Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas may 21 – june 4, 2012
#111 Blackbird Restaurant +Amazing BarGrace Sherman Baker Coming Clean Bicycle Mural 2012 Tour Exercise Your Eyes
Gypsy Mobile Boutique Retail on the Go James
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Art You Can’t Look Away From
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
3
Audio Express — Sacramento Submerge — 4/23/2012
111 2012
Submerge: an independently owned entertainment/lifestyle publication available for free biweekly throughout the greater Sacramento area.
contents
20
05 06 08 09 11 12 14 18 20 22 26
12 14
28 29 30
26
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
Zach Ahern, Joe Atkins, Robin Bacior, Corey Bloom, Bocephus Chigger, Anthony Giannotti, Blake Gillespie, Ashley Hassinger, Nur Kausar, Ryan L. Prado, Steph Rodriguez, Adam Saake, Amy Serna, Jenn Walker Contributing photographers
Mike Ibe, Amy Scott Nicholas Wray
www.submergemag.com Follow us on Twitter! @SubmergeMag
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
may 21 June 4
Submerge
2308 J Street, Suite F Sacramento, Calif. 95816
916.441.3803 info@submergemag.com
printed on recycled paper
Front Cover Photo of Nicki Bluhm by noa azoulay-sclater
Dive in The Stream The Optimistic Pessimist the grindhouse
dark shadows Submerge your senses tongue & chic
blackbird gypsy mobile boutique James Mullen Sherman Baker Calendar Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers bike mural tour 2012 live rewind
the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus + more the shallow end 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.
back Cover Photo of sherman baker by amy scott
Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas
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Hooray for spring! Well, it actually has been feeling more like summer here in Sacramento, but regardless this is my favorite time of year. Outdoor concerts and bike riding are on the top of my list for fun, must-do activities. I was enjoying the Friday night Concerts in the Park last week, and I finally had the chance to visit Blackbird Kitchen + Bar before one of my favorite local bands, Horseneck, took to the stage. I have to say Blackbird is a must-do for pre-CIP; it has a killer happy hour and delicious food, though I mentally can’t quite be convinced to try oysters just yet. Give me time, people! With a restaurant like Blackbird in Sacramento, it will only be a matter of time. Adam Saake, our food and beverage connoisseur, also frequented the fine establishment recently. Apparently he tried more things than I did on the menu and even spoke with Carina Lampkin, the owner and chef, about her new business. You can find this lovely write up on page 12 accompanied by great photos from Nicholas Wray. Now speaking of outdoor concerts, one of my favorites is back, the Hot Lunch Concert Series that goes down on Thursday’s in Fremont Park across the street from Hot Italian. There’s a killer lineup again this year thanks to promoter Jerry Perry. Learn more about Hot Lunch in Jonathan Carabba’s column, “The Stream,” on page 6. One way I like to get around from concert to concert in this town is on my bike. It’s great to not have to deal with parking, and don’t forget that May is Bike Month, so no excuses. Hop on your two wheels and start peddling. One feature that we did last year was our Bike Mural Tour, and this year we brought it back with a new route and different must-see murals in Sacramento. Check out page 28 to see what our writer Steph Rodriguez spotted around town. We have a second art feature in this issue on James Mullen, who has an upcoming show this June at Bows and Arrows. When co-owner Trisha Rhomberg sent me a list of her upcoming art shows a month or so ago, I fell in love with Mullen’s style. He creates these slightly disturbing three-dimensional pieces that incorporate things like doll heads, nails and wood. Our writer Jenn Walker spoke with Mullen about his craft and what the pieces mean to him. See page 18. There’s a new cute and crafty mobile truck cruising around our area. This truck is not serving up tasty food but rather divine clothing. Perhaps you’ve spotted Gypsy Mobile Boutique in front of Shady Lady or at Howard Skinner Art Gallery, or maybe you’ve seen it out in Roseville. Our writer Nur Kausar tracked down the owner and driver Bridgette Maldonado to discuss this new boutique on wheels. Starting on page 14 you can read all about this genius trend that finally made its way to Sacramento. Last but not least, we have two incredible music interviews— one with Nicki Bluhm and one with Sherman Baker. Both are very different but meaningful pieces. In our interview with Nicki Bluhm she really talks about the special dynamic she has with her band and their songwriting styles. The Gramblers are really like a family (one member actually is, her husband Tim Bluhm from the Mother Hips). We featured Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers in this issue since they’ll be performing at Marilyn’s on K on June 1. When our editor James Barone spoke with her, we learned that they’re working on their third album, find out more details on page 26. I’ve seen Sherman Baker and heard his music for several years and never knew much about him besides the fact that I truly enjoy his voice and his songwriting. When I read our interview conducted by writer Joe Atkins on page 20, it was really enlightening to learn what he’s been through and where his touching songs came from on his new album Seventeenth Street. He will be doing an official CD release show at Beatnik Studios on June 2.
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
5
The stream TORCH FEST SIZZLES ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND // HOT LUNCH CONCERT SERIES SPICES UP THURSDAY AFTERNOONS
RESTaURaNT & NIghT clUB
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Send regional news tips to info@submergemag.com Torch Club is adding to an already action packed Memorial Day weekend in Sacramento by hosting their first ever Torch Fest on Sunday, May 27. With 12 bands scheduled to perform (everyone from Island of Black & White to Walking Spanish, Golden Cadillacs to Forever Goldrush and many more), the cozy little club on 15th Street best known as a blues bar will be popping all day from noon to 11 p.m. with roots, blues, rock, country and Americana. If you haven’t Golden Cadillacs | Photo by Russ Volksen already noticed, Torch Club has not been afraid to book acts outside of the typical blues mold as of late. Example: Submerge recently featured the Nashville, Tenn. band Daniel Ellsworth and the Great Lakes before they played at Torch, and they sound more like Wilco or Talking Heads than B.B. King or Stevie Ray Vaughan. Plain and simple, Torch Club ain’t just for blues anymore. This is something that booking manager Mark Mitchell (who is also dating club owner Marina Texeira) is particularly excited about. “A year or so ago, Marina decided to book the Golden Cadillacs for regular gigs,” Mitchell told Submerge. “That was one of the first moves to grab some bands out of the classic blues scene.” Mitchell says that Torch’s regular patrons have been nothing but accepting and supportive of the new bands playing the club. “Willie Brown, the ambassador of the blues, has also become the earl of honky tonk no matter how much he tells you it’s not his favorite music. As he says, ‘butts on barstools’ is what he wants to see,” Mitchell says. Mitchell, Texeira and the rest of the Torch Club crew hope to make the all-day music festival an annual Memorial Day weekend thing. “We want it to be back next year, and I hope to see many new acts joining in on the fun.” Also performing at this year’s party will be Dry County Drinkers, Bill Mylar, Bleedin’ Hearts, Merle Jagger, Howell Devine, The Californios, Keri Carr and Fortunate Few. Torch Fest is a 21-and-over only event and the cover charge is $15. There will be beer specials from Lagunitas, cocktail specials and raffle prizes. For more information, visit Torchclub.net, they’ve got live music almost every night of the week!
Jonah Matranga | Photo by Andy Watson
Need a good example of why Midtown is the best place to live or work in the region? Look no further than the Hot Lunch Concert Series, which kicks off May 31 at Fremont Park and continues Thursday afternoons until the end of August. Killer live music curated by Jerry Perry, food trucks like Wicked Wich and Mama Kim’s on hand, Hot Italian’s delicious pizzas and paninis within a stone’s throw, sunshine and soft grass…what’s not to love? “This is our fourth year and I suspect it will be our biggest year yet,” Perry recently told Submerge. “We’ve added food trucks, and as always about half the event is first-time artists. Like this year I have Jonah Matranga out there for the first time, and Survival Guide, and Not An Airplane.” He also pointed out series faves from past years like Exquisite Corps, Walking Spanish, Freebadge Serenaders and Musical Charis, all who will return this year. “I love the unique celebration of Midtown/downtown that this event is,” he said. “It really is a great way to enjoy the best of Sac.” May 31 see Island of Black & White and Leonardo Da Vinci Blues Band, and on June 7 see The Bell Boys. Hot Lunch is every Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Keep an eye out on the music calendar section in future issues of Submerge for Hot Lunch Concert Series listings throughout the summer.
