and DJ. There will be live music by some of
Bakersfield’s finest, and some refreshments. Surrounding businesses such as Pete’s Seats and Coffee Cottage also will remain open to better serve the event-goers. Sound will be provided by recording artist Lisa Bowman and recording studio owner, Paul Serpa. When asked if this will become an annual event, Dan confirmed, “If it works well, it will happen every year.” This destination spot is one worth checking out, whether for a specific title, bringing in merchandise of your own, or just a friendly conversation. Come check out Darkstar Records & Books and let the Robertson family offer you an experience like none before.
Dark Star Records Store Hours: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday-Saturday 12 - 6 p.m., Sunday Open every holiday. Store Info: 859-0241 BAKOTOPIA 7
The Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce presents
Latino Food Festival & 11th Annual Menudo Cook-Off Entertainment by: The “Latin Legends”
Tierra
El Chicano
Sunday June 7th • 11am - 6pm Kern County Fairgrounds 1142 South P Street •Bakersfield, CA $8/Advance • $10/At The Door CHILDREN UNDER 5 FREE
Menudo Contest and Thee Midniters Local Latin Legends - Mento Buru Mariachi Juvenil de Aztlan
1st Prize = $500 2nd Prize = $300 3rd Prize = $200 Best Decorated Booth 1st 2nd 3rd Place Trophies
For Information On Getting Your Business Involved As A Sponsor or Vendor Call The Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at (661) 633-5495
Jalapeno & Ice Cream Eating Contest! Food Booths • Live Entertainment • Vendor Booths • Kid's Entertainment
BAKOTOPIA Tables 4 Fun
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May 28, 2009
Welcome to Rockin' Roots 09! t's back! The annual Rockin' Roots Festival is one behemoth of a musical mish-mash of beats, riffs, and straight-up noise. Don't ya love it? Of course you do! That's why you're planning on going, or reading this on the Stramler Park grounds, on June 7th the day of the fest. Gates open at 11am. Bakotopia welcomes you and would like to make sure you and all your rowdy friends
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have a great time. Some of this year's highlights include the Miss Rockin' Roots contest, Pro Wrestling Unplugged, the DJ Dance Tent, and the BroOlympics. Over ten stages will keep your eyes and ears rockin' from sun-up to sundown. Keep the map below close so you don't get lost, but more importantly - don't miss your favorite band! There's something to please everyone Taking Back Sunday, B-Real from Cypress Hill, Anberlin, Saosin, King Spade, Bizzy Bone, Shiny Toy Guns. Of course, Bako bands and celebs like -
Shilo, Dub Seeds, Vanity Avenue, The Councilmen, DJ Mikey and KRAB's Meathead will keep you in step all day. Last year we featured MySpace phenoms, the Millionaires - Melissa Marie, Allison, and Dani on their first magazine cover as they were about to blow-up on the scene. A year later, they're bigger than ever - and on this year's VANS Warped Tour! Congrats you crazy party girls! Everybody be good humans and keep your heads cool, for music is the universal language of friendship. Keep reading Bakotopia! GET A BAND SCHEDULE AT ENTRANCE, AND USE MAP BELOW! WILL ALSO BE POSTED AT: WWW.BAKOTOPIA.COM
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Just Do It
Taking Back Sunday’s Mark O’Connell has plenty of indie wisdom to share - live at Rockin’ Roots, June7 COURTESY PHOTO
Above from left - Eddie Reyes, Matthew Fazzi, Adam Lazzara, Matt Rubano, and Mark O’Connell of Taking Back Sunday. By Matt Muñoz, Bakotopia.com editor aking Back Sunday isn’t about letting the majors kill their DIY spirit. Returning to headline this year’s Rockin’ Roots Fest mainstage on June 7, their return is a rebirth on a few levels. After the departure of guitarist/vocalist Fred Mascherino in ‘07, who left to form The Color Fred, the band’s four remaining members - Adam Lazzara - vocals, Eddie Reyes - guitar, Mark O’Connell - drums, and Matt Rubano - bass, are back with new guitarist/vocalist, Matt Fazzi. Armed with a strong new CD, “New Again,” dropping June 2, a hit single, “Sink Into Me,” and a newfound perspective on band life, the quintet from Amityville, Long Island, New York, are truly re-born. TBS drummer O’Connell, shared some insight via telephone with Bakotopia into the band’s psyche and memories of a hot Bakersfield summer stop, before a recent sold-out show at the House of Blues in Cleveland. So how does it feel to be coming back to Bakersfield? O: I have a soft spot in my heart for Bakersfield. The last time we were there in ‘06, I brought my bike on tour. It was like 110 degrees. I took my bike and rode everywhere in Bakersfield for five hours, through side streets, and the main roads. I even went to Quizno’s. I had a nice little time by myself in Bakersfield. You guys just hit the road, are you ready to do this all over again? O: We were in Eddie’s house in Cleveland, I was saying how psyched I was. Physically, playing wise, mentally, and as a band - I’m more excited to go on this tour than I have been in a longtime.
