Submerge Magazine: Issue 107 (March 26 - April 9, 2012)

Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas March 26 – april 9, 2012

#107

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Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

107 2012

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contents

Submerge: an independently owned entertainment/lifestyle publication available for free biweekly throughout the greater Sacramento area.

March 26 - april 9

dive in champagne tastes on a beer budget Melissa welliver melissa@submergemag.com Recently a former Chico State buddy of mine made the big move to Sacramento. In a conversation we had shortly after his arrival,

25 23

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03 04 06 07 08 11 12 14 18 23 24 25 26 30

I couldn’t help but provide him with a list of reasons why I feel

Dive in

Sacramento is such a great place to live. Followed by the fact that there are so many killer music, art and comedy shows, my

The Stream

second favorite reason to live here is all the fantastic restaurants and bars.

The Optimistic Pessimist

When I made the move here long ago, the food and restaurant scene didn’t even cross my mind. I’m not quite sure exactly when they became such a big deal for me, maybe it came

capital capture

funky weather fashions

subconsciously considering the ever-growing foodie culture

the inversions

complex ingredients and flavors and am willing to experiment

in our city, or maybe I’m older now and can really appreciate more (to an extent; I still do not mess with oysters). Regardless, now I could make a ton of lists, everything from my favorite

Submerge your senses Iconoclast Robot

Italian restaurants to my favorite sushi spots, my favorite affordable eating options to my favorite high-end fancy dishes.

And don’t even get me started on the craft cocktails and craft brews found around town!

I’ve been dying to try more of the high-end establishments in our area, although I don’t quite have the budget to just go

ozomatli

anytime on a whim. I usually have to wait until a special

CALENDAR

occasion to splurge. Some of the best meals I have been able

on the road with

B&L in Midtown. For years I’ve been longing to try The Kitchen

live<< rewind

100 th issue), but we didn’t make reservations in time (note: book

to experience were at Ambiance in Carmichael and Mulvaney’s

g. green

Restaurant. I got close to going once (around the release of our

Milagres; 1,2,3; Unicycle Loves You the grindhouse

The Hunger games

months in advance).

Recently The Kitchen, headed by local chef celeb Randall Selland, was nominated for a James Beard Foundation award in the Outstanding Restaurant category. If you’re not sure what the James Beard Foundation is or how big of a deal it is to even

tongue & chic

the kitchen restaurant the shallow end

get nominated for this award (hint: it’s a huge deal), check out our writer Adam Saake’s piece on The Kitchen on page 26. This is the first time a Sacramento restaurant has ever received a nod this big, so we thought it would be a good time to feature the restaurant and hear from Selland himself. Enjoy the read and be sure to keep The Kitchen at the top of your list when it comes to

cofounder/ Editor in Chief/Art Director

Melissa Welliver melissa@submergemag.com cofounder/ Advertising Director

Jonathan Carabba jonathan@submergemag.com senior editor

James Barone Contributing editor

Mandy Johnston

Contributing Writers

Robin Bacior, Corey Bloom, Bocephus Chigger, Anthony Giannotti, Blake Gillespie, Ashley Hassinger, Skylar Mundy, Ryan L. Prado, Steph Rodriguez, Adam Saake, Amy Serna, Jenn Walker

2308 J Street, Suite F Sacramento, Calif. 95816

916.441.3803 info@submergemag.com

Contributing photographers

Mike Ibe, Wes Davis, Carolyn Jaime, Rik Keller, Nicholas Wray

www.submergemag.com Follow us on Twitter! @SubmergeMag

SubmergeMag.com

Submerge

printed on recycled paper

front cover Photo of ozomatli by Christian L

All content is property of Submerge and may not be reproduced without permission. Submerge is both owned and published by Submerge Media.

All opinions expressed throughout Submerge are those of the author and do not necessarily mean we all share those opinions. Feel free to take a copy or two for free, but please don’t remove our papers or throw them away. Submerge welcomes letters of all kinds, whether they are full of love or hate. We want to know what is on your mind, so feel free to contact us via snail mail at 2308 J Street, Suite F Sacramento, Calif. 95816. Or you can e-mail us at info@submergemag.com.

booking something for your next special occasion. I know I will (my birthday can’t come soon enough).

Also in this issue: an entertaining interview with Ulises Bella of the three-time Grammy award winning latin/hip-hop/ rock band Ozomatli (playing Ace of Spades on Friday, April 6), local bands Iconoclast Robot (page 12) and The Inversions (page 8) and an “On the Road” feature with local garage-rockers G. Green (page 23) about their recent quest to and from Austin, Texas, for SxSW. Plus be sure to check out our reviews of The Hunger Games and of Sophia’s Thai Kitchen’s 2012 kick-off show as well as what our regular columnists have to say.

back cover photo of the kitchen restaurant by nicholas wray

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

Enjoy issue #107, Melissa-Dubs

3

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Sacramento rapper C-Plus is up to all sorts of no good, with at least three new projects/releases scheduled before the year’s up. His sophomore solo album L.O.C.A.L. (loyalty over cash and luxury) is done and in the post-production and mixing stages. L.O.C.A.L. will be released later this year after Young Champions, a collaboration C-Plus did with Lee Bannon, comes out sometime in April. There is also a group EP with Chuuwee, Moe Green and N-Pire Da Great coming out in the future as well, so as you can see, C-Plus is grinding and is repping Sacramento hard along the way. Keep up with him at Twitter.com/plusmoney or at Thirdletta.com.

Sea of Bees, the musical project of Sacramento-based artist Julie Ann Bee (or Jules as we all know her), is readying the release of her second full-length album Orangefarben. Just as she did on her 2009 debut Songs for the Ravens (which seriously blew up when Heavenly/Universal picked it up for worldwide release in the fall of 2010), Jules handled a lot of the instrumentation herself, playing guitars, bass, keys, even drums on several tracks. It was recorded at The Hangar Studios with John Baccigaluppi, just like …Ravens. Every song on the album dons a single-word title, like “Broke,” “Gone” and “Teeth.” There is even a cover of John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” simply titled “Leaving” on the album. Submerge was lucky enough to get an early listen, and it is a beautiful record that plays well front-to-back.

Orangefarben will see an April 9 release on Heavenly Records in the United Kingdom and European Union, but you’ll have to wait until May 1 when Team Love (Conor Oberst’s label) puts it out here in the United States and Canada. For more information, visit Seaofbees.com.

bEN bElcHER

COMING SOON apr 27 & 28 tainted Love apr 28 aggrolites apr 29 anthony colman’s Big Band apr 30 Girl in a coma may 2 Diego’s Umbrella & march Fourth marching Band

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4

Submerge’s very own Adam Saake and his crew at Sacramento Electronic Music Festival, including Clay Nutting of Concerts for Charity, have really outdone themselves with this year’s lineup, which was announced just before this issue went to press. The three-day festival will take place on May 3–5 at Harlow’s and Momo Lounge, and Submerge is proud to be the media sponsor again this year. If you remember anything about last year’s SEMF at Townhouse, you know it was the hottest ticket in town that weekend (there was a line down the block!), and this year will be no different with heavy hitters like Shlohmo, Mux Mool (pictured), Lorn, DJ Nobody, Salva, Dibiase, B. Bravo and Starship Connection confirmed. Also performing will be Giraffage, Raleigh Moncrief, Dusty Brown, Yalls, Doom Bird, Favors, Little Foxes, James & Evander, Dolor, Adoptahighway, Chachi Jones and more. It really is an incredible mix of national and local talent and you can get your three-day pass for a steal, just $30, at Harlows.com. Individual day tickets are $13 a pop. Learn more about SEMF at Sacelectronicmusicfest.com and keep an eye out for coverage right here in these pages.

MElISSA coRoNA

SATURDAY

APR 4

Send regional news tips to info@submergemag.com

from the midnight players

MAR 31 WEDNESDAY

Jonathan Carabba

Tom rigney & fLambeau

FRIDAY

MAR 30 MAR 31

SACRAMENTO ELECTRONIC MUSIC FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES KILLER LINEUP // C-PLUS’ BUSY YEAR // SEA OF BEES READIES THE RELEASE OF ORANGEFARBEN

may 19 midnight Players may 23 clap Your Hands Say Yeah may 26 B-Side Players may 31 Young Dubliners June 1 cash’d out June 10 new orleans Suspects may 19 Parlotones July 19 asleep at the Wheel aug 8 ottmar Liebert

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Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

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Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

One Night Only!

April 5th • 7:30pm • The Crest Theatre The Sacramento Ballet will present award-winning actor Frank Ferrante in his one-man show An Evening With Groucho, a fast-paced two-act comedy that includes some of the best Groucho one-liners, anecdotes and songs including “Hooray for Captain Spalding” and “Lydia, the Tattooed Lady.” The audience literally becomes part of the show as Ferrante ad-libs his way throughout the performance in grand Groucho style. Along the way, accompanied by his onstage pianist Jim Furmston, he portrays the young Groucho of stage and film, and reacquaints the audience with the likes of brothers Harpo, Chico, Zeppo and Gummo, Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, Greta Garbo and his long-suffering “leading lady” Margaret Dumont. It’s a perfect show for all ages that has impressed audiences wherever it has gone.

Tickets: $35/$30/$25

on sale through The Crest or The Sacramento Ballet

For tickets and •more information: www.tickets.com www.sacballet.org www.sacballet.org SubmergeMag.com

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

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o o T TaT

The Optimistic Pessimist

y r e ll

a G &

One Flu Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Bocephus Chigger bocephus@submergemag.com Life is a fragile thing. There was a point last week when I didn’t think these words would ever make it down on paper. Hell, two days ago, I wasn’t even sure if I would make it from my bed to the toilet, let alone put together a coherent thought. A particularly virulent strain of the flu took hold of me last week and appeared ready to ride my pale horse carcass to usher in the apocalypse. The following is an account of the six days it took me to reenter the land of the living.

Day One Something wasn’t right. It was cold and raining, yet here I sat sweating through my clothes. Work was inescapable that day, which meant that I had to repeatedly explain to clients why I couldn’t shake hands with them, as I thought I was coming down with something. Some demanded it anyway; pity those poor fools. The day went by without too much discomfort. I was aided by the delicious Romanian mulligatawny from Muntean’s on J Street (don’t sleep on this place!). I was sure this would pass within a couple days.

Day Two Day two welcomed me with a sweat outline of myself imprinted on my sheets. Every muscle in my body ached. Work was again unavoidable and this time in the far-off land of Modesto. Repeats of the no-handshake conversations transpired and soup was again on the menu (this time minestrone), which I had to pay for by check since my now fluaddled brain caused me to forget my wallet in the car. I made it home just before all semblance of stability left me. The ensuing fever was harsh and so, lacking any control of my internal thermostat, I was forced to set up a hot bed and a cold bed to make sleep possible. I slept 11 hours that night.

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Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

Day Three Finally, a day to recover—or so I thought. My lack of preparedness was beginning to get the best of me. The only soup in my house was three packs of Top Ramen that said “best by 2007.” Too weak to leave home, I ate one of them anyway. It was all I could stomach for the day and it was pretty foul, so I guess Ramen can go bad after all. At some point I was lulled into a Game of Thrones marathon on HBO, which did not lend itself well to my already fragile mental state. In my half-

conscious daydreams, I began to believe that it was up to me to save Ned Stark from those Lannister pricks. Needless to say, I failed miserably. Sorry, Ned.

Day Four I woke to find myself naked, disoriented, sore and shivering in the cold bed believing my fever had finally broke, but as I would discover through a series of hot and cold flashes to come later in the day, it was all just a cruel jape. To add insult to injury, my sinuses were now plugged and my throat was on fire.