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
Survival Guide | Photo by Jim Williams
Live Music lake (K Records) & TbA art Opening
Live Music
Alma Desnuda & Justin Ferren
Jagged Edges, the artwork of James mullen
SAT MAy 26 (7PM)
ThUrS JUNE 7 (8PM)
SCC Film Club FunD RAiSeR
Sea of bees & little Wings
Live Music & FiLM
Paper Pistols & Dusty brown
Live Music
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Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas
J U LY | SAC R A M E N TO , C A
Chromeo / DJ Shadow / Grouplove / !!! / Future Islands / White Arrows / Gardens & Villa St. Lucia / Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats) / Andy Cabic (Vetiver) / DNTEL(Postal Service) / oOoOO / King Tuff Rainbow Arabia / Sea of Bees / Dj Whores / D.A.M.B. / Honey Trees / Exquisite Corps / Dusty Brown / Lile Foxes / Doom Bird Jaill / Low Flying Owls / Appetite / Sam I Jam / Who Cares / Taylor Cho / Adam J / Resa / E Squared / I’m Dirty Too DD Walker / Gentleman Surfer
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
7
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
Loving You Should be Easy Because You’re Beautiful Bocephus Chigger bocephus@submergemag.com He’s here, he’s for queers and he’s not going to leave (well… we’ll see). President Barack Obama finally came out in an interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts. During an oval office sit-down, the president explained to Roberts that after an exhaustive examination of Cosmopolitan sex quizzes taken by Armed Forces servicemen, secret drone surveillance of gay districts in every major metropolitan city in the United States and fine tuning of his own gaydar, he has finally decided that gay people are, in fact, people too! Republicans are up in arms (but definitely not each other’s) over the president’s official position. Many Republicans call the president’s move political pandering. Surely there is some truth in that; the timing was a little too perfect with the election looming. However, I believe that this explanation sidesteps the real issue. Republicans aren’t really mad that Obama is taking votes from Romney. Mittens never had a chance at those votes, anyway. Republicans are mad because they believe that allowing gays to wed will destroy the sanctity of marriage for all of us. This, of course, is bullshit on so many levels. For starters, just take a look at the history of marriage. It wasn’t that long ago that a father gave his daughter to another man to marry in exchange for goods, livestock, land or money. This was known as a dowry and was quite common through the early modern era. At around the same time, other deals were sealed with trivial but deliberate gestures such as a handshake, a jump or a fart. Doesn’t that sound sanctimonious? Even marriage in our own country has a shady past. This country did not allow African Americans to marry each other until 1893, nearly 30 years after the signing of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. It took another 48 years before blacks and whites could marry each other. Now that’s progress! Unsurprisingly, those opposed to gay marriage aren’t too keen on history and the gaping hole it creates in their arguments. If you point these discrepancies out to Republicans, they might even fall back on a crazier position like claiming gay marriage will lead to people marrying animals. I’m not sure how beastiality became the next logical step, but this shit is ridiculous. Gay people don’t want to fuck animals. Did
I miss some groundbreaking study showing that people are fucking animals at an alarming rate and are clamoring to get hitched to their favorite pets? I haven’t seen any man/ sheep or woman/horse couples out on dates, so I don’t think this will be a problem. If Republicans are truly concerned, then I think we can all agree to limit marriage to an arrangement between two humans. When history and logic fail, Republicans are always quick to fall back on their one and only savior: religion. Unfortunately, J. Christ doesn’t speak on gay marriage, so instead they have to rely on good ol’ Leviticus. In the Book of Leviticus, God says to Moses, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” This is one thing on a list of many things God tells his followers not to do. Oddly enough, Republicans never mention the other proscriptions in Leviticus. God also told Moses that he was required to burn any unchaste daughters of priests and that he could not wear a garment made of mixed fibers. Oh and I guess we better bring slavery back because God tells Moses to take foreigners as slaves, too. Republicans hate it when you bring up slavery because it reminds people of civil rights, and the last thing Republicans want is for gay marriage to be considered a civil rights issue. The Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus recently told CNN, “I don’t think [gay marriage is] a matter of civil rights. I think it’s just a matter of whether or not we’re going to adhere to something that’s been historical and religious and legal in this country for many, many years.” Way to hit the trifecta of bullshit excuses, Reince! You are doing a great job of protecting something that is already broken. If 50 percent of all marriages in the United States end in divorce what exactly are we trying to protect? It’s time to let go of that mental picture of the perfect ‘50s sitcom marriage. You are living in a fantasy. Gay people don’t have cooties. They aren’t going to trick straight people into marrying them. They aren’t going to marry your dog. They are capable of staying in committed relationships and have done so for quite some time. Besides, a successful marriage is a coin toss at this point. Why not let them play? Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas
The grindhouse
Oh My Goth Dark Shadows Rated PG-13
Words James Barone Tim Burton is one of the most recognizable directors of the past three decades. (Can you believe Pee Wee’s Big Adventure was released almost 30 years ago?) Not only does he look like he could have walked out of one of his own movies, but his filmmaking style is so distinct, it’s unmistakable. He’s practically become his own genre at this point. But is the shtick getting old? Burton’s quirky, quasi-goth style would seem perfectly suited for a film adaptation of the camp classic, late-‘60s daytime TV show Dark Shadows. A sort of progenitor to True Blood, Dark Shadows presented vampires and other supernatural beings in a melodramatic soap opera format, with blood sucking Barnabas Collins as the show’s central feature. In the Burton film, the director teams up once again with leading man Johnny Depp as the emotionally conflicted vampire Barnabas. The film opens in the mid-18th century, as the Collins family leaves Liverpool, England, to expand its fishing empire to the New World. The family settles in Maine and founds a town (Collinsport), and erects a lavish estate (Collinwood), as its home. The Collins family is much beloved by the townsfolk, but fickle Barnabas has run afoul with the wrong woman. Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green) is beautiful and borderline obsessed with Barnabas; he doesn’t seem to mind fooling around with her; but, as the saying goes, he’s just not that into her. When his affections turn toward Josette DuPres (Bella Heathcote), Angelique loses it. What’s worse, this woman scorned is also a powerful witch. Using magic, she kills Barnabas’ parents, causes Josette to take a plunge off a cliff and curses Barnabas to walk the Earth forever as a vampire. That’s not enough for Angelique, however. She leads the town in a witch hunt against Collins, which leads to him being chained, stuffed in a coffin and buried. He remains that way for almost 200 years until construction in the Maine woods outside Collinsport disturbs him from his slumber. He finds himself in the ‘70s with his family’s name and wealth in the wane and his beloved Collinswood in disrepair. SubmergeMag.com
The trailers for Dark Shadows had the film poised as a wacky dark comedy, but it seems to have a bit of an identity crisis. After the opening montage that spells out Barnabas’ past, the film focuses on Heathcote, now in the role of Victoria Winters, who is drawn to Collinswood in pursuit of a job as a governess. If anything, this is one of the most striking sections of the film—mainly because it’s decidedly un-Burton. As Winters rides the train through New England and eventually hitchhikes with a group of hippies, Dark Shadows takes on an almost bucolic quality. The scenery and setting speak for themselves, and a sense of a real time and place takes root. However, once Winters makes it to Collinswood, it’s Burton full-bore—not that that’s a bad thing. The acting becomes big, the situations are over-thetop and the characters become caricatures. Green and Depp are up to the task. Green is deliciously evil as the film’s villain, who in ‘70s Collinsport has supplanted the Collinses as the top entrepreneur in the fishing business, and Depp alternates between gravely serious to ridiculous. Unfortunately, his funniest moments don’t manifest in dialogue but in his confused reactions to the strange modern world he’s awoken to. Helena Bonham Carter and Jackie Earle Haley also pitch in, but seem under-utilized. On the flipside, megastar Michelle Pfeiffer (Burton’s Catwoman in Batman Returns) is forgettable as matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard; and young rising star Chloe Grace Moretz sinks as Pfeiffer’s over-sexed teenage daughter Carolyn. Most of Dark Shadows’ best moments occur between Depp and Green, especially a raucous supernatural love scene, but the script feels so fractured, it seems more like it’s jumping from moment to moment than telling a cohesive story. First it focuses on Barnabas’ relationship with Victoria, who seems to be the reincarnation of Josette; then jumps to the Collins family’s attempt to resurrect its fishing empire; then to the troubles young David Collins (Gulliver McGrath) is having with his father; then, back to Barnabas and Victoria, a thread that suffers from the two characters having very little screen time together. Perhaps this is the problem with adapting a series that lasted six seasons into one two-hour film. Unfortunately, the laughs aren’t big enough to cover up the sloppy storytelling. I’m not ready to toss Burton’s shtick in a coffin and bury it—even though Dark Shadows doesn’t hit the mark, it’s still fun to look at—but it will certainly need some resurrecting after this one. Hopefully, the October release of the animated Frankenweenie will do just that.
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas
Your Senses SEE HEAR TASTE Touch
SEE
Big Idea Theatre’s Recent Tragic Events Opening May 25
TOUCH
Autographs, Prizes, Swag and more at the Zumiez Couch Tour • June 2
The 12th Annual Zumiez Couch Tour is rolling through Sacramento on Saturday, June 2, at the Sunrise Mall parking lot and with it comes the Almost Skateboards skate team. We’re talking some of the biggest names in skating here, folks. Although subject to change, Rodney Mullen, CJ Tambornino, Issey Yumibat, Daewon Song, Chris Haslam, Cooper Wilt, Youness Amrani and more will be on hand ripping up the Zumiez street course and signing autographs. The pro demo runs from 2 to 3 p.m. with an autograph session slated for 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., but the Zumiez Best Foot Forward amateur contest kicks off early at noon, so don’t miss our local shredders representing Sacramento! Tons of prizes and giveaways will be provided by companies such as Neff, Oakley, Skullcandy, Transworld SKATEboarding and more so come ready to leave with killer swag. There’s live music, too. At 4 p.m. Daytrader takes the stage and at 5 p.m. A Skylit Drive will headline. The event is free and open to all ages. To learn more visit Zumiezcouchtour.com, Sunrisemarketplace.com or call Sunrise Mall’s Zumiez store at (916) 723-1146.