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You, Eddie and Adam, and have seen Taking Back Sunday go through most of the band’s line-up changes why have you chosen to keep the band going? O: We’ve all worked so hard to get where we are. Those early CDs are like our “babies.” There have been rough spots, and there have been times where I’ve asked myself, “Do I wanna do this?” At the end, there’s just no possible way I could quit. This is what I love. It’s my life, and what I know. No matter what problems we do have, I’m always willing to work through them. It’s not easy as a musician to find other people to play with, that you can just feel that emotion in the music, so to give that up isn’t an easy thing. I love being in this band, and I love the music that we make. Adam stated in your bio, that, the “band took the longest break it ever has to learn how to be people ...” How does being on the road for so long affect your friendships? O: I think it’s about being able to live your life. I got married, Eddie’s married with two kids, and Adam is now married with his first child. The three of us have been travelling together since we were about 19, so it’s been our life. You miss out on so many things when you’re out on the road - family holidays, seeing your friends and your family, so it was really nice to just take a long break. The first single and video to “Sink Into Me,” off your upcoming album, “New Again,” is about as catchy as it can get, especially when the band is kind of going through another re-birth. What’s the rest of the album like? O: Every song has its own personality. We chose “Sink Into me,” as the first single, because it was so right off the bat. I showed it to my wife, I had never shown it to her before, and right away she started moving. “She was like,
“Oh, you never showed me this, this is like my favorite song on the album!” I can’t really say the album is like this or like that. You have to listen to it for yourself. It’s Taking Back Sunday, but it’s just like another growth in the band. Where do you draw your inspiration from? O: You get older and you get into different things, different music, and whatever comes out of you comes out of you. It wasn’t a choice, these songs came out naturally. There are a lot of bands who say, “OK, it’s time to change and we’re gonna write this kinda album,” and it comes out like this unnatural thing. What we did is just a real organic thing, and it just came out of us. Plus, we have Matt Fazzi in the band now. He brings just a real relaxed feeling and just a joy to writing songs. We were in a tiny little room where we wrote most of the album together. Sometimes, someone would have a riff, and then you just take that riff and just go with it. Most of the band’s performing at the Rockin’ Roots Festival on June 7 share a lot of your early experiences, what advice do you have for them? O: We recorded our own demos and got the word out ourselves without any help. We got our van, and booked our own tours, back when nobody wanted to sign us. Even when you get frustrated and tired of it, you gotta keep on going. This was our dream to be in a band, make music, and this to be our career. And we did it! Any message for your Bakersfield fans coming to the show? O: We’re really proud of this album. We think it’s our best album to date, so come down to our show. It’s going to be better than the last one! Will you be bringing your bike again to Bakersfield? O: I didn’t bring it along this time! (laughs)
May 28, 2009
As REAL as it gets Interview: Legendary MC, B-Real, has a solo hit on his hands - at Rockin’ Roots June 7! By DJ Mikey, Bakotopia.com contributor or Cypress Hill’s B-Real, there is no other way but to keep it bona fide. At a time when the roots of hip-hop seem to struggle for credibility in a music biz only concerned with booty anthems rather than lessons in reality, B-Real’s here to reschool fans. Bringinging his groovetastic greenery to the Rockin’ Roots main stage June 7, it’s time spark it up once again. If you’re a Bako hip-hop historian, you might remember Cypress Hill’s Bakersfield appearance in the early ‘90s at the Kern County Fairgrounds, courtesy of local DJ/promoters, the Baka Boyz. Plus, it’s no secret that Cypress introduced the blunt to b-boy style - pre Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic.” Awarded the VH-1 Hip-Hop Honor in 2008 for the group’s contribution to all things hip-hop, the multi-talented producer/MC has just dropped a solo set of hits (“Smoke N Mirrors,”) to keep you rollin’ away into your good night. Bakotopia recently spent a few moments with B-Real via-telephone from his LA office: Before you formed Cypress Hill in South Gate, California, you were in a group called DVX. How did it get started and who was in the group? B: Basically, it was Mellow Man Ace, Sen Dog, D-Funk from Funkdoobiest, myself and one female rapper - she’s not around anymore. But we all came from the same area. Mellow went to start his own career, and Sen and I went to do our thing. When we got our record deal, we had to come up with a different name for the group because DVX just wasn’t cuttin’ it. DJ Muggs had played us a track from the “Wild Style” soundtrack, and this old school rapper named Grand Mellow Z shouted out this place called “Cypress Hill.” Cypress Avenue was the name of the block that we lived on, so we were like, “we should call ourselves “Cypress Hill?” We lived on the Cypress Avenue block, so we just had to add the Hill and that’s pretty much how it started. In 1991, Cypress Hill’s self-titled album is released. How was it coming out as a one of the first Latino hiphop group's to hit the mainstream? B: It was a little hard at first, but we didn’t let them label us as a Latino group, because we knew if we would have done that, they would have only marketed us to Latin audiences. Plus, at that time - outside from the kids in the street - there was no big demand for hip-hop records as far as the Latino music market.