Making matters worse, I also began to drool uncontrollably, requiring the assistance of a spit cup for my waking hours and a spit towel for my sleeping ones. Today’s soup was an awful pile of shit that Raley’s calls vegetable soup, but is actually closer to plant mulch with tomato juice.

Day Five This fucking flu had the nerve to wake me up to a clear head and no fever only to transform me into a coughing, slobbering, wheezing, dripping mess 30 minutes later. My only savior was the icy hot patch on my lower back that allowed me to attain the fetal position that I needed oh so badly by that point. By 2 p.m., I had already sent out a preemptive, “Not coming in to work tomorrow,” email. This fucker still had legs and jumped up and down on my face for the rest of the day.

Day Six When I woke up, the drooling, fever and body aches had gone, but the rest remained. The idea of eating another bowl of soup was about as appealing as eating my three-dayold spit towel, so instead, today’s soup was a roast beef sandwich. On Demand was malfunctioning and apparently 25 movie channels can only manage to play 10 different movies each day. Kinky Boots just doesn’t speak to me and one can only watch the Back to the Future trilogy so many times before you want to jolt your brain with 1.21 jiggawatts of electric chair goodness.

And yet I had to smile. The worst was apparently over. My swine bird turducken flu had tried its hardest to take me down, but I’m a goddamn marvel of modern science. Oh, and you best believe I’ll be getting the shot next year!

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Capital Capture

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I spotted one of these jackets paired so well with a fedora hat and skinny jeans that I actually pulled over my vehicle and chased down the fashionista on H Street to ask her for a Capital Capture photo. The other outfit was an easy spot on a rainy day inside Freestyle Clothing Exchange, complete with a high-waist skirt and a statement blouse layered underneath. Whether it’s a crisp, overcast day or pouring outside, you can’t go wrong with one of these.

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Mon-Sat 11aM-7pM • Sun 12-6pM Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

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The Best of Intentions The Inversions Forge Their Own Path

Words Jenn Walker • PHotos Joanna Hedrick

I

f you were the last person on Earth, would you kill yourself? It’s not something you probably mull over too much on an average day, but that’s the big question behind local band the Inversions’ song “Aloha.”

Usually, the word “aloha” makes me cringe.

I immediately think American commercialization of Hawaiian culture, i.e., tacky Hawaiian shirts, someone adjusting a plastic lei around my neck and watching the worst adaptations of hula dancing imaginable.

This is why The Inversions’ song “Aloha” is genius. It plays on the meaning of the word in a very unpredictable way. There is not a single reference to sunsets or cheesy faux Hawaiian intonations to be heard. It’s just a rock ‘n’ roll song, pure and simple, using the word “aloha” for its double meaning of “hello” and “goodbye.”

The Inversions lead singer/guitarist Will Comstock is fond of lacing the band’s songs with double meanings, he says during a conversation with Submerge over beers at Pangaea Café. And “Aloha” is a prime example of just that.

Bassist/vocalist Ryan Offield is also in on this

8

conversation. He explains that “Aloha” is also the title track of the band’s upcoming album because it’s the “most ridiculous” of the songs.

Like the rest of their work, including their full-lengths All Is Well and What’s the Cannon For?, Aloha will be released on their label Penwin Songs in April.

“Aloha is not much of a leap from our other stuff,” says Offield. Like their past albums, they have continued to maintain a groove-oriented melody, Comstock adds.

Though Offield and Comstock have been working together for many years (they met in their former band The Drowners), they have only been working on this project since 2006, starting with Frank French of Cake as their prior drummer.

The Inversions have only existed as The Inversions “proper” since 2008. Previously there were four members—Adam Varona was also on guitar. Now they are just three. Over time, they’ve managed to develop a sound that Offield has been told by fans “feels familiar, but in a new way.”

And since they discovered drummer Scott McConaha at Fox & Goose a while back, the trio

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

seems to have found the right synergy.

For instance, “No Matter,” another song that will be featured on Aloha, is a song that the band has been wanting to record since it was written five to six years ago.

“I have no idea what ‘No Matter’ is about,” Comstock says. “But there is this unspoken understanding that it would be good for the band.”

Still, it’s only now that that the song will be included on an album, because, as Offield puts it, “Scottie got it right.”

Give “No Matter” a listen, and you’ll understand why it feels right. The song carries a steadfast beat under a simple guitar progression, straddling a rollicking, gypsy sound with a Western touch.

That said, it is curious that the band has earned a Brit-pop, indie rock rap.

Perhaps “LMAO,” the third song from Aloha that the Inversions shared with Submerge, bears the closest resemblance to anything of the sort.

It’s catchy; it has that fleeting tempo and raucous strum pattern that is trademark of an indie pop song. And, as one might guess from the title, it’s about the Facebook craze, of all things.

Still, Brit-pop is not exactly the sound the Inversions are aiming for, Comstock says.

“It’s more a sound that’s been tagged onto us,” he says. “And any time you play minor chords with reverb, someone says you’re just trying to be Radiohead or something.”

“To me [our music] is rock ‘n’ roll,” he adds.

Certainly, Comstock and Offield are fond of British rock and pop, particularly of the ‘60s era. The band lists The Kinks as one of their top influences.

“I only have five [Kinks] CDs in my car,” Comstock says.

Otherwise, he’s been “geeking out” on the Coasters, jazz and Buddy Holly, he confesses, his black glasses tilted slightly down his nose.

Influences aside, the band doesn’t really look to other bands for their sound.

“We’re not aiming for anything,” Comstock says, “[Other than] does the song sound good, do we like it?”

Different rhythms, weird chords, good chord progressions and a good melody—these are things Comstock says he looks for when he writes a song. And apparently, he’s “prolific as hell” about his songwriting, Offield says.

“He’ll write more songs in a year than I’ll hear,” Offield laughs.

“Our intentions are good…the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

– Ryan Offield, The Inversions Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

The

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JAxx, tHe CosmonAuts, DoWnsHift, enD of DAys, tHe AnDromeDA proJeCt Writing, practicing and performing the songs are arguably the easy parts. They practice anywhere from one to five days a week downstairs in the Victorian where Offield resides.

If they just keep up on their sound, the optimistic view is that everything else will fall into place.

Yet the rest, producing albums and aggressively marketing, has been the “bugaboo,” Offield admits.

“When you’re on your own, things take a bit longer,” Offield says. “Our intentions are good… the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

After Aloha, the Inversions intend to dive into producing their next album, a full-length.

As they produce material, Sacramento has continued to play a formative role in the band’s progress. The band has played countless times in venues across town, like Fox & Goose, The Blue Lamp, The Press Club, Marilyn’s on K and Naked Lounge. There was a time when they practiced at Sac Rehearsal studios. And in 2009 and 2010, the Inversions were nominated for a Sammie in the outstanding rock band category.

They’ve seen other successes, too. Their music was featured throughout the independent film Jake’s Corner, which played at the Sedona International Film festival in 2008.

After touring throughout the West, including the Bay Area, Portland, Phoenix, Seattle, San Diego and Tucson, Ariz., the guys have embraced an appreciation for Sacramento, the city where “you walk a little slower.”

SubmergeMag.com

“As you get older, you get a little more content and a little more satisfied with where you are,” Comstock says.

After all, Comstock only managed to get his hollow body Epiphone, which he uses for recording and shows, for a ridiculously generous price from a local in town.

It’s a city that is uniquely cool, Comstock concludes, and doesn’t deserve to be pissed on.

Now, Sacramento’s surroundings will serve as the background in a music video they are filming for “Aloha.” Director Jeff Weigt, who also filmed the music video for the band’s 2008 hit “Brain Dead Heart,” is currently working with the band members to capture a sense of apocalypse on camera, shooting around the nearby levy and wetlands.

Expect a lot of CGI and sweeping shots, Offield forewarns.

The video will likely be released around the same time as the album. And once the video is out, you can ask yourself what you would do if you were the last person on Earth.

The Inversions will celebrate the release of Aloha on April 14 at Blue Lamp. The show will get underway at 8:30 p.m. Aloha will be available via iTunes, but you’ll also be able to get yourself a torrent of it, if you’re so inclined, at Torrentscan.com, Demanoid. com, Piratebay.com and other torrent sites.

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Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

9

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Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

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Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas Audio Express — Sacramento Submerge — 3/26/2012

Your Senses SEE HEAR TASTE Touch

TOUCH

Red Bull Schlittentag • April 7

SEE

Northern California Beard and Moustache Competition March 31

Here’s a fun (and different) way to spend your Saturday night: on March 31, Powerhouse Pub, located at 614 Sutter Street in Folsom, will host the Northern California Beard and Moustache Competition. If you or someone you know is rocking an out-of-this-world ‘stache or beard and want to be involved, show up at 3 p.m. for the sign-ups and checkin. The actual competition kicks off at 5 p.m. Categories include the “Natural Moustache” (all natural, no styling aids of any sort), the “Styled Moustache” (styling aids like wax are OK), the “Partial Beard,” the “Full Beard” (with two sub categories—under 12 inches and over 12 inches), the “Freestyle” (anything goes, get creative!), the “Goatee,” the “Whiskerina” (for the ladies), the “Business Beard” and last but not least, “Sideburns.” Judges will be on-hand to score on their first impressions, crowd reactions, overall appearance of the facial hair, personality and presentation. On top of seeing some ridiculously awesome lip-ticklers and weird beards, there will also be live music from The Island of Black and White and the Nickel Slots. There will be vendors and a raffle, a car show beforehand, roller girls and tattooed pin-up models…the whole nine, really. Admission is just $10 for attendees and $20 for competitors. Proceeds will benefit the Placer County SPCA. For more information, visit Moustacheandbeardsocialclub.com.

What the hell is “Schlittentag,” you ask? It’s the German word for “sledding day,” and on April 7 at Alpine Meadows there will be a sledding day like you’ve never seen! Teams of three (one designated “pilot” and up to two others to push to gain speed) will use their imaginations to conceptualize, design and build the fastest and most wacky looking “sleds” in hopes that they will become this year’s Red Bull Schlittentag champions. Past years’ vessels have been pretty out there (think couches, shopping carts, etc.), and this year will surely be no different. The grand champions (highest combined score of speed and creativity) will win a trip to Red Bull Flugtag including transportation to and from event, lodging and tickets to VIP viewing area; runners-up will get three tickets to the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway in Laguna Seca, Calif., in July; and the third place team will win their combined weight in Red Bull. Registration starts at 10 a.m. and the madness gets underway at 1:03 p.m. The awards will be given out on the deck at 3:30 p.m., where DJ David Aaron will be cranking out some tunes. For more information, visit Redbullusa.com and search for “Schlittentag Alpine Meadows” or to register your team and craft early, email the “Pilot Liaison” at seankolar@redbullu.com. May the best (and most ridiculous) team win!

TASTE

The Broadway Corridor Crawl March 30

Beatnik Studios and The Greater Broadway Partnership are teaming up to bring you a night of great drinks, art, food, music and fun on Friday, March 30. The Broadway Corridor Crawl kicks off at 5 p.m. at Jamie’s Bar & Grill (500 Broadway) and will head east from there to Iron Steaks, Riverside Clubhouse and XO Lounge. Then you’ll head to 18th and Broadway to get a special sneak preview of the soon-to-open New Helvetia Brewing operation before ending the crawl at 8 p.m. at Beatnik for the opening reception of their new exhibit, Tower and the Broadway Icons.

Enjoy complimentary wine and pizza and groove to live tunes from The Gins—there will even be a few food trucks stopping by! Learn more at Beatnik-studios.com or Greaterbroadwaypartnership.com.