It’s hard to imagine laughing about anything related to the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, but that is exactly what Big Idea Theatre wants you to do when you see their newest production of a play titled Recent Tragic Events written by Craig Wright and directed by Gina Williams. According to their website (Bigideatheatre.com), it’s an “outlandish comedy” that “examines the issues of destiny versus free will and chance versus coincidence.” A brief set-up for you: it’s the day after Sept. 11, a young woman goes on a blind date while awaiting the fate of her twin sister, who may or may not have been injured (or worse) in the attacks. There is a sock puppet involved (sock puppets help soften any subject matter) and without knowing much more, Submerge can officially say we are intrigued. If you are too, purchase your tickets for just $15 by calling the box office at (916) 960-3036 or by going to their website. The play runs on various dates from May 25 through June 16 at Big Idea Theatre’s 1616 Del Paso Boulevard location. They also have “Thrifty Thursday” show tickets for just $10 (May 31, June 7, 14 only).
HEAR
Sacramento Music Festival • May 25–28
The Sacramento Music Festival (formerly known as the Sacramento Jazz Festival and Jubilee) is set to invade Old Sacramento and parts of downtown this Memorial Day weekend. Trust us, there is a lot of great live music to experience during this four-day event. In 2011 the festival featured over 400 performances in 20-plus venues by over 70 artists. This year will be similar in size and scope, just with a new name and a slew of new artists and styles of music represented. Still organized and presented by the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, the festival announced the name change in August 2011 in order to reflect the progression of the now 39-year-old festival. “The name change reflects how the event has evolved over the years into a festival featuring many more musical styles than just jazz,” stated the official press release. “It also indicates a sincere effort to broaden the appeal of the four-day event by shifting some of the focus to other popular forms of American music such as blues, rock ‘n’ roll, Western swing, rhythm ‘n’ blues, zydeco, Latin and bluegrass.” Just a small sampling of new artists for this year: Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Kepi Ghoulie, Briefcase Full of Blues, Dead Winter Carpenters, Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys, Red Meat, The Silent Comedy and many more. Also new this year: the always popular opening day parade, with its marching bands, fire trucks, antique cars and more, has been moved to Saturday morning at 10 a.m. instead of Friday. The parade is a mustsee for those with kids. To view the entire weekend’s lineup and to purchase tickets, visit Sacmusicfest.com.
SubmergeMag.com
TASTE
Roseville Greek Food Festival May 25–27
At Saint Anna Greek Orthodox Church’s 18th Annual Greek Food Festival in Roseville from May 25 through 27, you can expect nothing but the best. Experience authentic and delicious Greek food and do it on the cheap! Souvlaki? Five bucks (well, five tickets, each one costing $1). Gyro? Six big ones. Lamb dinner? Ten smackaroos. Wine by the bottle? Just 15. Now we’re talking! There’s live music and dancing, and the event is free to get in and a portion of the proceeds to go to The Tommy Apostolos Fund. You can even get your food to go if live music and dancing aren’t your thing. Learn more at Rosevillegreekfestival.com where you will find hours, directions, menus, a list of performers and more. Opa!
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
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TONGUE & chic
Think of us as your get out of jail free card.
444-2222
Put a Bird on It Blackbird Kitchen and Bar
1015 9th Street • Sacramento
Words adam saake | photos nicholas wray
T
he first week of April saw the opening of the frequently
discussed and much anticipated Blackbird Kitchen and Bar. Owner and Chef Carina Lampkin nested inside the 1015 9th Street location, where she and company set to work on changing the downtown space into a tastefully designed restaurant and bar with a laidback, European feel. Stairs lead up to the second-floor mezzanine, which overlooks the front half of the restaurant, giving guests a bird’s eye view. Upon my visit, the 7 o’clock hour brought a setting sun that tore through the glass front doors and illuminated the bar, the top of which is a gorgeous plank of solid redwood. To put it bluntly, this bird is pretty. And Lampkin accomplished this by putting her DIY attitude to work with little capital. “I had a vision of taking this dilapidated building and transforming it into something beautiful. I didn’t have a lot of money. So it was me, and my friends and my mom chipping paint and learning how to plaster,” says Lampkin. The concept for Blackbird began on a bicycle trip from San Francisco, where Lampkin was living and cooking at the time, to Los Angeles. The bike trip was her pilgrimage to overcome the personal trauma of losing one of her close friends in a car accident in 2006. Lampkin was in that same car, and the accident put her in a coma for 30 days. “When I woke up, the song was going through my head,” remembers Lampkin. This was the first of other signs that Lampkin felt was her friend trying to communicate with her. Her mother recounts hearing a crow cawing loudly during her memorial service when her loved ones were speaking of her infectious laugh. “She felt that her spirit was in that crow,” says Lampkin.
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
And so on that bike trip, with time to think and talk, the idea was hatched by her friend. “My friend Christian said to me, ‘Carina, you love helping people so much. Why don’t you move to Sacramento and open a business with your family?’ So that’s what I did,” says Lampkin. Now let’s talk seafood. When you hear the name Blackbird, it’s not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind, but Lampkin wasn’t about to call the place the Clam Shack. However, there are clams on the menu. Applewood-smoked clams, to be exact, in a seafood chowder that is absolutely divine. It’s one of those things where you look over your shoulder to make sure no one is watching you lick the bottom of the bowl clean. Resident wine buff Tyler Stacy paired this with a Domaine Delaye Chardonnay that nicely complemented the rich chowder. It’s great for business that Stacy is on board at Blackbird. He’s a young, up and coming guy in the local wine scene, and he knows his stuff. When you dine at Blackbird, he’ll steer you in the right direction with pairings. And with him around, glassware will be proper, no doubt. There are many memorable dishes on the small, 15-item menu that Lampkin and Chef de Cuisine Kevin O’Connor (you may remember him when we covered his Tree House Dinners) have assembled. The menu is sort of an homage to San Francisco’s Bar Crudo, where Lampkin worked under the talented Mike Selvera, her “favorite chef.” His approach to menu size, raw bar and ambiance certainly was an influence when setting the groundwork for Blackbird, and that’s a very good thing. “Mike Selvera was never competitive in the kitchen, was always cool and never mad if you forgot something on an order. Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas
SubmergeMag.com
through dishes like the squid ink fettucine with grilled Monterey squid, dino kale, chorizo and preserved Meyer lemon, I saved just enough appetite for the main event: whole roasted Passmore Ranch trout. Passamore Ranch just has a killer product. The preparation of this dish makes me weak in the knees—I’m still remembering breaking into the skin as the steam rose from the perfectly cooked flesh. Sinful. Served with fava beans, spring onion, sous-vide fennel and sweet herbs, it’s all about the trout at Blackbird. Just as Blackbird’s kitchen speaks volumes, as does its bar. Patrick O’Neill’s many years of bar experience have culminated here and his passion for the craft is evident when you order a drink from him. He’s got classics on the list like the Blood and Sand or the Moscow Mule (served in a bronze mug) and mixes up intrigue with the wildly colorful Purple Haze. The bar reminds me of a kitchen counter lined with glass jars filled with fresh herbs like mint, basil and rosemary; and citrus fruits like oranges, cumquats, lemons and limes. The liquor selection is a bartender’s playground, and the list is still changing and evolving. It’ll be nice to see what the Blackbird bar comes up with once they’re completely settled in. Blackbird is a whole defined by its parts; a restaurant of young talents converging in one space and taking ownership, each of them a brush stroke in helping to paint the larger picture. Lampkin has taken them under her wing and is guiding them toward perfection by showing them that focusing on the details makes the difference. “The difference between a great restaurant and an awesome restaurant is attention to detail,” says Lampkin. Lampkin attributes her own success to what she calls “amazing grace.” She teaches her kitchen about meditation and the power that their thoughts or mood may have on the cooking. “If you’re angry and you’re cooking, that anger goes into your food. Because when you have a thought, there’s an electrical release and that travels through your hand into the food. If you’re upset, that guest is going leave with anxiety in their stomach. But if you’re joyful and meditating happy thoughts, they’ll leave with that,” explains Lampkin. You’ll be sure to leave Blackbird with happy thoughts.