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Above: B-Real of the mighty Cypress Hill is ready to light it up again on June 7 in Bako. We were just labeled as a hip-hop/rap group, and eventually, later on, people came to find that we were Latino. But that was later after we made our mark. Your new album “Smoke N Mirrors” is out now now, released on your own Audio Hustlaz label. How’s the response been? B: The response has been pretty good, man. Surprising for me, you know what I mean, because I know we did a great record, but there’s a bunch of critics out there that bring you down and try to de-value what you’ve done. Fortunately, we’ve been getting a lot of great comments and a lot of good reviews. You can’t please everyone, so there are gonna be some f****d up reviews, but for the most part, it’s been well received. On this album, you worked with Alchemist (Dilated Peoples), Xzibit, Kurupt and Too Short, among others.
You got reggae on one side and straight West Coast hiphop on the other. How was it working with Damian Marley and Snoop? B: Well, with Snoop, I’ve worked with him before, and with Damian, on two separate occasions, so there was already a history there and it made it easy. Snoop Dogg with him, it’s just getting around his schedule. With Damian, it’s the same thing ‘cause he’s so busy. He travels back and forth from Miami to Jamaica, and then off on tour and stuff like that. What can we expect from B-Real on stage at Rockin’ Roots June 7? B: You know, I’m gonna try to give a live, energetic performance. Same as we do with Cypress. www.cypresshill.com BAKOTOPIA 11
AGENDA WHAT’S ON IT
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= Highly recommended
MAY 28 Karaoke (Every Thurs. & Sun.) The Belvedere 3090 Brundage Lane 9 p.m. / 21+ / 325-2139
MAY 29 Moosehead Band Ethel’s Old Corrall 4310 Alfred Harrell Hwy. 7 p.m. / 21+ / 873-7613 Wine Tasting Imbibe Wine Bar 4140 Truxtun Ave. 4 p.m. / 21+ / 633-WINE Prisioneros of Love Narducci’s Café 622 E. 21st St. 9 p.m. / 21+ / 324-2961
Elevational 406 Fishlips 1517 18th St. 9 p.m. / 21+ / 324-2557 Foster Campbell & Friends Randolph’s Lounge 7737 Meany Ave. 7 p.m. / $5 / 21+ / 6151490 Really Big Midgetz (also Sat.) The Belvedere 3090 Brundage Lane 9 p.m. / 21+ / 325-2139
MAY 30
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KRAB Free 4 All 2 w/ The Higher, Vogue In the Movement, Single File, Riverboat Gambler, Pilot Speed
May 28, 2009
Brighthouse Amphitheatre Stockale Highway & Buena Vista Road 5 p.m. / FREE! / All Ages www.krab.com
8 p.m. / 21+ / 324-2557 Pato Banton & Dub Seeds Fishlips 1517 18th St. 8 p.m. / 21+ / 873-7613
Marc Ford - LIVE! & Soulajar Fishlips 1517 18th St. 8pm / $10 / 21+ / 3242557
JUNE 1
Tribute to Bill Gruggett w/ Deke Dickerson, Red Simpson & more Trout’s 805 N. Chester Ave. 1 p.m. / 21+ / 399-6700
JUNE 2
MAY 31 The Refugees The Spotlight Theater 1622 19th St. 7 p.m. / $25 - $20 / 8313100 Club Goddess (Gay & Lesbian) - every Sun. The Nile Bar 1721 19th St. 9 p.m. / 21+ / 323 - 8575
Alisa’s Karaoke Nation (Every Mon.) Riley’s Tavern 1523 19th St. 9 p.m. / 21+ / 324-3268
Mac Attack’s Karaoke (Every Tues. & Wed.) The Junction 2620 Buck Owens Blvd. 8 p.m. / 21+ / 327-9651
JUNE 3 311 - LIVE! Fox Theater 2001 H. St. 8 p.m. / $35 / 322-5200 www.vallitix.com
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Beer Pong League Fishlips 1517 18th St.