SubmergeMag.com

Photo by Dennis N Scott

HEAR

2 or 3 Guys Album Release Show • April 13 Sacramento rock band 2 or 3 Guys will be celebrating the release of their first studio album, appropriately titled The Album, on Friday, April 13 at Old Ironsides. Some really killer bands will join them, including Groovin’ High, Wannabe Barnaby and The Jet Black Popes, so be sure to mark this one on your calendar. 2 or 3 Guys are releasing new songs off The Album here and there, so check out Facebook.com/2or3guys or 2or3guys.com to get a sneak peek.

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

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$3 each // $2.50 each if you buy 6 or more!

12

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

poetry with legs every tuesday 8pm • no cover!

jazz jam

w/ jason galbraith & friends open mic jam follows!

w/ allegra silberstein & patricia hickerson friday, march 30 8 pm • $5

en ts r y pe r ev tim es va

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7:30 pm • no cover!

Organic Starter Plant Sale Basil•Kale•Oregano•Tomatoes•Cucumber

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skip heller, noah nelson, dr. velocity

8 pm • $5

those meddling kids, audiopteryx, the hungry friday, april 6 7:30 pm • $5

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the sudden lovelys

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Introducing Iconoclast Robot

An Eclectic Local Band leaves Its Mark on The Sacramento Music Scene Words Ashley Hassinger • P hoto And r e J one s

W

/ Eye Connoisseur Photography

ith a multi-faceted sound, local band Iconoclast Robot brings something new and fresh to the Sacramento music scene.

Comprised of vocalist Charles Cash (nee Ryan Charles Gammad), Patrick Caden (bass and guitar), Russell Boucher (guitar), Jairus Beacham (drums) and Jamal Siurano (keys, beats and saxophone), Iconoclast Robot blends jazz, hip-hop and rock together to create a fusion all their own.

As I sat down with Cash and Siurano at the Eye Connoisseur Photography Studio in Midtown, I was intrigued to find out the band’s musical background and their undeniable love and talent for music.

Formed in April of last year, Iconoclast Robot came together with inspirations ranging from The Roots to Rage Against the Machine. An unexpected range of musical tastes brings out all the stops for this multi-genre band.

“We don’t all come from the same musical background. I studied jazz in school, Ryan likes hip-hop, Jairus played in church and Patrick used to play in a metal band,” Jamal explained.

Although different in backgrounds, each member was influenced by music at an early age, whether they were part of band or listened to their parent’s music.

“I’ve always had a knack for music. I remember listening to songs as a kid and being curious as to what instruments were being used. I wanted to know everything about the song,” Jamal said.

SubmergeMag.com

The special sound that Iconoclast Robot has is complemented with skillful lyrics. Ryan is the main contributor for the lyrics, and since he started writing back in 2008, he has had one main influence.

“Heartbreaks. As corny as that sounds, I’m most inspired when I’m sad,” Cash confided. “And a lot of my raps aren’t normal witty raps—more like storytelling.

I look at the world a certain way, and the lyrics portray how I feel about it.”

Just like its sound, Iconoclast Robot’s lyrics aren’t what you would expect—and Cash writes what’s honest.

“It’s not political. It’s not stereotypical.

It’s not what you expect,” explained the vocalist. “It’s sort of my unique perspective, which makes it real.”

The band hasn’t been signed to a label yet, which allows for more creativity and enables the band to grow and change as they see fit.

With no major deadlines or outside influences, Iconoclast Robot is able to focus on what they want as a band, not what a label wants them to do. “We are still new and trying to figure out what our sound is going to be like. It’s nice to have the freedom of not having someone else being an influence over us,” Jamal stated.

Along with the ability to be creative, being without a record label allowed the band to form more spontaneously.

“It wasn’t like someone was signed to a label and they were forced to find members. All of us came together in a

way that was natural. I think it’s pretty rare for a band to come together with the backgrounds we have and be able to make it work,” Jamal said.

Without a record label, Iconoclast Robot is forced to jump around from place to place in order to record and practice on a weekly basis. Recently the band has had the opportunity to record at Pinnacle College in Rancho Cordova, but the band is open to any space that will allow them to better themselves.

“We don’t have a lot of money and resources right now,” explained Jamal.

“So we practice and record wherever we can.”

Iconoclast Robot’s love and dedication for music is shown in their stage presence. It’s obvious in the energy that is seen, that the band loves what they do. For them, making music and performing isn’t work for them, it’s a release of their creativity.

“Music is all about communicating your ideas, like any art form,” Jamal said. “You’ve got an idea and you want to express that without words and music is the way to do that.”

Although they’ve played locally and in the Bay Area, Iconoclast Robot is hoping to go on tour soon.

“A tour is in the works, and I think we know where we’d like to go. Definitely a West Coast tour including California, Nevada and Arizona. Nothing is solid yet though,” said Jamal.

Even though they are busy working on their own music, I was curious to know what kind of music they were currently listening to.

“I’ve been listening to the artist, Gotye who wrote the song ‘Somebody I Used to Know.’ I checked out some of his other stuff, and he is like us,” Jamal said. “He is all over the map stylistically, so many styles and it’s very creative.”

As for Cash, “I’ve been listening to The Black Keys. One of my favorite bands though is City and Colour, an acoustic and emo sound. He has such a real passion in his voice.”

With a tour in the works, an untitled EP released and their debut album set to release in May, Iconoclast Robot has set goals for themselves, hoping to one day make what they love to do a full-time job.

“I think at the end of the day all of us would be happy to comfortably support ourselves playing music and not having to work 9-to-5 jobs,” said Jamal. “Tour, play music and pay the bills. I think we’d be happy.”

With music as their drive and passion, the band is looking to turn heads with their rare and intriguing sound.

“We want to blow their minds,” said Jamal. “I want them to walk away and be like, ‘What was that?’”

Collectively, the band wants their fans to be affected somehow by the music they make, and want them to come back for another show.

Music isn’t a gimmick or moneymaker for these five band members; it’s their passion. “Music is something I’m always going to do, whether I’m in a band or not,” Jamal explained. “It’s always going to be a part of my life, regardless of whether I’m making money.”

Iconoclast Robots have an upcoming performance at Ace of Spades on April 13. Go to Aceofspadessac.com for tickets.

For updated information on the album release date and upcoming shows like them on their Facebook page: Facebook.com/iconoclastrobot

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

13

One World, One Sound

Ozomatli unites cultures far and wide, and people young and old Words James Barone • photo Christian L

M

ulti-tasking. It’s an ungodly buzz word that has more or less come to define our modern existence.

Job titles now seem to be a never-ending string of hyphens or slashes; Web browsers allow for infinite tabs; that little waterfall thing in the upper-right corner of your Facebook page lets you know when one of your friends likes a photo of someone you’ve never even met. You’re busy. We know. So is Ulises Bella of Los Angeles-based band Ozomatli. When Submerge caught up with him, he and the band were hard at work on a variety of things.

“We’re not very good at multi-tasking,” Bella says with a big laugh. “We’re trying our hardest, though, to multitask up in here.”

Bella reveals that the band has just started making demos and setting into motion a new Ozomatli LP, which would be the band’s first studio album since 2010’s relentlessly groovy Fire Away, an aptly named album that boasts an arsenal of sounds both exotic and domestic in flavor. However, at the moment, Bella (who contributes his talents on saxophone, keyboards and other instruments) and company are working on a project with a younger audience in mind. In between their rigorous touring schedule, which sees them on the road most weekends, at the very least, Ozomatli has been working on their first children’s record under the moniker Ozokidz. This isn’t a radically new idea for Ozo. Bella says that the band has “always been down for playing for kids and interacting with kids,” but as members of the band had their own children, making an album for kids seemed to make sense.

“Our fans are getting older, so a lot of them have kids, and what really put it over the edge was when we were the super music friends for a couple live shows of Yo Gabba

14

Gabba,” he says. “That really made us say, ‘We have to make an album,’ because a lot of our music already kids relate to a little bit.”

Reminiscing about the music he grew up on, the stuff that he gravitated toward when he was a child, Bella speaks of a rich personal musical tradition. As could be inferred from Ozomatli’s music—a blend of, well, just about anything: Afro-Cuban and tropical rhythms, reggae, hip-hop, pop, good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll all deftly woven together with positivity and a purpose—Bella’s musical upbringing was quite diverse. Through his father, he learned to gain appreciation for the great composers, such as Bach and Vivaldi.

“A lot of baroque music really stuck with me,” he says.

Beyond that, the music of his parents’ heritage and popular music also played significant roles.

“My dad was from Spain and my mother was from Mexico, so my mom was super into Trio Los Panchos, a lot of Beatles, obviously, a lot of Beach Boys,” Bella says.

“There’s this party music from Spain called rumba flamenca.

The only thing I can compare it to is the same beat as The Gypsy Kings, but less commercial-y, but it’s very much party music. So all that kind of stuff was in me. Also, my friends at the time, the kids I was growing up with, were very much into breakdancing and break dance music, so a lot of that electro hip-hop sound, kind of Kraftwerk vibe type stuff, really resonated with me, and to this day I’m into that stuff.”

This sort of diversity, as well as the varying backgrounds of Ozomatli’s six other regular members, plays a huge part in the band’s songwriting process, which Bella describes as pure experimentation as to what styles will blend the best.

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

“When we were in each other’s presence, the band was almost like a musical conservatory,” he says. “Everybody came from these different traditions, and there were a lot of things each of us didn’t know about. So, whereas one guy probably listened to reggae all his life, he probably didn’t know shit about cumbia. But then another guy probably knew a lot about cumbia and tropical music, but didn’t know much about reggae. In between that, there was kind of one of those things where a guy was playing a cumbia, but to him it sounds like a mutated reggae song, so he’s playing a reggae bass line over it, and in a weird way it shouldn’t fit, but it fits.”

And Ozomatli never stops gaining new influences.

As they live, grow and experience so too does the band’s music.

“A lot of it also has to do with what people are into at the moment,” Bella explains. “Obviously when we first started on the first album, we were super influenced by Afro-Cuban music, and the hip-hop influence was huge because of Chali 2na and Cut Chemist, the world music vibe of putting in tablas and all that stuff. And through our travels, especially through the country and through the world, you start picking up different things, slowly those influences start going into the music too.”

Bella says the Ozokidz album is about 95 percent done, but still doesn’t have a firm release date, but it will be released on Hornblow Recordings/Megaforce/RED, which has also released They Might Be Giants’ children’s albums. In the following interview, Bella talks about some of Ozomatli’s interesting experiences working as U.S. State Department Cultural Ambassadors.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Speaking of your travels, you guys visited Nepal a while back. I’ve always wanted to visit there, and I’m not sure why. I think it was because of Raiders of the Lost Ark. What was that like, and were you exposed to any of the local music there?

Totally, and the crazy thing about Nepal is that it was one of our first trips as cultural ambassadors, right? We show up in Nepal, and it was completely coincidence, the day we get there is the day this huge religious festival called Shivaratri, which is all about Shiva and millions of motherfuckers from all over India and all over Nepal come to this temple to do offerings. The lines that go into these temples are miles long. Now the other thing that distinguishes this festival is that all kinds of cannabis use is legal for that day, so you see all these kids rolling up these monster spliffs, and you’re like, “Whoa, what’s going on here?”

And then, trip out on this. This is like some National Geographic shit. We were like, “Whoa, what a party!” It’s really psychedelic because there are all these speakers blaring these chants. It’s fucking bananas. Then we end up in this courtyard that the government set up for the sadhus, who are Hindu holy men.

Now these cats basically renounce all material items and shit—loin cloths and dread locks, bro. They reserved this square strictly for them just to get high. You walk in there, and you’re tripping out, and they’re asking you to come in there and smoke. They’re like, “No, please, sit down.” They have these huge bowls of weed… It was quite a scene.