HOT ITALIAN MIDTOWN
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Jameson came out around 8 o’clock every night as we were listening to punk rock music,” recalls Lampkin. Lampkin borrowed some of her best menu items, slightly tweaked of course, from Bar Crudo including the aforementioned chowder. The Maine lobster and roasted beet salad with burrata cheese, Banyuls vinaigrette and upland crest was bright, stunning and delicious. Stacy supplied a beautiful German Pinot/Trollinger, and I was happy as a clam. The raw bar, which is tucked a bit further back in the restaurant, has seating for guests to get right up close to the shucking action. Choose from Miyagi, Beausoleil, Kumamoto or Shigoku oysters on the half shell and stuff yourself silly during happy hour when the Miyagis are $1 apiece. And when it comes to oysters, there isn’t much to say about the chef’s preparation unless we’re talking sauces. It’s just about quality and freshness, and Blackbird’s oysters have just that. Stacy knocked it out of the park with a bright and mineral-y Muscadet from Gilbert Chon to sip while I slurped. Other options from the raw bar are a nod to Japanese cuisine like the Kona Kampachi with citrus, cucumber, Thai aromatics and purple shiso; or the Arctic Char with housemade kimchi (awesome), honey-soy reduction, micro cilantro and black lava salt. All of these dishes were beautifully plated and garnished by O’Connor, and the colors and creativity are singing on this menu. This creative energy is something that Lampkin made sure that her general manager Dona Bridges sought out when selecting the staff. “During the interview process, I asked if anyone’s a career restaurant person, that’s who we want to work with and please make sure that they also have a background in art. Because not only do I want this to be a restaurant, but I want it to be a creative powerhouse,” says Lampkin. The winner from the raw bar was the Dayboat scallops dish that, before and after I had eaten it, servers and bartenders were asking me, “Have you tried the scallops yet?” It’s a good sign when your entire staff is raving about a dish. Presented on a green pea puree that was stellar all on its own, shaved asparagus, pink peppercorns and lemon oil and paired with a lovely German Riesling, the scallops were all they were cracked up to be. But to tell you the truth, even
PUBLIC MARKET
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
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Driven Entrepreneur
Gypsy Mobile Boutique brings retail revolution to Sacramento Words Nur Kausar | photos Serena Lambert
S
Street between 7 th and 8 th looked deserted a day before the Second Saturday bustle, until a curious 1987 Chevy step van disguised as the “little black truck” with social media icons painted in white pulled into the Howard Skinner Art Gallery parking lot. The driver straightened up with the help of her husband, pulling the vehicle into a shaded corner. Clad in cute heels and a floral mini dress, Bridgette Maldonado jumped out of her Gypsy Mobile Boutique, ready to set up outside for the gallery’s Pop Up Shop preview night. Gypsy is the first of its kind in Sacramento, but the concept isn’t new. Mobile restaurants, aka food trucks, have been parking along local streets for some time in Sacramento. But none of them looks like the inside of a Midtown girl’s closet, which is the shop owner’s inspiration. In that department, Maldonado has the local market cornered, for now. Following the food truck phenomenon, entrepreneurs and businesses across the country are putting their creative spins on mobile retail, a reaction borne from a shaky economy. Maldonado says she has seen everything from floral arrangements to men’s haircuts sold out of trailers and school buses in Los Angeles. “I think Sacramento is ready for something like this,” she says with a wide smile while placing colorful, thin belts on a makeshift shelf below a line of spring dresses. “L.A. can’t have all the fun.”
The Sacramento native, jewelry designer, retail visual designer and mother of two little boys (and former flight attendant and NBA pro dancer) always wanted to add “boutique owner” to her list of accomplishments, but couldn’t quite grasp the right moment or the right corner space to make it happen. Maldonado makes her own jewelry, working in leather and clay, so she started with an Etsy shop and hoped to expand to fashion through her site. But as Etsy became inundated with similar shops, a real world presence seemed a better option. “I would get messages from customers for something tangible—‘how does it feel, how heavy is it’—and owning a store has always been a dream of mine. But then with this economy, and the overhead, well, this was just perfect,” she says with a sigh of relief, standing in the middle of her own shop. There are drawbacks, as with any business. Maldonado has to deal with the elements and a lack of fitting rooms and restrooms, but these mid-May days in Midtown, as well as her stops in Roseville and along office-heavy downtown streets, are advantageous and out of the way of other boutiques. “I’ve gone to Rancho Cordova, and I park where it’s all bought-up office buildings,” she says. “Women who are working and come out on their coffee break or lunch can spend some time shopping, since there is nothing else like it nearby.” Looking at the success of big-name designers in cities like San Francisco, Maldonado says she thinks mobile retail in Sacramento is inevitable.
o h n t y’s n A bArber shop
cuts 14 hair Straight Razor Shaves $16
$
2408 21 st St.• Sac •(916) 457-1120 tueSday-Friday 9am-6pm • Saturday 10am-4pm
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas
“I tell them they don’t need to wear the same thing as five other girls… Midtown has its own unique style and I want to show that.” – Bridgette Maldonado, owner of Gypsy Mobile Boutique
“Even in this economy, people still have the entrepreneurial spirit, and I’d welcome anyone who wants to go into this,” she says as more clothes magically appear out of hidden compartments inside the truck, lining the baby blue-painted interior. A small chandelier hangs from the truck ceiling, and the entire boutique scene comes together like a perfect date ensemble. “It’s like food trucks. We wouldn’t have SactoMoFo [the Sacramento Mobile Food organization] if there was only one.” Guests at the Howard Skinner Gallery, a little older than Maldonado’s target audience, stop by to ooh and ahh at the sight of maxis, minis, pastels and chunky jewelry hanging from the truck’s walls. Pamela Skinner, along with four other organizers and designers, had invited Gypsy Mobile Boutique and food trucks to be part of the gallery’s first-ever Pop Up Shop, a similar idea to a mobile business, but leaning toward spontaneous art buying. “The idea is ‘here today, gone tomorrow,’” Skinner says, noting the concept has popped up, like food trucks, in cities across the country and allows for artists who can’t afford a space, or don’t want to be tied down to one, to sell their work for a very limited time. “Food trucks are very trendy right now, but pop up shops you only do a few times a year, so it’s the only time you can get what you see,” Skinner says. “People asked if we’re going to restock, and I thought it was funny. We’re not Macy’s or Walmart.” For Maldonado, the concept is similar. She stocks what she can fit in her truck, usually one or two in each size. Once it’s gone, she looks for new items, trends and unique pieces as a way to keep things fresh for customers. “I tell them they don’t need to wear the same thing as five other girls,” she says. “Plus, Midtown has its own unique style and I want to show that.” Maldonado has connected with other fashion trucks in
the industry, and reached out to the West Coast Mobile Retail Association (WCMRA) that started last spring to unite shopkeepers through events, educate city officials and maintain a code of ethics to respect communities and brick and mortar stores. “We heard from several brick-and-mortar businesses that they like the idea of a mobile business and have thought about starting a mobile business in conjunction to their brick and mortar business,” says Jeanine Romo, charter member of WCMRA and owner of Le Fashion Truck in L.A. This has been the case for local restaurants like Willie’s Burgers and Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen, an arm of the Republic sports bar and lounge. “I believe that more entrepreneurs will be launching a mobile business opposed to a traditional brick-and-mortar,” Romo adds. “There are currently around 40 mobile retailers in the United States and [WCMRA] believes that number will keep growing. There will still, of course, be plenty of new brick-and-mortar businesses; however, with the popularity and low cost of being mobile, this seems to be a more attainable approach for someone going into business for themselves.” According to WCMRA, up to $30,000 in capital is needed to start a mobile retail business, which includes the vehicle and the inventory. For the Maldonados, the cost was still more feasible than the risk of failing in a bad, permanent location. “We considered everything from trailer to camper to a Winnebago to a school bus,” husband Marvin Maldonado says, stopping to answer his wife’s question of which dress should adorn the mannequin. “And then I get asked fashion questions too.” It took them a few tries, but they found their truck in Pacifica, Calif. Marvin’s architecture and design company inForm designed the Gypsy caravan, gutting and renovating the vehicle to make it Bridgette-friendly and the best possible utilization of little space. “It operates and functions just like a brick-and-mortar store but our money goes to gas and insurance instead of rent and utilities,” he says. “Plus, I can’t always be out at every event because I have my company and we have two kids, so everything has to be lightweight and dual function for her. Everything has to be thought out.” Future upgrades still include air conditioning and, Marvin jokes, possibly chairs to put outside for husbands and boyfriends to lounge in while their significant others shop. “I enjoy it… It’s her thing,” Marvin smiles. “I think we’re launching at the right time, and that was her goal. It’s one thing to get a truck, but it’s another to be on trend and know fashion.” And his wife is still thinking big. Maldonado says she plans to buy another truck and sell men’s clothes, but that’s after she expands the accessory department of Gypsy. She still sells her own jewelry, as well as items like head wraps called Urban Turbans made by her sister. It’s only been a month since Gypsy hit the streets, but Maldonado has met success at Second Saturdays, downtown Tuesday nights in Roseville and private shopping parties she hosts for customers. She’ll also be joining other designers, business owners and food trucks next month for GOOD: Street Food + Design, an open-air market to be held every first Sunday through November to increase traffic to the Del Paso Boulevard business corridor.
c doswanctraowmnenstoa .com pm • t e e r t s e 14th & 400 • shine m • sun 9am-6 916 551
Take a load off...