JUNE 4 Imbibe BEER Tasting! Imbibe Wine Bar 4140 Truxtun Ave. 6 p.m. / 21+ / $32.50 - 2 for $60 633-WINE School House Rock Live, Too! The Spotlight 1622 19th St. 6 p.m. / $12 - $7 / 6340692
JUNE 5 First Friday Art Walk 19th & Eye streets 5 - 9 p.m. / FREE / All Ages School House Rock Live Too! The Spotlight 1622 19th St. 6 p.m. / $12 - $7 / 6340692 “Like These Guys” Stand-Up Comedy Nite w/ John Patrick Wells,
10711 ROSE Bakersfie DALE HWY ld, Californ ia
661-588-0065 BAKOTOPIA 12
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May 28, 2009
8 p.m. / 21+ / 324-6972
SPOTLIGHT SUNDAY, JUNE 7 Rockin’ Roots Fest 2009 Taking Back Sunday, B-Real, Anberlin, Saosin, Shiny Toy Guns, King Spade, DJ Mikey, Millionaires & MORE! Stramler Park, 3805 Chester Ave 11 a.m. - ? / $29 / All Ages WWW.TIMGARDEAPRESENTS.COM Post your events at: www.bakotopia.com to be listed in our calendar! Nick Rutherford, Aalap Patel and Matteson Perry The Empty Space 706 Oak St. (next to Pizzaville) 8 and 10 p.m. / $10 / 326PLAY Chop Tops, 800Lb Gorilla, Fatt Katt & The Von Zippers Fishlips 1517 18th St. 8 p.m. / 21+ / 324-2557
DON’T DRINK & DRIVE!
“Refresh Rhyme Scheme” Spoken Word Night The Basement Gallery 1532 19th St. 8 p.m. / 281-4752 Standing Bear Pow Wow Bakersfield College 1801 Panorama Drive 5 - 10 p.m. / $5 / Kids 10 & under free Wine Tasting Imbibe Wine Bar 4140 Truxtun Ave. 4 p.m. / 21+ / 633-WINE
Prisioneros de Amor Narducci’s Café 622 E. 21st St. 9 p.m. / 21+ / 324-2961
JUNE 6 Hip-Hop at The Basement w/Scarub of Living Leends Natural Movement, & more! The Basement 1532 19th St. 8 p.m. / $10 / All Ages FunkyJahPunkys Silver Fox, 702 18th St.
EVENT PHOTOS & MORE! Latino Food Fest & Menudo Cook-Off w/ Tierra, El Chicano, Thee Midniters & Mento Buru LIVE! KC Fairgrounds 1142 South P. St. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. / $8 adv. $10 door Kids under 5 FREE! 633 5495
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Brigette Handley w/ The Councilmen Jerry’s Pizza 1817 Chester Ave. 7 p.m. / All Ages / $10
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Scottstock '09 w/ Paul Chesne, Buck Shot, Grant Langston Fishlips 1517 18th St. 8 p.m. / 21+ / 324-2557 Standing Bear Pow Wow Bakersfield College - also Sun. 1801 Panorama Drive 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. / $5 / Kids 10 & under free School House Rock Live Too! The Spotlight 1622 19th St. 2 p.m. / $12 - $7 / 6340692
JUNE 7 BAKOTOPIA.COM/SEEN
“Leather Outlaw Prod.” Bako BBQ & Beer Bust Shriner’s Park 700 S. P. St. 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. / $25 / 220-0299
JUNE 10 Bako’s “Noche de Rumba” Salsa Night Cabana Palms 3001 Calloway Drive Free Salsa Lessons: 7:30 p.m. /DJ Mickey Rock: 9pm 21+ / 588-5888 Beer Pong League Fishlips 1517 18th St. 8 p.m. / 21+ / 324-2557
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May 28, 2009
SEEN ON
SCENE
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See more photos at:
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No Doubt, May 20, Rabobank. Photo by Joseph Gomez
Do you have legal questions? Email us at greenelaw@arrival.net
Rodrigo H., Bakersfield, California
Q:
I got pulled over and the police found a joint in my car. They gave me a ticket. What should I do?