And when we were there, there was a cease fire between the Maoists and the government. I guess every other day in Nepal there are general strikes. We were really tripped out, like this is really an electric environment.

When we played the show, you know how there’s the railing between the crowd and the stage?

How did you get involved with the cultural ambassadorship, because that’s a government appointment, isn’t it?

Basically what happened was this woman hit us up about it to renew it, and it was at first a big point of debate with us, because obviously there was a government connection, and we were still in the middle of the Bush administration, and it was like, how do we want the world to perceive us and how do we want the world to react to us? Will they think that we’re peddling bullshit, you know? So a big thing with us was that we were really sensitive about how we were portrayed, and we were really sensitive about local interests. A good example with that was Nepal, there was one person there who was like, “They’re always striking here. They’re shutting down their country. Maybe you can talk to the kids about how it’s not such a good idea.” Actually, I was kind of jealous of them, because they can hold the reins of power and immediately take control of society. I don’t even think that there’s been a general strike here in Los Angeles. There have been times when demonstrations have shut down the city, but I was of the mind that I envy these kids, that they’re able to organize like that and shut things down.

Yeah, where the photographers sometimes stand.

Exactly. Dude. The gate was about 100 feet away from the fucking stage. We were like, “Why is it so far away? How are we supposed to connect with this audience?” Then the dudes who are breaking it down are like, “Look, if for any reason the crowd doesn’t like you, or you have technical difficulties and you can’t get your shit together, they’re just going to start throwing rocks at you.”

I’d just gotten food poisoning, so at this point, I’m sick as a dog. I’m like, well, fuck it. Even if they throw shit at us, we’ve got to bring this barrier closer to us. This is just ridiculous. I think we got it 50 or 60 feet away from the stage, played the show, and it’s estimated over 10,000 people were at this show, and it was one of the largest congregations of people outside of strikes and politics and all that kind of shit that was going on. It went off really really well. It was old people, young people, all kinds of people.

The thing is, going into Nepal, I knew that maybe 10, 15 people tops knew who we were [laughs]… But it’s an amazing litmus test to see if your music stands on its own and can just communicate, because we just played, and people dug the music and reacted to it immediately. So it wasn’t the hype of Ozo, or our legacy or our reputation didn’t precede us.

It’s true. There are little differences, but the big things are the same. Everyone has to pay rent and make sure there’s food on the table for the kids and stuff like that.

Exactly. There are tons of things that divide us, whether it’s our governments, our religions, our outlooks on society, but when it comes down to it, everybody needs a place to stay, clean water, clean food, education. And that’s the thing in the United States that we take for granted.

Well, you guys formed at a labor demonstration too, didn’t you?

Right. That was the other thing. We were like, “Are you sure you want this band to do this kind of work?” For me it was about creating our own story and creating our own connections. As much as we have stereotypes about these countries, they have stereotypes about Americans too, and why not break down these stereotypes and show we’re more the same than we are different— especially when it comes down to common people, working class people. The same shit some guy has to deal with in Egypt is probably the same shit some dude in the Midwest has to deal with.

Are you still in the position now?

It’s kind of died down. We did a lot of work for a while. We visited a lot of countries that a lot of bands have never been to, and I think we were just like, “We did this work, but now we’ve got to focus on some other shit real quick.”

SHOWS AT SAC STATE

SPONSORED BY UNIQUE PROGRAMS FOR MORE INFO VISIT OUR WEBSITE OR CALL 278–6997

WWW.SACSTATEUNIQUE.COM TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE SACRAMENTO STATE BOX OFFICE OR TICKETS.COM NOONER

NOONER

ELEMENT OF SOUL

A SINGLE SECOND

WED • APR 4 • 12P • UNIVERSITY UNION SERNA PLAZA

WED • APR 11 • 12P • UNIVERSITY UNION SERNA PLAZA

FREE: Acoustic reggae rock concert.

FREE: Post punk / hard rock concert

FILM FESTIVAL

NOONER

MOUNTAINFILM ON TOUR

TIMOTHY RHYME

THUR • APR 12 • 730P • UNIVERSITY UNION BALLROOM

WED • APR 18 • 12P • UNIVERSITY UNION SERNA PLAZA

FREE: short films from the Telluride Mountain Film Festival that educate and inspire audiences about adventure, cultural and environmental issues.

FREE: Hip-hop concert.

COMEDY

CONCERT

THE GAY MAFIA

MARY YOUNGBLOOD

THU • APR 19 • 730P • UNIVERSITY UNION BALLROOM

THU • APR 24 • 730P • UNIVERSITY UNION BALLROOM

FREE: improv comedy show Co-sponsored: ASI & the PRIDE Center In support of PRIDE Week

FREE: Native American flutist

SPECIAL EVENT

MTV’s THE BURIED LIFE THUR • APR 5 • 7:30P• UNIVERSITY UNION BALLROOM • FREE Cast members from the MTV reality documentary show ask “What Do You Want to do Before You Die?”

CONCERT

HIEROGLYPHICS

“When we were in each other’s presence, the band was almost like a musical conservatory.

Everybody came from these different traditions, and there were a lot of things each of us didn’t know about. So, whereas one guy probably listened to reggae all his life, he probably didn’t know shit about cumbia.”

– Ulises Bella, Ozomatli SubmergeMag.com

THUR • MAY 3 • 7:30P • UNIVERSITY UNION BALLROOM • TICKETS: $10 FOR SAC STATE STUDENTS & $15 GENERAL Hip-hop concert featuring Souls of Mischief, Pep Love, Casual, Domino & DJ Toure, plus special guests Sleeprockers and more TBA

The University Union Gallery Ozomatli will play Ace of Spades in Sacramento on April 6. Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets are $20. They can be purchased through Aceofspadssac.com. For more info on all things Ozo, go to Ozomatli.com.

–PRESENTS–

tony natsoulas: doing the basil. show dates monday, march 26–friday, april 20 reception thursday, april 5, from 6–8pm gallery hours mon–fri: 10:30am–3:30pm +special evening hours: wed & thur: 5–8pm location union gallery, 2nd flr–sac state, 6000 j street, 95819 | union.csus.edu/gallery

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

15

1417 r strEEt

all shows all ages

saCraMEntO tickets available @ dimple records, the Beat, armadillo (davis) Online: aceOfspadessac.com

By Phone: 1.877.Gnd.CtrL Or 916.443.9202

PlAyAh K KMAc

PrEsEnts

f r i day

april 20

Ill EffEct • 2ME-KMAc

april 1

s u n day

MooStAchE • KIng clIfton

april 9

M O n day plus special guest

Iconoclast Robot

nIcKEl SlotS

t h u r s day

March 29 plus special guest

J.SIRuS

sat u r day

april 21

cuMBIA toKESon

f r i day

april 6 StucK RIcKEy JAMES PRoJEct thE BEll BoyS onE lASt Mc KodIAc VISuAlz

f r i day f r i day

april 13

hERo’S lASt MISSIon tAKIng not StEAlIng

s u n day

March 30 sat u r day

april 7

april 22

IMAgES BoAtS!

plus special guest

sat u r day

16

March 31

s u n day

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

april 8

t h u r s day

april 19

w E d n E s day

april 25

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

CatCh Without arms

f r i day

april 27

WIll BE PlAyEd In ItS EntIREty

May 8

t u E s day

May 21

M O n day

June 8

april 28

sat u r day

Prof

QuEttE dAddIE & oPtIMIztIQ Ill EffEct • A-MAd g

april 28

sat u r day

s u n day

f r i day

april 29

f r i day

May 11

sat u r day

May 12

WhISKEy And StItchES

May 24

t h u r s day

f r i day

May 25

AllInAdAy Fair struggle oVERWAtch

s u n day

June 17

t u E s day

June 19

t h u r s day

June 28

KAyAVIBE • offIcIAl RESPonSE

s u n day

May 6

w E d n E s day

May 16

t h u r s day

May 31

PrEsEnts LOw dOuGh shOw

Bow wow M O n day

May 7

SubmergeMag.com

w E d n E s day

May 19

SuPERSucKERS goddAMn gAlloWS

f r i day

June 1

t u E s day

July 17

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

17

Old Ironsides LP Sessions, Spirit of St. Louis, Mason Wrecks, 9 p.m.

904 15 Street 443.2797 th

Between I & J • Downtown Sacramento

The Park Ultra Lounge Timewarp w/ DJ Eddie Edul, 8 p.m.

music, comedy & misc. Calendar

March 27- april 8 TUES

27

tessie sell 5:30PM

island of black & white 9PM

WED acoustic oPen Mic 5:30PM 28 conbrio9PM X trio 5PM THURS 29 beso negro 9PM FRI

30

Pailer & fratis 5:30PM

solsa 9PM

Johnny guitar knoX 5PM

rick 31 estrin &the SaT

nightcats

9PM aaron king & friends 4PM SUn 1 JohnnyguitarknoX8PM hans eberbach 5:30PM TUES 3 diPPin sauce 9PM WED acoustic oPen Mic 5:30PM 4 howell devine9PM X trio 5PM THURS 5 siouX city kid 9PM FRI

Pailer & fratis 5:30PM

6 cole fonseca 9PM Johnny guitar knoX 5PM

SaT

7

SUn

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Jenny lynne

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9PM blues JaM 4PM coffis brothers8PM

torchclub.net 18

March 26 – april 9 submergemag.com/calendar

Harlow’s The Lumineers, Y La Bamba, 7 p.m.

Old Ironsides Open Mic, 8:30 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Whiskey Dawn, 9 p.m.

use a qr scanner on your smart phone to view calendar online

Luigi’s (Davis) Solander, MLY, Oh Foot, 8 p.m.

Press Club MDL, Newtdick, 30.06, Gutwrench, 8:30 p.m.

Marilyn’s Acoustic Open Mic, 6 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Patton Leatha, 7 p.m.

Mix Ryan Hernandez, 6:30 p.m.

Sacramento Community Center Theater Jackie Evancho, 7:30 p.m.

3.26 Monday

The Blue Lamp Sound & Shape, 8 p.m.

The Boxing Donkey Open Mic Variety Night, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Open Mic Night, 7:30 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Nebraska Mondays hosted by Ross Hammond w/ Know Hassell Project, Foothill Jazz Trio, 7 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Jazz Session w/ the Joe Mazzaferro Quintet, Kendrick Sextet, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Strapped for Cash w/ Nuance, 7:30 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Press Club The Porter Project, One More Last Try, The Solicitors, 8:30 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Patton Leatha, 7 p.m.

Sol Collective Microphone Mondays Open Mic, 8 p.m.

The Stoney Inn Karaoke, 9 p.m.

University Union Ballroom, CSUS Fun, Avalanche City, 7:30 p.m. (Sold Out)

3.27 Tuesday

Bows and Arrows The Loom, Kevin Florence, Alameda, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Dive Bar Le Twist w/ DJs Sam I Jam, Adam J, Taylor Cho, 9 p.m.

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

Old Ironsides Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub DJs Rigatony, Alazzawi, 10:30 p.m.

Press Club FFFreak w/ DJs Crook, Hailey, Dogtones, 9:30 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Patton Leatha, 7 p.m.

Shine Jazz Jam, 8 p.m.

Studio 21 Havenside, Ashylus, Projections, Mountain Mover, A Veil Apart, First Class Act, 6 p.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Tessie Sell, 5:30 p.m.; Island of Black and White, 9 p.m.

Townhouse Grimey w/ Djunya, Miss Haze, Chompa, DJ Whores, Crescendo, Jay Two, 9 p.m.

3.28 Wednesday

Torch Club Acoustic Open Mic, 5:30 p.m.; Con Brio, 9 p.m.

UC Davis: Jackson Hall SFJAZZ Collective (The Music of Stevie Wonder), 8 p.m.