8 pm • free
poetry with legs w/ hosts primal urge and bill gainer
cl os in g
en ts r y pe r ev tim es va
thursday, may 31 7:30 pm • free
screenplay slam!
actors on stage performing local scripts friday, june 1 8 pm
every tuesday
friday, may 25
mango jennings & friends
jazz jam
nathan dale, hans eberbach, sandra dolores
pride day! drink specials
1st & 3rd thursdays • 8pm
saturday, may 26
8 pm • $5
w/ jason galbraith & friends
SubmergeMag.com
9am-10p -8pm • sat:
wednesday, may 23
8pm • free
Apply now at davisfleamarket.org/apply
1
tues-fri: 8am
Davis Flea Market
{May 27 • 11am-3pm • E St. Plaza}
To see where the “little black truck” parks next, check out Gypsy Mobile Boutique on Facebook or Twitter, or go to Maldonado’s website Gypsymobileboutique.com
comedy night
2 & 4 thursdays • 8pm nd
th
blues & you
8 pm • $5
those meddling kids, spencer hoffman (of honyock), the brothers barringer
saturday, june 2
all day long +
ONE FREE DRINK! 8 pm • $5
*with purchase
nyceria (on tour), penjula, one-leg chuck
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
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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
tragic culturE hands likE housEs
CatCh Without arms
Will BE playEd in its EntirEty
June 8
f r i day
Ellipsis salythia intErnal dEcapitation purification By firE
May 26
sat u r day
kill thE prEcEdEnt
f r i day
June 1
dirt k-ottic
sat u r day
May 21
M O N day
Micah Brown • Massive Delicious WhiskEy and stitchEs BlackEyEd dEmpsEys
t h u r s day
solanum
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s u N day
May 27
Fr3e BOyz • the OnFc higher learning • Quen
sat u r day
June 2
f r i day
June 15
May 24
apathy cyclE anothEr damn disappointmEnt thE scoWdrolls thE aBErzomBiEs
soma ras
f r i day
June 9
May 25
t h u r s day
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
May 31
s u N day
June 3
sat u r day
June 16
Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas
goddamn galloWs
t h u r s day
June 28
t u E s day
July 17
s u N day
July 29
allinaday
Fair Struggle • Overwatch
s u N day
June 17 Tyler Rich
Incredible Me
Neil Diamond Tribute f r i day
June 29
t h u r s day
July 19
sat u r day
august 4
plus spEcial guEst
harlan
t u E s day
June 19
plus spEcial guEst
avenue SaintS
f r i day
June 22
SubmergeMag.com
dry county drinkErs + Brodi nicholas
t h u r s day
July 5
sat u r day
sat u r day
July 14
f r i day
July 21
July 27
f r i day
w E d N E s day
august 17
september 5
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
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“Once you make a piece and send it off into the world, you don’t have control anymore on how it’s going to be treated… what people are going to think of it. It’s all out of your hands. But by building the entire piece and including the base, I at least have some influence over the perspective of which it’s viewed.” – James Mullen
Nail Fetish #4
Turning Heads
From clutter, artist James Mullen assembles pieces of grotesque beauty Words Jenn Walker
I
f you are looking for art that is pretty, don’t expect it from James Mullen. This artist is not out to make art for beauty’s sake. What is more important to him is to turn heads, in the same fashion that heads turn when people hear the sound of a car wreck, whether they want to see the carnage or not. If he has caused the observer to ask questions like, “What was he thinking?” or, “What the heck was he up to here?” then consider the piece a success. “To have a piece that is a bit dark and disturbing is to be that car wreck,” the Sacramento native says. “I’m not looking to hold up an object for admiration; rather, I’m looking to grab someone’s attention, grab them by the lapels and prevent them from looking away, almost to rivet them in place.” It is appropriate that he should mention rivets, considering his upcoming exhibition, Jagged Edges, at Bows and Arrows, a collection of threedimensional nail fetish pieces that incorporate wood, nails and doll parts. This body of work, inspired by Congolese nail fetish pieces displayed in the de Young museum in San Francisco, will hopefully make people’s hair stand up, Mullen says, as it is one of his “darker” collections. A personal favorite is Nail Fetish #8, which is almost Christmas tree-like in a grotesque way. The
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
Nail Fetish #2 flayed skin of a doll is wrapped around a triangular piece of wood, a thick spiral of nails curling around it. A telephone rests on the doll’s arm, and in its opposite hand it holds a compass. The piece is whimsical and heavily influenced by Dadaism, Mullen says. “I find it very powerful and a little disturbing, perhap, which is what I’m going for,” he adds. To be clear, Mullen is an abstract assemblage artist. His artistic process is very organic, he explains, in the sense that the objects he starts with will dictate his final product. He may grab one piece from the rafters in his studio, and the rest of the work comes together around it. “I don’t know where [the piece] is going or where it’s going to end up, but I just start,” he says. “Starting [gets] the creative juices flowing, and the ideas start moving through my head, and the piece will grow from whatever object just comes to hand.”
Jim Mullen with Nail Fetish #10
As far as what comes to hand, it is an eclectic mix of items that form Mullen’s artistic palette. In this way he is also a collector of odd and interesting things. Animal skulls, for instance, pieces of wood, a rusted bike frame or a horse’s jaw are considered treasures. A goat skull he found on the side of the road was integrated into one of his nail fetish pieces. Often these are objects he finds on the Walker River alongside U.S. Route 395 near his home in Grass Valley, or on bike rides, at garage sales or junk stores. Unable to see Mullen’s studio with the naked eye, Submerge asked Mullen to describe his studio in Grass Valley. He did; he also sent pictures of it. Work surfaces and shelves disappear beneath seas of hand tools, saws, canisters, tubs and boxes. Odds and ends are piled high, while a web of doll heads, cables, tubing and a picture frame hang from the ceiling. This is where he has spent 20 to 30 hours per week creating his nail fetish pieces. From this clutter emerges Mullen’s works of art. Each work comes together using epoxy, nails, rivets, screws, wire and pressure. The natural tarnishes of the pieces he uses are integral to the characteristic of his work, he explains. In order to
Nail Fetish #8 Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas
HHSubmerge.pdf
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Checkered Fencing #46
Entertaining You All Summer Long!
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CMY Nail Fetish #6 K
Happy Hour Daily @ 2pm Karaokee Every Tuesday & Friday 9pm Piano Bar With Jim “Fingers” Jordan Thursdays 7pm Rendezvous & Cool Beans Every 1st Sunday Live Bands Every Saturday
HeadHunters
1 9 3 0 C21Submerge.pdf K S t r e e t • (5/17/12 9 1 6 ) 47:31:57 9 2 - 2 9PM2 2 • w w w . h e a d h u n t e r s o n k . c o m
Every Wednesday & Sunday Inside Club21
Screwdriver Nitelite preserve the rust and grit of his assemblages, he chooses not to weld, though he knows the skill. “I really enjoy the patina of age that items show during a lifetime of wear and weathering and what have you, so I don’t weld,” he says. “I do wear out a lot of drills.” Assemblage was not always Mullen’s forte. Once upon a time, he worked with clay. In fact he has worked with it on and off for 40 years, since he first began sculpting in high school. Like a writer becomes afflicted with writer’s block, or an artist walks away from a painting, he too experienced a dry moment sometime in 2007, when he no longer wanted to work with clay. He stopped midway through a sculpture, and for four months did nothing more with it or any other clay works. Still, he knew he wanted to create art. So, while standing in his backyard, his eyes fell upon piles of rusty fencing, wood and sheet metal, and he decided that these pieces would become his new media. He has been an assemblage artist ever since. Whoever takes a Mullen piece home has little control over how to display it, because Mullen already has that taken care of. Often he intentionally builds a base into his pieces so he has leverage over the angle it is seen, whether they are built onto pedestals or elevated with wooden chair or table legs. This creates a towering effect. SubmergeMag.com
The Plumbers Daughter “Once you make a piece and send it off into the world, you don’t have control anymore on how it’s going to be treated…what people are going to think of it. It’s all out of your hands,” he explains. “But by building the entire piece and including the base, I at least have some influenceC over the perspective of which it’s viewed.” M Practicality doesn’t always come into play in his pieces, however. As he is largely influenced Y by the Dada school of thought, his pieces are CM meant to be illogical and nonsensical. MY “I don’t overintellectualize art. I try not to CY dissect it,” he says. Take one of his older pieces, Plumber’s CMY Daughter, for instance. Plumbing pieces, a section K of a steel grill, a doorknob and a lard bucket are arranged vertically atop cherry wooden table legs. There is no rhyme or reason to the bathtub-like creature, except that it was dedicated to Mullen’s wife, who is, in fact, a plumber’s daughter. While it is a head turner, there Bows and Arrows will host is little other an opening reception for Jagged Edges on Friday, June meaning behind it. 1, from 6–9 p.m. Find out In the same vein more at Bowscollective. as Rube Goldberg, com. You can delve deeper into the mind and art of these are little James Mullen at his website, steps to absolutely Jamesmullenartist.info. nothing, he says.