T ru s t w ort h y r e p r e s e n tat ion
WE FIGHT FOR YOU!
Family Law & Criminal Law
A:
Possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable as an infraction. You can only get a fine and not jail time. You could just take the fine and get it over with. The court or D.A. might also offer you a counseling program, which, if you complete it, would result in the dismissal of the charges. Or you could consult with a Public Defender or private attorney to see if your rights were violated during the stop, which could result in the evidence being suppressed and the case dismissed.
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May 28, 2009
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Paramore, May 20, Rabobank. Photo by Joseph Gomez
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May 28, 2009
Do Our Music Choices Define Us?
Rob Zombie at Rabobank Arena. CALIFORNIAN FILE PHOTO
If you’re a death-metal, classical, salsero - this one’s for you! By Twinkie & Bakotopians The following discussion was taken from Twinkie’s Bakotopia.com blog “Do our music choices define us?” What do you call somebody that likes some pop, rap, alternative, jazz, bluegrass, mariachi and some cumbia music? It depends on who you talk to, I guess? What do you think? Me? I consider myself multifaceted. Music makes me happy. Now I ask you, “Is that a bad thing?” Does it disgust you that I can dance all night at a salsa club, then two-step all afternoon at the Crystal Palace? Then rock out to your punk band? What do your music choices say about YOU? And if you like screamo, is your personality compatible with somebody who prefers jazz.
Here's a portion of the ongoing discussion… “I think music only defines musicians and sometimes a musician’s music may be defined by experiences, philosophies and emotions ... An influence on people can be music of course. But I’d like to think people are a bit deeper than just self-defined by a band or a genre.” - thenovelist “I am mostly a rap guy, so it does surprise people when after listening to song by Snoop Dogg, followed by Juan Gabriel with mariachi, If Garth Brooks had a song I liked, I would bump it. Marilyn Manson will never adorn my CD case but “Beautiful People” is a badass song! Only you know what you like depending on that day’s mood.” - Japo “I think the only way music defines who you are is when you
don’t know who you are. When you let other things define you, you aren’t being yourself.” - AnnieLWhite “I think music makes it easier for one random person to explore the way another random person chooses to express their perspective on life in this world. Whether this actually provides any REAL insight is an open question. I’ll leave that for the marketing execs to explain.” - Foxymoron
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(661) 472-8470 “My wife loves techno rave and stuff like that, but I hate it. Do we hate each other because of our music choices? Of course not, there are far better reasons why we hate each other.” - RobShock “I feel that music is a part of who you are, but it doesn’t define you. You could have a mass murderer who loves to listen to Mozart & you could have a rocket scientist who loves to listen to KORN. People make stereotypes on the type of people that listen to certain music & it’s sad that our world is easily influenced by these stereotypes. I for one have an iPod full of the most random music. That’s how I have always described my “taste” in music as random. Some of my favorites are Dave Matthews, Frank Sinatra, Boyz II Men, Janet Jackson, Green Day, Linkin Park, Metallica, Tim McGraw, The Chili Peppers, Incubus, Stevie Wonder, Linda Ronstandt, Buena Vista Social Club & of course the local favorite, Mento Buru. The music we choose to listen to is just the score for our biography. It makes life a little more upbeat.” - palooka5 Start your own discussion - see it in Bakotopia magazine! Start your FREE blog today at: www.bakotopia.com
Wild West entertainment
Current Karaoke Locations Trout’s Nightclub ~ 7 Days a Week (399-6700) Lone Oak Lounge ~ Tue. & Thur. 8pm-1am Le Corusse Rouge ~ Tue. 8pm-Midnight The Wright Place ~ thur. 8pm-midnight Nikki’s Smokin BBQ ~ Thur. 8pm-12am •Sat 8pm
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May 28, 2009
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