Uncle Vitos (Davis) Boom Bip w/ The Flower Vato, 10 p.m.

3.29 thursday

Ace of Spades The Saw Doctors, The Nickel Slots, 7 p.m.

Armadillo Music Acoustic In-Store w/ The Loom, 5:30 p.m.

The Blue Lamp Craic Haus, Riot Radio, Dead Horses, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk Our Endless Obsession, Cyborg Octopus, A Plague Upon Her, Become the Oracle, Slaves of Manhattan, 6:30 p.m.

Club Car The Double Shots, 7:30 p.m.

Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Club Retro I2W, Lildee Six, Yung Emiliano, Cam, 7 p.m.

District 30 Wet Spring Break Party w/ DJs Billy Lane, Benji Lugo, 9 p.m.

Harlow’s Massive Delicious, Tha Dirt Feeling, The Adam Roth Project, 7 p.m.

Javalounge Mercury Falls, Know Hassell Project, Quiet Smile, 8 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Luigi’s Fungarden Mr. Gnome, Playboy School, Survival Guide, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s Tyrone Wells, Joe Brooks, 7 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Dallas Horse Thieves, Moonshine Mules, The Foxtails, 8:30 p.m.

The Coffee Garden Open Mic Night, 8 p.m.

District 30 Hack the Planet. exe Tour w/ Dwntwn, Skeet Skeet, Rony, DJ Whores, Sam I Jam, Adam J, 9 p.m.

Dive Bar Dueling Pianos, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Hans & the Hot Mess, Adams & Eves, Amy Bleu, 8 p.m.

Harlow’s Goapele, 10 p.m.

Javalounge John DeNecochea, Jenn Rogar & Mike Farrell, Olla, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s Rock On Live Band Karaoke, 9:30 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Left of Centre, 9:30 p.m.

Press Club The Strange Party, Southpaw, No Beatings From Holly, 8:30 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Patton Leatha, 7 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Radiation City, The Loom, Hosannas, 9 p.m.

Sunrise Event Center Dance or Die Tour w/ Robbie Rivera, Bassjackers, Peacetreaty, 9 p.m.

Torch Club X Trio, 5 p.m.; Beso Negro, 9 p.m.

3.30 Friday

A Magical Place Paradoxx, 8 p.m.

Ace of Spades Purification

By Fire, Internal Decapitation, The Human Contortion, Fall of Man, Dire Peril, 6:30 p.m.

Beatnik Studios The Gins, 9 p.m.

The Blue Lamp The Stripminers, The Secretions, Brian Hanover, Autumn Sky, 8:30 p.m.

The Boardwalk Art of Chaos, Kryptic Memories, Animism, Sour Diesel, Force Multiplied, Vegas Divided, 7 p.m.

Capitol Garage Get Down to the Champion Sound w/ DJ Esef and special guests, 10 p.m.

Center of Praise Cathedral J Moss, Elaine Moonie, J’on Harris & Voices, K Ross, 7 p.m.

District 30 Project T, 9 p.m.

The Elmira Cabin Give Em Hell’s Last Show w/ City Of Vain, Horseneck, Hollow From Within, 8:30 p.m.

Fox & Goose The Storytellers, Street Urchinz, 9 p.m.

G Street WunderBar DJ Smilez, 9:30 p.m.

Golden Bear DJ Crook, 10 p.m.

Harlow’s Tom Rigney, Flambeau, 7 p.m.

Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Superlicious, 8:30 p.m.

Mix DJ Billy Lane, 9 p.m.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Javalounge The New Aira, Sunny B, 8 p.m.

Luigi’s Fungarden Tel Cairo, Sleep Rockers, Boss Magic, 9 p.m.

Luigi’s (Davis) Waxy Tombs, Beast Nest, SexOrCysts, Arjun Uncle, Gorgeous Sultan, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s Dan Bern, 7 p.m.; Mr. P Chill and the Trunk of Funk, 9:30 p.m.

Mix DJ Elliot Estes, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Crunk Witch, Ill Imperial, Aurora, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Whiskey & Stitches, Bleedin’ Hearts, Street Lamp Junkie, Fortune Few, 9 p.m.

Plea for Peace Center The Browning, From Atlantis, Design the Skyline, 7 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Foreverland, 10 p.m.

Press Club DJ Rue, 9 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Tom Drinnon, 5 p.m.; Chris Gardner Band, 10 p.m.

Rominger West Winery Autumn Sky, 5:30 p.m.

Shenanigans White Minorities (Video Release Show), Tallboy, A Single Second, MAXXX, 8 p.m.

Shine Skip Heller, Dr. Velocity, Noah Nelson, 8 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen John Vanderslice, Appetite, 9 p.m.

Sunrise Event Center Tyga, 7:30 p.m.

Auburn Placer Performing Arts Center J Ross Parrelli, Giorgi Khokhobashvili, DJ Lex Level, 8 p.m.

The Blue Lamp Derek Dunn of the 357 String Band, Stars & Garters, Viva Le Vox, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk One-Eyed King, California Child, The Fourth Horseman, The Hunter and the Wolf, 7 p.m.

Bows and Arrows Ricky Berger, Naked Fiction, 8 p.m.

Center for the Arts Renée Wilson (sings Lena Horne), Marcus Shelby, 8 p.m.

Club Retro Klub Kaoss, 7 p.m.

The Cozmic Cafe Drawing Out Life, Keeping Score, Lust You Cant Afford, 7:30 p.m.

Fox & Goose The Fortunate Few, Dry County Drinkers, Vintage Vandals, 9 p.m.

G Street WunderBar DJ Julius Pleaser, 9:30 p.m.

Harlow’s Melissa Corona’s Soul Experience, 6 p.m.; Hip Service, 10 p.m.

Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Blue Oyster Cult, 7:30 p.m.

Javalounge Garage Jazz Architects, Tao Jiriki, Mike Tyson, 4 p.m.; Get Shot!, The Moans, Drive-In Ghouls, 8 p.m.

Luigi’s Fungarden I’m Dirty Too, Style Like Revelators, Gnarboots, 8 p.m.

Luigi’s (Davis) West Nile, 8:30 p.m.

Torch Club Pailer & Fratis, 5:30 p.m.; Solsa, 9 p.m.

Marilyn’s The Ricky and Del Connection, The Crash Thymbals, 9:30 p.m.

Vega’s Spiritual Octane, Judhead, 8 p.m.

Mix DJ Mike Moss, 8:30 p.m.

ZuhG Life Store Graham Vinson, 5:30 p.m

3.31 Saturday

16th & I 3rd Annual Serge Gainsbourg Birthday Party w/ The Slippery Slope, Harley White Jr. Trio feat.

Peter Petty, Afternoon Teacup Collection, Bedroom Kids, Love Is Over, DJs Christophe, Roger Carpio, 8 p.m.

Ace of Spades Alacer, The Sun Sets Here, Thea Skotia, Before You Fall, I The Captain, The Kennedy Vale, From Aurora, Dead By Nightfall, 4 p.m.

The Artisan Early States, Autumn Sky, Hero’s Last Mission, The Bell Boys, James Cavern, 5 p.m.

SubmergeMag.com

Shine Those Meddling Kids, Audiopteryx, The Hungry, 8 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Miss Lonely Hearts, J.P. Harris & The Tough Choices, McDougall, 9 p.m.

Southside Park La Noche Oskura, Ayatollah, Mentes Diferentes, DJ Adrian Hernandez, 10 a.m.

Swabbies on the River Rogue, 7 p.m.

Torch Club Johnny Guitar Knox, 5 p.m.; Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, 9 p.m.

4.01 Sunday

Ace of Spades Eligh & Amp Live, Ill Effect, 2ME, 6:30 p.m.

Capitol Garage Karaoke w/ Jeff Jenkins, 9 p.m.

Crest Theatre Colcannon, 2 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Dive Bar The Old Screen Door, 9 p.m.

Javalounge Doofy Doo, Nicole Kidman, Casey Chisholm, 8 p.m.

Luigi’s Fungarden McDougal, Not An Airplane, 8 p.m.

Pistol Pete’s Brew & Cue Emcee Olympics Round 3, 9 p.m.

Press Club Sunday Night Soul Party w/ DJ Larry & DJ Hailey, 9 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Dave Russell, 7 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Out of Place, Donner, 8:30 p.m.

Sol Collective Sole, Ceschi, Bleubird, Fake Four, Nick Bianco, Max Bundles, Mr. P-Chill, DJ Mike Colossal, 8 p.m.

Old Ironsides Mind-X Quartet, Crazy Harris Band, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Aaron King & Friends, 4 p.m.; Johnny Guitar Knox, 8 p.m.

The Park Ultra Lounge DJ Peeti V, 8:30 p.m.

UC Davis: Studio Theatre Young Artists Competition Winners Concert feat. Lara Downes, 2 p.m.

Plea for Peace Center Beneath The Embers, Blackwoods, Narf-16, Bypassing Oblivion, 6 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Nickel Slots, Island of Black and White, 10 p.m.

Press Club A Celtic Jamboree w/ Arbroath, Friends of Fenian, 4 p.m.; DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Tom Drinnon, 5 p.m.; Chris Gardner Band, 10 p.m.

Sacramento Community Center Theater Sacramento Philharmonic, 8 p.m.

4.02 Monday

The Boxing Donkey Open Mic Variety Night, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Open Mic Night, 7:30 p.m.

Luigi’s Fungarden Joyce Manor, Bastards of Young, Great Apes, Pageant, 7 p.m. continued on page 20

>>

62

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Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

19

Luna’s Cafe Nebraska Mondays hosted by Ross Hammond, 7:30 p.m.

Uncle Vitos (Davis) Boom Bip w/ The Flower Vato, 10 p.m.

Fox & Goose The Bennys, James Cavern, Bob Duke-I, 9 p.m.

On The Y Minenwerfer, At Dusk, Chaos in Mind, Facinorous, 8 p.m.

University Union Serna Plaza, CSUS Nooner w/ Element of Soul, 12 p.m.

Golden Bear DJ Crook, 10 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Atomika, 7 p.m.

4.03

Thursday

Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Club Retro Zack Grey (Early States), Brett Miller (Love Is), Jacob David, Mercedes Ave., Danny Storll & Casey Crick, Taylor Fine, Kyle McChargue & Lance Mishleau, 6:30 p.m.

Marilyn’s Bob Woods, 5:30 p.m.

The Coffee Garden Open Mic Night, 8 p.m.

Tuesday

Bows and Arrows Brainstorm, Twin Steps, Buff Clout, 8 p.m.

Old Ironsides Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub DJs Rigatony, Alazzawi, 10:30 p.m.

Press Club FFFreak w/ DJs Crook, Hailey, Dogtones, 9:30 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Atomika, 7 p.m.

Shine Jazz Jam, 8 p.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

District 30 EC Twins, 9 p.m.

Dive Bar Dueling Pianos, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Moonshine Mule, Whitewalls, 8 p.m.

Harlow’s fIREHOSE, Victims Family, Tera Melos, 9 p.m.

Javalounge Ardella’s Crown, Erin & the Project, Mason Rex, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s Rock On Live Band Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Hans Eberbach, 5:30 p.m.; Dippin Sauce, 9 p.m.

Old Ironsides Chikading!, Jon Bafus Genetic Makeup, Know Hassell Project, DJ Mike Rodriquez, 8 p.m.

Tropicana Gemini, Koan Sound, Helicopter Showdown, G.A.M.M.A., Atom O.N.E., 8 p.m.

The Park Ultra Lounge Timewarp w/ DJ Eddie Edul, 8 p.m.

4.04 wednesday

Club Car The Double Shots, 7:30 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Lovelorn, 8 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Luigi’s (Davis) Yogoman Burning Band, Justin Beard, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s Gorgeous George, Darkline, Stoneberry, 9 p.m.