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1119 21st Street • www.club21sacramento.com Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
19
On your opening track, “Constant Contact,” you plead repeatedly for the world to “stop posting things.” Did you check in on Foursquare when we got here? I did not. I’ve been trying really hard to not be obvious like that. That song came from Facebook [where] an ex-girlfriend used to post about me while we were dating. She’d be like, “Don’t you hate when guys do this.” And then 20 lurker dudes would be like, “Yeah, fuck that guy.” Do you have other songs about her? Some of the other songs like, “Golden Gate Park,” “Man on a Wire” and “Sign of Light” are about a [different] ex-girlfriend whom I feel essentially left me for dead and didn’t seem to care that I was overdosing and attempting suicide. In one of my favorite lines from “Sign of Life” you sing, “There’s no time for philosophy/ When you’re fighting/To survive.” The next track follows with another line: “We have tried to be good/But I’d rather be wrong than dead inside.” What is the major antagonist in your life? The new record is basically about heroin addiction. I was shooting heroin in 2008 to 2009. It wasn’t like, “Oh, Elliott Smith did it, or John Coltrane.” It was a simple addict progression from Vicodin to heroin. A typical Intervention episode was my life. I went to rehab, and after six or seven weeks of horror, I finally came out. The last two years I’ve been moving away from it. I tried to off myself. I was put in a mental hospital. The tension is me trying to fight existential dread.
Singer/Songwriter Sherman Baker bears his soul, battles addiction and existential dread…all in a day’s work Words Joseph Atkins • photos amy scott
Yours is actually a success story. Many addicts never even get to rehab. How were you able make the decision to get clean and stay that way? It’s a daily struggle to stay clean, but I need to in order to survive. There isn’t a way to abuse opiates that doesn’t end in death or severe impairment. My uncle was kind enough to pay for me to go after I asked him for help. It was in L.A. I needed to get out of town. I went a long way from any dealers or money. I was forced to spend a month in one bed crying, shitting and puking on myself. Literally. It was so incredibly painful emotionally; I have felt a little bit numbed ever since. But I’m also certainly a much stronger person. I’m lucky. I think really great artists tend to be addicted to creating. Do you feel like overcoming one addiction has allowed you to focus your attention more into your musicianship? One hundred percent. On a physical level, my energy is up; it’s like night and day. I’ve been looking at my music like an athlete—how can I get better every day? Quitting smoking, writing every day, practicing every day, I’m always thinking about what things are helping me. I have a drive to write and make music that is certainly not rational. I’m not making money. Music is my art. You’re releasing the album yourself. How’d it all come together? My father died, which opened up money from my family that wasn’t being used for his medical care. I had a really low budget. I recorded a lot of it at my uncle’s house. He’s got a really big place up in Granite Bay. We actually did some of the drums. All the guitars, all the vocals, all the bass—everything I did—was done there. We mixed at The Hangar and did some of the live drums and bass there. Matt McCord played drums, and Kris Anaya [Doom Bird] played bass on a few songs. Robert “Flossy” Cheek did the mixing.
S
herman Baker has lived multiple lives: struggling Los Angeles actor, recovering heroin addict, mild-mannered songwriter. Yet, there’s something about him that eschews both of the former descriptions and settles on the latter. Baker’s bigger than you imagine, listening to his new full-length, Seventeenth Street. His songs make him sound fragile, delicate; but in person his wide shoulders wrap a guitar while he sings upwards into a microphone. On stage he appears focused, intent. His look is exactly right for the sound, and the qualities of Baker’s sound ultimately condition the person he is. Up close, it’s hard to tell how much of his personality is shaped by the quiet childhood he describes or the humility of a recovering addict, or where they bleed together. But their silent strength produces songs that slowly engulf one’s attention. Baker has enough self-confidence to expose himself, musically or otherwise, to talk honestly about his past and present. He has a soft-spoken manner that leaves a small impression. He’s like a subtle fill that piques one’s interest and becomes the highlight of a track after multiple listens. He’s normal yet unique, exotic in his low-key banality. There’s a subtlety to his brand of song craft, a fusion of Dylan and Elliott Smith, with the tonal foundations of old school pop. His hooks and harmonies draw out the anguish and joy of repeated failure and angst, verse after verse. Below them, a series of string melodies and rhythms complement and exacerbate his vocal tracks, as the lyric content demands. There’s a focused tension on the struggle of daily life and survival, but I’d suggest this is bigger than just Baker’s struggle with himself. Seventeenth Street is relaxing, serious and thoughtful in its treatment of uncertain conditions—Baker’s and otherwise. We sat down over water and espresso to discuss these uncertainties, the ups and downs of growing.
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
Every Morning Seems Like a Fight Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas
“It’s a daily struggle to stay clean, but I need to in order to survive. There isn’t a way to abuse opiates that doesn’t end in death or severe impairment. My uncle was kind enough to pay for me to go after I asked him for help. It was in L.A. I needed to get out of town. I went a long way from any dealers or money. I was forced to spend a month in one bed crying, shitting and puking on myself. Literally.” – Sherman Baker There’s a definite Elliott Smith influence on the record, but the recording process sounds a lot like his process as well. Elliott Smith would be a good analogy except I don’t play drums—minus the brilliance factor.
Losing your father seems like a big moment in your narrative. Are there points on the new CD where his loss is felt? Yes, “Lonely Star” is about him to some degree. The bridge lyrics, “Where is the green light?/ The future you told me of?” is a reference to The Great Gatsby’s last page about the green light of the dock. It was my father’s favorite book. A lot of the record is about mortality in some way. That might be part of the problem with selling it. What happens if you never sell all the CDs you print? I’m used to disappointment. If people don’t want to buy my music, I can’t force them to… I’m pretty reconciled to living a low income, humble lifestyle, regardless. Do you still believe in those divisions between DIY, indie and major labels? Not really. Death Grips are the latest example of a “big deal,” and they’re as DIY as it gets. I think pipe dreams have definitely disappeared. In the ‘90s, there were a lot of kids thinking, “I just gotta get that deal and then… Chicks!” You spent some time in L.A. as an actor. How did you get there? I got into a good acting school. It’s where Denzel Washington went; Elizabeth Banks was there while I was. It actually helped me learn to sing. By the time I left, I just wanted to do music. I went to L.A. because I had an agent; it was a great opportunity. I was trying to get on soap operas. I wanted to focus on music instead. SubmergeMag.com
Then in 2007 my personal life got crazy, and I just dropped out and did drugs for two or three years. I didn’t do much at all. I did in my head, but I wasn’t functioning. You’ve mentioned that there’s a lot about yourself—your voice, how you look on camera, people watching you—that makes you anxious or nervous. Are we socialized to be confident individuals and overcritical of everyone else? In a word, yes. I’ve always been kind of shocked at how I’ve put my heart out there and then had it taken apart by a critic or local Internet commentator. I guess it’s my own naiveté. To tear apart local struggling artists and critique a person as if you are writing for the New York Times, reviewing a show at Carnegie Hall, is the height of arrogance. Blogger culture is gross. It’s too easy just to spout off about what you don’t like or do like. Acting seems like a curious choice seeing as you feel uncomfortable in front of a camera. I don’t like being looked at. I don’t like being on stage and being looked at, still. I don’t mind being heard because I’m comfortable with how I sound. My stage presence is just as shitty as it ever was; I just stare at the ground and sing. I just couldn’t Head to Beatnik Studios care less about in Sacramento on June 2 my stage to celebrate the release of presence. I’ve Sherman Baker’s newest just never said, album, Seventeenth Street. Also performing will be Autumn “Oh, I wish I Sky, who also happens to be could be like releasing her new CD that day. Steven Tyler.” If that wasn’t enough for you, Never. I just Ricky Berger will open. Showtime don’t care. is 7 p.m. For more info, go to Shermanbakermusic.com.