Momo Lounge Life w/ DJ Epik, 9 p.m.

Old Ironsides Open Mic, 8:30 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub The Three Way, Relic 45, The Monomyth Inception, 9 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Atomika, 7 p.m.

Torch Club Acoustic Open Mic, 5:30 p.m.; Howell Devine, 9 p.m.

20

4.05

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

Powerhouse Pub Amanda Gray, 9:30 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Atomika, 7 p.m.

Torch Club X Trio, 5 p.m.; Sioux City Kid, 9 p.m.

4.06 FRIDAY

Ace of Spades Ozomatli, Cumbia Tokeson, 7 p.m.

The Blue Lamp Times of Desperation, Wah Wah Exit Wound, 8:30 p.m.

The Boardwalk Jack Russell’s Great White, Wings of Innocence, Sucker Punch, Bad Boy Eddy, Deadlands, 7 p.m.

Capitol Garage Get Down to the Champion Sound w/ DJ Esef and special guests, 10 p.m.

Center for the Arts Jackie Greene, 8 p.m The Elmira Cabin A|D [Analytical Divinity], The Strangelights, Our Vinyl Vows, Kai Straw, 9 p.m.

Harlow’s Jeanette Haris, 7 p.m.; Reminisce, 10 p.m.

Javalounge Boats!, Blue Skies For Black Hearts, Bright Faces, 8 p.m.

Luigi’s Fungarden K.Flay, Olla, Century, Wrings, 8:30 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe The Black Hats, Luz Gaxiola, Julie the Bruce, 8:30 p.m.

Marilyn’s Nyteshift, 9 p.m.

On The Y Killgasm, Nunfuck, Chronaexus, Azathoth, Fiends of Feast, Embodied Torment, 8 p.m.

Harlow’s Mazzy Star, 7:30 p.m. (Sold Out) Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Ozomatli, 7:30 p.m.

Javalounge Crow Canyon, 4 p.m.; Broken Promises, Walking Dead, Sans Sobriety, Support the Rabid, 8 p.m.

Luigi’s Fungarden The Wooden Sky, These United States, 8:30 p.m.

Luigi’s (Davis) The Blank Tapes, This Frontier Needs Heroes, Fine Steps, 8:30 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Hardboiled Wonderland, Tyson Graf, Liz Ryder, 7 p.m.

Marilyn’s Alma Desnuda, E Squared, 9 p.m.

The Park Ultra Lounge DJ Peeti V, 8:30 p.m.

Pistol Pete’s Brew & Cue GerAnimO, Stillwood Sages, Irrelevant, 8:30 p.m.

Plea for Peace Center Keyser Soze, Braata, 7 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub WonderBread 5, 10 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Joel the Band, 10 p.m.

Press Club DJ Rue, 9 p.m.

Press Club DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Tyler Brothers, 5:30 p.m.; Mother Mayhem, 10 p.m.

Shine Is It Is, Sioux City, 7:30 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen The Wooden Sky, Passenger & Pilot, Franz Nicolay, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Pailer & Fratis, 5:30 p.m.; Cole Fonseca, 9 p.m.

Townhouse Reggie Ginn, Der Spazm, City Tribe, 8:30 p.m.

4.07 Saturday

Ace of Spades Beta State, Stand Out State, First Class Act, Todd Morgan & The Emblems, The Rooftop Underground, The Downbeat Crowd, 6:30 p.m.

The Blue Lamp The Jacks (AC/DC tribute), BlackEyed Dempseys, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk Rhino Bucket, Jaxx, End of Days, The Andromeda Project, 7 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Joe, 8 p.m.

Center for the Arts The Ted Nash Quartet (CD Release), Reflections, 8 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Tyler Brothers, 5:30 p.m.; Mother Mayhem, 10 p.m.

Shine The Sudden Lovelys, 8 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Sioux City Kid, Mahgeetah, 9 p.m.

Sunrise Event Center We Are One w/ John Beaver, Soul Puncherz, Chris Love, Sonny Daze, Russ Mack, Tim Manas, Sausee, Bob-O, Nick Ferri, Jynx, Cresendo, Eighty Five Percent, Scotty Trees, Midnight Rider, Wonderbread, Dyluxe, G.A.M.M.A., Atom O.N.E., Frank Nitty, SubLock, Solus, The Ochoa Brothers, David Law, BaseHead, Clover Beats, System Shutdown, Bastien, Dubwubbington, Audio Climaxx, Forest Green, Simon Apex, DeeDub, Frank Beats, Mike Diamond, My Cousin Vinny, Starry Nightz, JayDee, Jazz Hands, DJ Saphyre, Ckay, Nit3Vision, Reign, Joe Acuna, 5:30 p.m.

Torch Club Johnny Guitar Knox, 5 p.m.; Jenny Lynne and Her Real Gone Daddies, KB & the Slingtones, 9 p.m.

ZuhG Life Store Youth Music Talent Show, 1 p.m.

Club Retro K-Ottic, DJ Dylan, Tony Costa, Lazie Locz, 7 p.m.

Fox & Goose Kevin Seconds, Kepi Ghoulie, 9 p.m.

Geery Theater Hero’s Last Mission, Autumn Sky, Jeremiah Jacobs, 6:45 p.m.

continued on page 22

>>

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No 6 MoNth BS • Good for 1 Year | Walk-iNS WelcoMe all daY everYdaY Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

21

4.08 Sunday

Ace of Spades Paper Diamond, Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Capitol Garage Karaoke w/ Jeff Jenkins, 9 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Harlow’s Over the Rhine, 7 p.m.

Press Club Sunday Night Soul Party w/ DJ Larry & DJ Hailey, 9 p.m.

Po’Boyz Bar & Grill (Folsom) Comedy Open Mic, every Monday, 9 p.m.

Punchline Comedy Club Mike E. Winfield and more, Mar. 28, 8 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino California Cowboys, 7 p.m.

Torch Club Blues Jam, 4 p.m.; Coffis Brothers, 8 p.m.

Sacramento Comedy Showcase, Apr. 4, 8 p.m.

Monday

Ace of Spades Awolnation, Moostache, King Clifton, 6:30 p.m.

The Boxing Donkey Open Mic Variety Night, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Open Mic Night, 7:30 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Nebraska Mondays hosted by Ross Hammond, 7:30 p.m.

Plea for Peace Center Like Lepers, 7 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Press Club Yankee Brutal, Tuck and Roll, Reverend Loose Morals, Incrusted Dust, 8 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Fastlane, 7 p.m.

Comedy A Magical Place Comedy Hypnotist Don Barnhart, Mar. 30, 8 p.m.

Community Center Theater Ray Romano, Kevin James, Mar. 22, 8 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Flips and Beaners w/ Rodger Lizaola and more, Mar. 29, 8 p.m.

Manny Maldonado, Jimmy Earl, Mar. 30 - Apr. 1, Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.

Comedy Open Mic Showcase, Apr. 3, 8 p.m.

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

Naked Lounge Downtown World’s Worst Doctors Comedy Improv, Mar. 29, 8:30 p.m.

Shayla Rivera, Mar. 29 - Apr. 1, Thurs., 8 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.

4.09

22

Luna’s Cafe Keith Lowell Jensen’s Comedy Night, every Wednesday, 8 p.m.

Josh Blue, Apr. 5 - 7, Thurs., 8 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.

Red Lion Hotel’s Martinique Ballroom Daunte Burks’ Funny Friday Comedy Show, Apr. 6th, 8 p.m.

Sacramento Comedy Sportz Mayhem Improv Comedy, every Thursday, 9 p.m.

ComedySportz, every Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m.

Sacramento Comedy Spot Worlds Worst Doctors Comedy Improv, Mar. 30 & Apr. 6, 8 p.m.

Neil Hamburger, Mar. 30, 9 p.m.

Open Mic Scramble, Apr. 1 & 8, 7 p.m.

Top 10 List Podcast Live!, Apr. 3, 9 p.m.

Under The Bus Comedy Show, Apr. 6, 9 p.m.

The Stoney Inn Comedy Open Mic, every Monday, 8 p.m.

Tommy T’s Johnny Sanchez, Mar. 29 - Apr. 1, Thurs., 7:30 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.

Bill Bellamy, Apr. 5 - 7, Thurs., 7:30 p.m.; Fri., 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.; Sat., 7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.

Misc.

Axis Gallery Stretch: New work by Joni Tanis, Karen Bearson, through Apr. 1

Don Barnhart’s Comedy Hypnosis Show, Apr. 5 - 8,

Beatnik Studios Tower and the Broadway Icons, opening Mar. 30, 6 p.m.

Thurs., 8 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.

Blue Cue Trivia Night, every Wednesday, 8 p.m.

Bows & Arrows Art Opening: Fantastic Notion feat. new work by Troy Mighty & Justin Lovato, Apr. 6, 5 p.m.

The Boxing Donkey Trivia Night, every Tuesday, 8 p.m.

Community Center Theatre The Sacramento Speakers Series w/ Lisa Ling, Apr. 3, 8 p.m.

Fe Gallery John Stuart Berger’s 50 Show w/ Skinner, Robert Bowen, Matt136, Kim Scott, Carrie Cottini, Allen Carrier, Mark Fox and more, through Mar. 31 Fox & Goose Pub Quiz, every Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Gold County Fairgrounds The Tattoo Circus, Mar. 30 - Apr. 1 Golden Bear Random Knowledge Trivia Night, every Wednesday, 8 p.m.

The Guild Theatre The Jazz & Poetry Relaxed Night Out Event, Mar. 31, 7 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Poetry Unplugged, every Thursday, 8 p.m.

MAIYA Gallery March of the Robot feat. new works from C!nder, Marisa Goldberg, Dwight Head, Mark Lifvendahl’s, Mark Harm Niemeyer, through Mar. 31 North SacramentoHagginwood Library For the Spell of It: A Spelling Bee for Adults, Apr. 6, 7 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Sac Pong Circuit, every Monday, 8 p.m.

Northern California Beard and Moustache Competition, Mar. 31, 6 p.m.

Shine Poetry with Legs w/ Allegra Silberstein, Patricia Hickerson, Mar. 28, 7:30 p.m.

Sol Collective Art Exhibit: Sol 7 w/ Shaun Burner, Jose Di Gregorio, Dana Iske, Trent Liddicoat, Carson McWhirter, Miguel Bounce Perez, Trisha Rhomberg, through April 14 Three Stages Performing Arts Center Sacramento Ballet’s Modern Masters, Mar. 29 - 31 University Union Redwood Room, CSUS MTV’s The Buried Life, Apr. 5, 7:30 p.m.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

on the road

G. Green

sacto takes sxsw words Andrew Henderson o this is a tour diary about G. Green’s foray to SxSW and back. We were in a car for a long time and most of us got pretty sick toward the end. It was hella fun, tho.

SubmergeMag.com

>>

>>

7. PLAY FROM YOUR FUCKING HEART: This is G. Green performing our last show for SxSW at Trailer Space, a really rad record store off the beaten path. We were pretty sick of seeing/hearing garage rock clones all week long, so it was AMAZING to see bands like The Unholy Two and Terrible Twos, who both played before us.

3. Sacto at SxSW: We and Ganglians stayed with our friends Matt and Adam, who are originally from Sacramento. This is the crew walking home from a bar the first night we got in. We were all pretty excited for the week to come.

5. Organic Band: We ate at Whole Foods a lot while we were in Austin because it was off the main drag of downtown—away from the hordes of drunken idiots, and the patio there was a nice place to chill in-between shows

8. Barton Springs, last day in Austin: We had the Sunday after SxSW to chill, so we went to Barton Springs and our friend Camilla took this picture of us looking very pro.