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
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904 15 Street 443.2797 th
Between I & J • Downtown Sacramento
music, comedy & misc. Calendar
may 22 - june 3 TUES
22
Hans EbErbacH 5:30PM
JaMEs HarMan 9PM
WED
acoustic oPEn Mic 5:30PM 23 KEricarr9PM X trio 5PM THURS 24 truE Mad nortH 9PM PailEr and fratis 5:30PM FRI
25
noaH &tHE MEga fauna 9PM
SaT
JoHnny guitar KnoX 5PM
26 daniElcastro 9PM SUn
27
blEEdin’HEarts, HoWElldEvinE, KEri carr, fortunatE fEW, island of &WHitE, 12PM MErlEJaggEr,blacK tHE californios, goldEn cadillacs, WalKingsPanisH, tHE dry county drinKErs, billMylar and forEvEr goldrusH
tEssiE MariE & tHE Poor Man band 5:30PM
TUES
29
WED
30
island of blacK & WHitE 9PM acoustic oPEn Mic 5:30PM
tHEcalifornios&
WHisKEy Pills fiasco9PM X trio 5PM
THURS
&MaJorPoWErs 31 PEcK WitH lo-fi syMPHony 9PM FRI
PailEr & fratis 5:30PM
1 funKrEvival9PM
JoHnny guitar KnoX 5PM
2 tWiligHt driftErs fEat. cHarlEy baty
SaT
9PM
SUn
bluEsJaM 4PM JoHnny guitar KnoX 8PM
3 torchclub.net
22
may 21 – june 4
submergemag.com/calendar use a qr scanner on your smart phone to view calendar online
5.21 Monday
Ace of Spades Fear Factory, Shadows Fall, The Browning, The Devastated, Legacy Of Disorder, 6 p.m. The Blue Lamp Lame, Max Bundles, 9 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. Naked Lounge Downtown Jazz Session w/ The Joe Mazzaferro Quintet feat. CSUS Collective, 8:30 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m. Press Club The Three Way, Hopeless Jack & the Handsome Devil, Majesty, 8:30 p.m. Red Hawk Casino Buck Ford, 7 p.m. Sol Collective Microphone Mondays, 8 p.m.
5.22 Tuesday
Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. Dive Bar Le Twist Tuesdays w/ Sam I Jam, Adam J, Taylor Cho, Roger Carpio, 9 p.m. Luna’s Cafe Kelly Rogers, Stacy Raskin, Christopher Robin, Sandra Soucy, Gwen McMillin, 8 p.m. Marilyn’s Tyler Matthew Smith, 5:30 p.m.; Open Mic w/ Chris 2Me, 7:30 p.m. Mix Ryan Hernandez, 6:30 p.m. Naked Lounge Downtown Andromeda Project, 200 West, Scott Ferreter, 8:30 p.m. Old Ironsides Karaoke, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub College Night w/ DJ Rigatony, DJ Alazzawi, 10:30 p.m. Press Club FFFreak w/ CrookOne, DJ Hailey, Dogtones, 9:30 p.m. Red Hawk Casino Buck Ford, 7 p.m. The Stoney Inn Blue Bird Lounge Singer/Songwriter Night, 5 p.m. T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m. Torch Club Hans Eberbach, 5:30 p.m.; James Harman, 9 p.m. Townhouse GRIMEY w/ Stylust Beats, Tha Fruitbat, Infamous, DJ Whores, Crescendo, 9 p.m.
5.23 Wednesday
The Blue Lamp The Dum Dum Girls, Young Prisms, SISU, 8 p.m. The Boardwalk Modern Day Escape, Self Centered, Fair Struggle, Company of Wolves, The Sun Sets Here, 6:30 p.m.
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
Club 21 Bojangles Dance Club w/ DJs Robert Long, Daruma, Markz, Peanut, 9 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Steve McLane, 8 p.m. Harlow’s Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah, The Darcys, 8:30 p.m. Laughs Unlimited Karaoke, 8 p.m. Luigi’s Fungarden Vanna Inget, Sneeze Attack, Armando Rivera & The Featherweight Champions, 7 p.m. Marilyn’s Jeremy Kimmelman Band, 9 p.m. Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, DJ Peeti-V, 9 p.m. Naked Lounge Downtown Evolutia, The Artisan, Crown Point, The Repair, 8:30 p.m. Old Ironsides Open Mic, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub White Minorities, Revolver, Malevolent, 8 p.m. Press Club Musical Charis, Island of Black & White, James Cavern, 8:30 p.m. Red Hawk Casino Buck Ford, 7 p.m. Shakers Pub NEUTRALBOY!, 8 p.m. Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Gardens & Villa, Doom Bird, 8:30 p.m. Torch Club Acoustic Open Mic, 5:30 p.m.; Keri Carr, 9 p.m. UC Davis: Jackson Hall UC Davis Concert Band 7 p.m. Uncle Vitos (Davis) Boom Bip w/ The Flower Vato, 10 p.m.
5.24
Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Gardens & Villa, Doom Bird, 8:30 p.m. The Stoney Inn Zac & Jay, 9:30 p.m. Torch Club X Trio, 5 p.m.; True Mad North, 9 p.m.
5.25 Friday
Ace of Spades Destruction, Warbringer, Vital Remains, Pathology, Solanum, Soma Ras, 6:30 p.m. The Blue Lamp Carly DuHain, Kyle Williams, Machine City, 9 p.m. The Boardwalk Free Boys, Knox, Celly Ru, Mark Sniper, Acktup, City of Trees, 7 p.m. Capitol Garage Get Down to the Champion Sound w/ DJ Esef and special guests, 10 p.m. Center for the Arts Noam Pikelny & Friends, 8 p.m. Cesar Chavez Park Concerts in the Park w/ ZuhG., Element of Soul, Playboy School, DJ X-GVNR, 5 p.m. District 30 Ladies First Fridays w/ DJ Billy Lane, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Golden Cadillacs, Brett Shady, 9 p.m. G Street WunderBar Sucker Punch, Adonis DNA, 9 p.m. Golden Bear DJ Crook, 10 p.m. Javalounge One Hundred Percent, Babs Johnson Gang, Love Is Over, 8 p.m.
Luigi’s Fungarden Friendship, Family Photo, Olla, 8:30 p.m. Luigi’s (Davis) Pets, Sick Kids XOXO, Oh Foot, 8 p.m. Luna’s Cafe The David Lynch Group, 9 p.m. Marilyn’s Jen n’ General, Richard March, Ardellas Crown, 9:30 p.m. Mix MC Doug Lazy, DJ Elliott Estes, 9 p.m. Naked Lounge Downtown Honyock, Scarves, The Somebodys, 8:30 p.m. Old Ironsides Applewhite, Out of Place, Chris Brewer, 9 p.m. Old Sacramento Area Sacramento Music Festival, 1 p.m. The Park Ultra Lounge DJ Eddie Edul, The Dirty Kitties, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub The Hits, 10 p.m. Press Club DJ Rue, 9 p.m. Red Hawk Casino Esp Trio, 5 p.m.; Audioboxx, 10 p.m. The Refuge Walking Spanish, The Kelps, Parie Wood, 7:30 p.m. Sacramento Convention Center Area Sacramento Music Festival, 1 p.m. Shine Nathan Dale, Hans Eberbach, Sandra Delores, 8 p.m. Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Ben Lewis & Friends, Swansea, Rebecca Gates & The Consortium, 9:30 p.m. Swabbies on the River Mach 5, 6 p.m. Torch Club Pailer and Fratis, 5:30 p.m.; Noah & the Mega Fauna, 9 p.m.
5.26 Saturday
Ace of Spades Winds of Plague, A Holy Ghost Revival, Ellipsis, Salythia, Internal Decapitation, Purification By Fire, 6:30 p.m. The Blue Lamp Ape Machine, Horseneck, Ancient Astronauts, 9 p.m. The Boardwalk F1rst Class Citizen, March into Paris, Overwatch, My Dirty Addiction, Us As A Nation, 7 p.m. Bows and Arrows Paper Pistols, Dusty Brown, 7 p.m.
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Ace of Spades The Real McKenzies, Civit, Whiskey & Stitches, BlackEyed Dempseys, 6:30 p.m. The Blue Lamp Musical Charis, Tha Dirt Feelin, Step Jayne, Alt/Recluse, 8 p.m. The Boardwalk Kingtay, Cherry Red, J. Point, Young Shotty, T-Madness, Acie of Smashmouf Ent, Kingswoop, 7 p.m. Bows and Arrows Alma Desnuda, Justin Farren, 8 p.m. Cal Expo Sacramento County Fair Community Day w/ Dog Party, Walking Spanish, The Generals, The Hot Tar Roofers, 3 p.m. Club Retro Ant Wild, K-Ottic, Boom Bap Bullies, PJ, Young Rizz, BLOKC, Guti.B, 7 p.m. The Coffee Garden Open Mic Night, 8 p.m. District 30 Nadia Ali, Trevor Simpson, 9 p.m. Dive Bar Dueling Pianos, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Lucky Laskowski, Bernadette Conan, Mark Badovinac, 8 p.m. Harlow’s The Holmes Brothers, 7 p.m. Javalounge Ramzi, Bur Gur, Chris Sayers, 8 p.m. Luigi’s Fungarden David Liebe Hart, Boat, Darlingchemicalia, 8 p.m. Marilyn’s Rock On Live Band Karaoke, 9 p.m. Mix DJ Billy Lane, 9 p.m. Naked Lounge Downtown Justin Davis, Graham Vinson, Doug Cash, 8:30 p.m. Old Ironsides Crossing the River, Penjula, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Chad Bushnell, 9:30 p.m. Press Club City of Vain, Union Hearts, The Pikeys, Urban Wolves, 8:30 p.m. Red Hawk Casino Buck Ford, 7 p.m. Sol Collective Sick Kids XOXO, Hosannas, Lauren Cole Norton (of The Souterrain), DoofyDoo, 8 p.m.