>>

4. BOOGS: Jack Begley (aka BOOGS) is a great friend of ours that we met in Omaha, Neb., last year. He came to all of our shows the first three days we were there. It was cool to have some support/merch person. Shouts out to Omaha!

>>

2. Don’t speed in Texas: We got pulled over two times during the drive from Flagstaff to Austin, Texas. Simi tried to ask the cop if we could go 75 instead of 70. Luckily, Simi is extremely charming and the cop just gave us a written warning.

>>

>>

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1. The Beginning: We played Whittier, Calif., as our first date on tour. We stopped at this weird alien tourist trap on the way to our second show in Flagstaff, Ariz.

>>

S

6. MOM: Hailey is a dear friend of ours and it was great to hang out and see her perform in Austin.

>> 9. The Return Trip: I don’t have any pictures on my phone from the last four days of tour because I was sick and miserable most of the time. But there was a lot of hospitality coming from the following: Sean in El Paso, Texas; Chase in Phoenix; Dylan, Brittney and Craig in San Diego; and Max in Oakland. This is a picture of Dylan pretending to smoke a joint while Brittney looks at her phone and Alex from the Ganglians and Crystal, their driver and Sacto pal, try to sleep.

I

t was a great time, a little overwhelming at times, and I did get sick. I recommend doing it at least once.

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

Want more G. Green? Check them out at Ggreenband. tumblr.com

23

live<< rewind

Tight Squeeze

Milagres

Milagres; 1,2,3; Unicycle Loves You

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen, Davis • Friday, March 23, 2012 Words Amy Serna • Photo Rik Keller Being 5 feet tall can have its advantages. First off it’s easy to become a champion of hide and seek, no cabinet or closet is too small to curl up in. And the chances of running into a bookshelf or tree branch are at an all-time low, because it’s easy to walk right underneath them without noticing. But the worst time to be vertically challenged is trying to see at a concert, especially if the stage is the same level as the floor.

The stage at Sophia’s Thai Kitchen in Davis isn’t actually a stage at all; it consists of a small wooden porch where all of the band members are cooped up in the corner, which provides a low level of good viewing but a high level of intimacy. As my friend Lucy said, the band members have “no room to bust a move.” But the three bands that opened up the “2012 Music Season Premiere” for the tiny venue didn’t need space to show off new moves but showed off their musical talents instead.

The opening band (starting oddly on time for a rock show) was Chicago’s garage-pop trio, Unicycle Loves You, who were all about making a bold statement. The drummer of the group rocked out while wearing bright red shorts that seemed at least two sizes too small for him.

But he might have been the only person who could pull off wearing short shorts during a chilly March night. Their live music could make anyone want to jump up and dance around in circles. Before playing their last song, the lead singer boldly said, “Davis is better than Los Angeles and San Francisco put together.”

During setup for the next band, 1, 2, 3, the crowd seemed to multiply in minutes, making everyone squeeze in a little tighter. The lead singer got ready for the show by wearing a straw hat with a loose rope chinstrap. He later admitted that it was bought in San Francisco

24

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

because he “thought it was appropriate” for the night. Their two guitars, drums and bass brought a fun but peaceful vibe into the air that even made some viewers on the sidewalk start to dance. For the last song of their set the drummer decided to play standing up, which led to a long instrumental jam session between all four band members. Originally from Pittsburgh, Penn., the band made their trip to Davis seem unique and not just another stop on their tour.

Somehow by the time the headliners, Milagres, took the stage the number of people in front of me multiplied again, making it an even tighter squeeze and keeping the prime viewing spaces at a minimum. Although it was difficult to see any of the band members, the sounds could make any music lover nod their heads and tap their feet in appreciation to their songs. Hailing from Brooklyn, N.Y., Milagres’ melodic but powerful music shook the wood panels of the porch. Shows at Sophia’s Thai Kitchen are usually a mixture of people who are trying to drink while holding loud conversations and people who are really into the music. But while the headliners were playing, most people were tuned in to the music. Milagres' set ended with an encore that was demanded by the audience, making it all of the possible songs they could play in one night.

Although the view of the band was minimal, watching the reaction from the audience was almost better. I caught a girl with her eyes closed swaying side to side, a guy fist pumping, people yelling song requests and lots of head nods. It didn’t matter if someone was sitting front row with a perfect view or in the back sitting on a bar stool, everyone could hear and feel the music that night.

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The Kids Aren’t All Right The Hunger Games PG-13

Words Mandy Johnston The Hunger Games, the adaptation of the first book in the wildly successful trilogy by Suzanne Collins, centers on Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a tough, bow-hunting coal miner’s daughter in a not-so-distant futuristic dystopian society wherein the country is now known as Panem and has been divvied up into 12 districts, ruled by a president at the Capitol. Each year, to remind residents of the implications of an attempted uprising against the government years ago, each district must submit one young male and female as “tributes” to the Hunger Games, where they will fight to the death until only one remains.

I can’t recall a movie that had me so emotionally invested within the first 10 minutes. Lawrence skillfully conveys the strength, courage and heart of a 16-year-old chosen to kill or be killed for the elites’ entertainment and a false promise of honor. Elements of Ree, the character she embodied in 2010’s Winter’s Bone, show themselves here and there, but lend such depth and emotion as a steadfast character with a commitment to her fellow tributes—at least, the ones who aren’t out to kill her first.

Early into the games, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) explains to Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley), in only the way a benevolent tyrant can, why the games must have a “winner.” Otherwise, he poses, why wouldn’t they just round up 24 kids and execute them every year to remind the poor fuckers not to attempt an uprising again? “Hope,” he says.

Everybody needs hope. Fear is dangerous, he offers; but too much hope is much more so.

There is realism to this futuristic movie that makes the balancing between fear and hope almost palpable. Settings are downright recognizable—unnervingly so in the live studio audience fawning over Caesar Flickerman’s (Stanley Tucci) Seacrestian hosting of the games from his comfortable seat.

Everdeen and her male counterpart Peeta Mellark’s (Josh Hutcherson) support team at the Capitol, including former SubmergeMag.com

11am - 3pm

District 12 winner and their drunk mentor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), wildly fashionable PR pro Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) and Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), their stylist who quickly becomes Everdeen’s number-one supporter, all too reveal moments of hope for Everdeen’s triumph while fearing the implications that might bring.

Would this be a YA novel adaptation without a little romance? It is what the audience wants, right? But there is no superfluous or cheesy romance here. A romance cultivated and created for survival has none of those groan-inducing elements. There is but a smidgen of drama between Everdeen, Mellark and Everdeen’s guy pal back home Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) to add depth to an already heavy story, but this is not the doomed young-love triangle the Lionsgate media juggernaut is parading all over town.

Come to think of it, there is nothing cheesy about this movie. From the costumes to the scenery, the music to the dialogue, the movie itself is good, save for a few blips in the storyline. But at the end, as I sat wondering just how many in our packed theater read the books prior to seeing the movie, I had to ask myself: how many of us knew what we were in for and flocked to the theaters anyway? In the highly charged scene where all 24 “tributes” are standing on their pedestals, waiting through the unbelievably tenuous countdown from 50 until the “Games” are on, the realization comes: holy fucking shit I’m about to watch kids fight to the death. And you do. In all its blurry, gritty, heinous glory, masses across the country are treated to brief, visceral scenes of preteens murdered at the hands of bigger, stronger, trained teenage killers from the wealthier districts whose wards never lose. Whether you read the books or not, you knew it was coming, from the second Everdeen volunteered 10 minutes into the movie. Did anyone else have a growing sickening pit in their stomach like me, or have we just become desensitized to the thoughts and images of 10-year-olds shot through the heart with sharpened spears?

My hope is that more than a few moviegoers will question just how close to home this spectator sport parable is playing out while we jockey for seats and oversized popcorn at our local Cineplex. My fear is for this culture that will pack into theaters and shatter box office records previously set by pirates and vampires to watch a movie that is, in essence, kids killing each other.

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3/28 fri

3/30 sat

3/31 sun

4/1 mon

4/2

fri

4/6 sat

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mr . gnome survival guide playboy school tel cairo sleeprockers boss magic gnarboots i ’ m dirty too style like revelators mcdougal not an airplane + more joyce manor bastards of young great apes pageant k . flay olla century wrings (formerly early states) the wooden sky these united states

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solander (sweden ) mly oh foot

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waxy tombs beast nest sexorcysts arjununcle gorgeous sultan

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justin beard yogoman burning band + more

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Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

25

Standard-bearer

Sacramento Restaurant Receives National Recognition

The Kitchen Restaurant • 2225 Hurley Way, Sacramento Words Adam Saake • Photos Nicholas Wray

T

wenty-five years ago, the James Beard Foundation began honoring those in the food and beverage world who were working at a level of excellence. Beard was a highly regarded chef, author and personality whose career spanned over five decades. His passion for cuisine of all different cultures and styles is the spirit and backbone of the foundation’s scholarship program and awards process. Called the “Oscars of the food world” by Time Magazine, The James Beard Foundation Awards recognize cookbook writers and food journalists, TV personalities and photographers, chefs and restaurateurs. Some of the awards celebrate the new and most recent; but other more prestigious awards, like the Outstanding Restaurant Award, require years of consistent quality and service before even being considered. The James Beard website describes the Outstanding Restaurant award as, “A restaurant in the United States that serves as a national standard-bearer for consistent quality and excellence in food, atmosphere and service. Candidates must have been in operation for at least 10 or more consecutive years.” So when Sacramento’s own The Kitchen Restaurant was nominated as one of 20 of the nation’s most outstanding restaurants, the news brought surprise and shock to the Selland Family Restaurant Group.

“We were blown away by the whole thing,” says The Kitchen owner and Executive Chef Randall Selland. “If you look at the list of restaurants, it’s just phenomenal.”

The nomination alone is sort of like an award itself, considering the weight that a JBF Award carries. It came unsolicited as well, which

26

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

means that JBF found them through the hundreds of restaurants all across the nation to be considered.

“We didn’t lobby for it, we didn’t know. It was more of a surprise to us than anything else,” says Selland. “It’s not the award part of it, it’s the recognition. I’m excited to no end that we got this nomination.”

But it really is no surprise that The Kitchen be considered for this prestigious award. The kind of experience offered to guests during the one-seat-per-night dinners is truly of the highest caliber and is sought out and enjoyed by diners searching for the best. It is a spectacle; a show with a cast of characters who throughout the night take the stage to present their course like a ringmaster describing the perils of the lion tamer and trapeze artists. Watch as it all happens right before your eyes! The ringmaster is most certainly Chef de Cuisine, Noah Zonca. Zonca is a showman, a personality and most importantly a talent. When he talks to the crowd, he holds them in his hand, and when he personally addresses you, you feel important in the moment.

He prepares visually dazzling courses right before your eyes, often bringing members of the crowd up to hold the pan as it flames up into the hood. He laces the night with humor, making guests feel warm and comfortable at the same time he commands his young staff, ensuring that each course is properly executed.

At the beginning of each dinner, doors open at 6:30 p.m. as a brand new group of elated guests spill into the main dining area.

They’re immediately greeted by the impeccable Kitchen manager Eric Philbin, jackets carefully removed, purse hooks pointed out and Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

seats shown. From the second they arrive, they’re pampered in a true professional fashion. The busy dining room fills with chatter, quiet laughter and the encouraged nosiness. One of the chefs stands main stage, preparing a sushi roll filled with yellow tail. “Come on up if you like,” he says to a group of bystanders. They step up into the kitchen and approach as he begins explaining the ingredients, their provenance and flavors. This is a show, but it's transparent with no curtains. What you see is where it all happens and that is why The Kitchen has become a premier dining experience in not only Sacramento but in the country. It’s all about making the guest feel comfortable, giving them what they’ll enjoy and showing them a good time. And they do it well. Don’t like the first course? They’ll make you something else. Feeling like dessert first? Coming right up.

The main attraction is the food, of course, and Selland, Chef Nancy Zimmer and Zonca construct plates and flavors that are inspiring to look at and enjoy. With the colors and combinations of ingredients, conjuring styles of French technique woven with Thai and Japanese influences, their New American cuisine is the finest of dining in the most accessible way. This is how Selland prefers his plates to be.

“I get people to come in, and they feel a bit uncomfortable because they read the menu and they’re more meat and potatoes.

Then they find out we’ll give them whatever they want and also, the menu reads a certain way but then when they get the food, the food’s always approachable,” says Selland.

The opening dish for their March menu, called Act II, which SubmergeMag.com

followed Zonca’s in-depth description of what guests would be enjoying and how it would be prepared, was a show stopper right from the get-go. A Maine lobster “black” carbonara with crispy lardo, tarragon and a luscious quenelle of Parmesan—a dish whose mere remembrance of makes my mouth salivate. Each course that followed had some peppering of distant cuisines, something that Selland and Zimmer pride themselves on from their past travels to countries like Mexico and Turkey where they found big inspiration in small corners.

“We get more inspiration from the taco cart or the hero sandwich in Turkey, or the little mom and pop place somewhere,” says Selland.

Act III, the second plate, certainly tasted of Thailand with a soup of lacquered pork belly, coconut milk, Kaffir lime, chilled vegetables, chilies and coriander. It reminded me of a light, more citrus-y curry broth with the coconut milk and Kaffir lime really shining through and playing nicely off the fatty pork belly. What followed was Intermission, hardly cookies and coffee, but an elaborate array of sashimi, sushi rolls, freshly ground wasabi root and other light appetizers. Guests meandered around the restaurant, snacking with their wooden chop sticks and poking their heads around the wine cellar and back of the kitchen.

Selland describes the early years of The Kitchen: the restaurant was based off of a concept and it was his and his wife’s side gig. He put every bit of free time into it, cooking at The Kitchen on his only day off during the week. continued on page 28

HOT ITALIAN MIDTOWN

|

.NET

Noah Zonca, Chef de Cuisine

PUBLIC MARKET

>> Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

27

“When we started The Kitchen, it was a once a month deal, basically trying to drag people off the street, beg friends to go,” says Selland candidly.

It slowly started to come to fruition and what started out as once month turned into once a week, then three times a week. The beginnings were simple; $35 a head and guests would bring their own wine. The original concept was a lot like how it is today, minus the price tag, which has gone up considerably over the years.

“The same thing we do now; it’s social interaction. You get to interact with the people cooking your food,” says Selland.

What is most endearing about The Kitchen is its uncompromising commitment to excellent service. Selland and Zimmer wanted to service the guests and make food for them that they would enjoy and walk away feeling good about. Not scratching their heads wondering what exactly they just ate or feeling like the reason they didn’t like their meal was because there was something wrong with them.

“We don’t care that you didn’t like it. I’ve been to restaurants where I’ve had the waiter say, ‘Well I’m sorry sir, but that’s how the chef cooks it.’ I don’t care about that,” says Selland with passion in his voice. “Here if I cook it perfect for someone and they don’t

nicholaswray photography & studio

like it, my question to them is not, it’s supposed to be like this, it’s a matter of what did you not like about it and let me prepare something different for you that hopefully you will like.”As the last course approached—a grilled natural veal, perfectly pink that Zonca sliced himself—two, four, six cooks appeared one by one behind the line, mixing and changing places with plates and duties, Zonca calling out assignments of where to be, what time and dietary restraints.

Each cook was listening, interpreting, reacting to each instruction.

It’s a rare opportunity to see all the working parts of a kitchen all happening at once to bring you the plate that will sit before you. The drama that unfolds on a nightly basis at The Kitchen, a Sacramento destination restaurant that sits quietly behind an ivy-covered retaining wall, hidden, is what landed them a JBF Awards nomination.

The finalists were narrowed down from 20 to five this past Monday, March 19 and The Kitchen did not make the cut. But there should be little disappointment, because the JBF nomination has only sparked more excitement for fans of The Kitchen and will certainly generate more excitement for those yet to experience an evening with Zonca and crew.

Let us take you home tonight.

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Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

444-2222 Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

R U O Y AD E 3 R 0 8 E 3 1 H 4 4 ) 6 1 (9

m o c . g a m e g r e m b u s @ o f in Affordable.

Effective.

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

29

the shallow end Art. James Barone jb@submergemag.com

s b l e n t e rtA i n m e n t & s w e l l - P r o d u c t i o n s . c o m P r e s e n t

“luminance over order, terse beauty and a smeared-lipstick brand of soul...”

An Acoustic evening with husbAnd & wife multi-instrumentAlist teAm...

over THE rhine

sundAy APril 8

hArlow’s 2708 J street sAcrAmento

doors 6Pm | show 7Pm | AdvAnce tickets $22.00 At hArlows.com

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Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

When I was a teenager, I had designs on becoming a famous indie comic book creator.

This, of course, was an impossible dream because there is no such thing as a famous indie comic book creator. I would have had a better shot aspiring to be a unicorn (that was my fallback option). I locked myself in my room and drew and drew and drew, because I figured that was the tough part. Anyone could write. In fact, I prove that every other week in this very space. I had a problem with art, though. While I loved drawing all the wicked-awesome characters I had in my head, I had trouble with stuff like tables and doors and just about every other everyday object you’d see. That shit is boring (especially when compared to drawing boobs), but so vital to creating a realistic comic book world. Also, hands are harder to draw than a motherfucker.

So drawing went by the wayside. All that money I spent on Bristol board and gummy erasers and fancy 2H pencils probably would have been better served going toward drugs or more cigarettes or something. Luckily for you, I stuck with writing.

But a couple weeks ago my love for drawing returned. A friend of mine had pointed out a new game she was playing on her iPhone. “Have you played Draw Something?” she asked in the same tone she used to introduced me to Words With Friends and Temple Run; a tone that suggested, “Welcome to what you’ll be doing most of your waking hours for the next five weeks.” Of course, I immediately hit the App Store.

I’m not sure what it is about these iPhone games that is so addictive. About a month ago, I dropped over $150 on Soul Calibur V and Final Fantasy XIII-2 Collector’s Edition (who really collects these fucking things?) and its corresponding Bible­-sized strategy guide to play on my fancypants Xbox 360. The Final Fantasy game has provided almost 70 hours of playtime, but I still don’t obsess over it like I do these ephemeral little game programs that have me hunched over my phone for hours at a time.

Angry Birds was my entry drug, as I think it was for most people, but then I moved on

to Robot Unicorn Attack: Metal Edition, which I excelled at while sitting on the toilet. Those were great and all, but it got really bad when I got hooked on Words With Friends. I love me some Scrabble. Also, it’s one of the only things I’m really good at. It’s so rare that I get to show off, but WWF had given me a tool to flaunt my mad skillz to people around the country—while I was riding the bus home from work, or, you know, in the john.

I’m still on the Words With Friends trip, but it’s died down. Most of the people I know—my own sister in particular—refuse to play with me. I thought about letting her win, but really, that wouldn’t be doing her any good. No one likes to be patronized. Now I’m down to just a paltry four or five games, one of which is a deathmatch with my column brother Bocephus Chigger.

But Draw Something is an entirely different animal. It’s more about teamwork as opposed to racking up triples against your opponent. It’s like digital Pictionary, where you and a friend try to guess a word based on a picture you drew. It’s fun, and ridiculously addictive. Plus, you can accumulate coins to buy new colors!!! How cool is that?!

As it turns out, my years away from drawing in any serious capacity have left me quite rusty. Also, my thumbs are not nearly as nimble tools as a well sharpened pencil and a Rapidograph pen. I strain to move my ponderous digits over the iPhone’s smooth and frustratingly small screen; I scrawl semidecipherable hieroglyphic clues that may pass as characters from our alphabet. It’s not pretty, but it gets the job done.

Originally, I set aside one slot of Draw Something time right before bedtime. This was easy when I had a manageable amount of games. But once I posted one of my masterpieces to Facebook, my number of games grew exponentially. I’m currently running 16 games with friends far and wide—a couple of whom I only vaguely remember. It may not seem like a lot, but this is ART. It takes time. Now if only I could get my thumbs to draw a decent pair of boobs.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

tHursday

apr 5

The Lumineers Y La BamBa

Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 8:00pm

(soLd ouT, Thanks sacTo.)

mazzY sTar

Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 7:30pm

pLaYinG Live For The FirsT Time since 1994

Brokedown in Bakersfield

tHursday

apr 12

sunday

Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:00pm

The skaTaLiTes The inciTers

Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 8:00pm

GirL in a coma

Pinata Protest • sara radle The honoraBLe souTh

pauLa Frazier

harlow’s • 2708 J st. • sacto • 21 & over • 8:00Pm

apr 22 tHursday

apr 26 saturday

apr 28 monday

apr 30

speciaL show in Fresno

middLe cLass ruT

wednesday

may 2

tiCkets at tiCketFly.Com

apr 14

kaTie herziG andrew BeLLe

blue lamp • 1400 alHambra blvD. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:00pm

sam peLiGroso (ep reLease show)

pLus

aaron Jonah Lewis and Ben BeLcher

harlow’s • 2708 J st. • sacto • 18 & over • 7:00Pm tuesday

apr 17

olmeca • o st. dub • la noche oskura mahtie bush • the desPerados

may 5

aB & The sea

monday

Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:00pm

TommY & The hiGh piLoTs

blue lamp • 1400 alHambra blvD. • saCto • 21 & over • 8:00pm

abstract entertainment

saturday

sunday

GaunTLeT hair

cLap Your hands saY Yeah

harlow’s • 2708 J st. • sacto • 21 & over • 8:00Pm

may 4

murs

dana BuoY (oF akron/FamiLY)

pLus

friday

blue lamp • 1400 alHambra blvD. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:00pm

Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 8:00pm

SubmergeMag.com

apr 16

Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 8:00pm

Fulton 55 • 875 DivisaDero st. • Fresno • 21 & over • 8:00pm

saturday

apr 7

evidence

Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:00pm

pLus

saturday

monday

The aGGroLiTes

FeaT. nicki BLuhm (oF The GramBLers) & Tim BLuhm (oF The moTher hips), scoTT Law,dan LeBowiTz, sTeve adams and dave BroGan (oF aLo)

mar 27

Givers

Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 18 & over • 7:00pm

mike waTT, GeorGe hurLeY, ed crawFord harlow’s • 2708 J st. • sacto • 21 & over • 8:00Pm aLso appearinG 4/13 aT FuLTon 55, Fresno (TickeTs aT www.TickeTFLY.com)

tuesday

The darcYs

may 6 may 7 tuesday

may 8 wednesday

may 23

Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 8:00pm

www.aBsTracTsacramenTo.com

TickeTs avaiLaBLe aT: The BeaT (17Th & J sT.) online at: eventbrite.com • TickeTs For harLow’s shows aLso avaiLaBLe aT harLows.com

Issue 107 • March 26 – April 9, 2012

31

Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas march 12 – march 26, 9, 2012 March 26 – april 2012

106 ##107

music + art + lifestYle

The Kitchen Restaurant R e c e i v e s

Ozomatli The Melting Pot

R e c o g n i t i o n

Iconoclast Robot A Class All Their Own

G. Green

Rocks SxSW

free

The Inversions The Last Band on Earth?

N a t i o n a l

The Hunger Games • Funky Weather Fashions • SACRAMENTO ELECTRONIC MUSIC FESTIVAL lineup Revealed