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No 6 MoNth BS • Good for 1 Year | Walk-iNS WelcoMe all daY everYdaY Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
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The Cave Island of Black & White, The Hey-Nows!, The Vicious Kenits, Old Screen Door, 8 p.m. Club Retro Headlines, Wrings, Hero’s Last Mission, Wales, The Original, First Class Act, 7 p.m. Colonial Theatre Sactown Metal Fest w/ Human Filth, Wurm Flesh, Animism, One In The Chamber, Right, Divination of The Damned, Twitch Angry, Accidentally Murdered, Kryptic Memories, 3 p.m. Fox & Goose Pushtonawanda, The White Walls, Tyler Ragle, 9 p.m. G Street WunderBar Mahtie Bush, Task 1ne, DJ Nocturnal, 9 p.m. Harlow’s John McLaughlin, 7 p.m.; B-Side Players, 10 p.m. Javalounge Sour Deisel, Keloid, Kryptic Memories, 4 p.m.; Egg, For Sayle, 8:30 p.m. Luigi’s Fungarden Toys That Kill, The Bananas, Ennui Trust, Rad, Great Apes, 7 p.m. Marilyn’s Strange Habits, 9:30 p.m. Mix DJ Mike Moss, 8:30 p.m. Naked Lounge Downtown Sweet Potatoes, Melody Walker, AJ Johnson, 8:30 p.m. Old Ironsides Sly Park, 9 p.m. Old Sacramento Area Sacramento Music Festival Parade, 10 a.m. Plea for Peace Center Defunked, The B Sharps, 8 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Arden Park Roots, 10 p.m. Press Club DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m. Red Hawk Casino Esp Trio, 5 p.m.; Audioboxx, 10 p.m. Sacramento Convention Center Area Sacramento Music Festival, 11:30 a.m. Shine Those Meddling Kids, Spencer Hoffman (of Honyock), The Brothers Barringer, 8 p.m. Sophia’s Thai Kitchen TV Girl, Seapony, Dreamdate, 9 p.m. Swabbies on the River 8 Tracks, 4 p.m. Torch Club Johnny Guitar Knox, 5 p.m.; Daniel Castro, 9 p.m. Vega’s The Ricky Del Connection, Tao Jiriki, Total Perspective Vortex, 8 p.m.
Javalounge Audio Waffle w/ Orbless, Klowd, Cathartech, Scard, 12 p.m.; Alarms, The Apathy Cycle, Dead Dads, 8 p.m. Naked Lounge Downtown Robin Reyes, Diana Campos, Gino & Amanda Videche, 5:30 p.m. Old Sacramento Area Sacramento Music Festival, 10 a.m. Powerhouse Pub Chris Cain, 10 p.m. Press Club Sunday Night Soul Party w/ DJ Larry & DJ Hailey, 9 p.m. Red Hawk Casino Jackson Michelson, 7 p.m. Sacramento Convention Center Area Sacramento Music Festival, 10 a.m. Swabbies on the River Cinema 7, 4 p.m. Torch Club Torch Fest w/ Bleedin’ Hearts, Howell Devine, Keri Carr, Fortunate Few, Island of Black & White, Merle Jagger, The Californios, Golden Cadillacs, Walking Spanish, The Dry County Drinkers, Bill Mylar, Forever Goldrush, 12 p.m. Vallejo’s Restaurant Malo, Jorge Santana, 5 p.m.
5.28 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. Luna’s Cafe Nebraska Mondays hosted by Ross Hammond, 7:30 p.m. Naked Lounge Downtown Jazz Session w/ The Joe Mazzaferro Quintet feat. Wynton Marsalis Tribute, 8:30 p.m. Old Sacramento Area Sacramento Music Festival, 10 a.m. Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m. Press Club Work Your Soul w/ DJ Andy Garcia, 9 p.m. Red Hawk Casino Nathan Owens Band, 7 p.m. Sacramento Convention Center Area Sacramento Music Festival, 10 a.m. Sol Collective Microphone Mondays, 8 p.m.
5.27 5.29 Sunday
Ace of Spades Mishka & Anuhea, Micah Brown, Massive Delicious, 6:30 p.m. The Blue Lamp The White Barons, The Hookers, El Camaro, 8 p.m. Capitol Garage Karaoke w/ Jeff Jenkins, 9 p.m. Club 21 Bojangles Dance Club w/ DJs Robert Long, Daruma, Markz, Peanut, 9 p.m. Club Retro Battle of the Bands Finals, 6 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m. District 30 Memorial Day Weekend Beach Bash w/ Andy Caldwell, Stylus, Miguel Ugarte, 12 p.m. Dive Bar Full Melt, 9 p.m.
s eek5! ) W 2 r $2 ings fo45 sAv (A $
Tuesday
The Cave Drinking Water, Ethan Freckelton, Autumn Electric, 8 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. Luigi’s (Davis) White Fang, Fine Steps, Bad Daddies, Sneeze Attack, 8 p.m. Marilyn’s Doug Cash, 5:30 p.m.; Open Mic w/ Chris 2Me, 7:30 p.m. Mix Ryan Hernandez, 6:30 p.m. Naked Lounge Downtown Denver Saunders, Bernadette Conant, Bethany Cowan, 8:30 p.m. Old Ironsides Karaoke, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub College Night w/ DJ Rigatony, DJ Alazzawi, 10:30 p.m. Press Club FFFreak w/ CrookOne, DJ Hailey, Dogtones, 9:30 p.m.
Shine Jazz Jam, 8 p.m. The Stoney Inn Blue Bird Lounge Singer/Songwriter Night, 5 p.m. T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m. Torch Club Tessie Marie & the Poor Man Band, 5:30 p.m.; Island of Black & White, 9 p.m.
5.30 wednesday
Bows and Arrows Lake, 8 p.m. Club 21 Bojangles Dance Club w/ DJs Robert Long, Daruma, Markz, Peanut, 9 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. District 30 Summer Block Party Kick Off w/ DJ Tina T, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Donner, Chris Velan, 8 p.m. Javalounge Lo-Pan, Astral Cult, 8 p.m. Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, DJ Peeti-V, 9 p.m. Naked Lounge Downtown The Thing Itself, Eric Dean, The Escaping Screen, 8:30 p.m. Old Ironsides Open Mic, 9 p.m. Plea for Peace Center Raygun Cowboys, Dandelion Massacre, 7 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Infamous Swanks, Ghost Town Hangmen, Flip the Switch, Verbatim, 8 p.m. Press Club Buk Buk Bigups, JJCNV, Babs Johnson Gang, 8:30 p.m. Torch Club Acoustic Open Mic, 5:30 p.m.; The Californios, Whiskey Pills Fiasco, 9 p.m. UC Davis: Studio Theatre UC Davis Jazz Bands, 7 p.m. Uncle Vitos (Davis) Boom Bip w/ The Flower Vato, 10 p.m.
5.31 Thursday
Ace of Spades (hed)pe, Mushroomhead, American Head Charge, Corvus, Tenafly Viper, Americaz Mozt Haunted, 6 p.m. The Blue Lamp The Avery Wolves, The Jetsinns, The Loveless, 9 p.m. The Boardwalk Long in the Tooth, Sunburn, Sheepherder, The Hunter and the Wolf, Shades of Devastation, 7 p.m. Center for the Arts MaMuse (Album Release), The Railflowers, 6:30 p.m. Club Retro Acoustic Night w/ Jordan White, Fate Under Fire, Lance Mishlau & Kyle Hargue, Mitch Franco, Darren, Lizard, David Garcia, 6:30 p.m. The Coffee Garden Open Mic Night, 8 p.m. Dive Bar Dueling Pianos, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Aaron Welch, Scott Graham, 8 p.m. Fremont Park Hot Lunch Concert Series w/ Island of Black & White, Leonardo Da Vinci Blues Band, 11:30 a.m. Harlow’s Young Dubliners, 7 p.m.
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2310 Fair Oaks Blvd. • (916) 922-9642 • fusionyogasac.com
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas
Javalounge Songwriters Club w/ Max Minardi, Brett Miller, 8 p.m. Marilyn’s Rock On Live Band Karaoke, 9 p.m. Mix DJ Billy Lane, 9 p.m. Old Ironsides Jarrett Killin, Mason & Damon, Infinity Writer, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Tom Drinnon, 9:30 p.m. Press Club The Inversions, The Tyler Ragle Band, The Signifiers, 8:30 p.m. The Stoney Inn Glen Templeton, The Chris Gardner Band, 7:30 p.m. Torch Club X Trio, 5 p.m.; Peck & Major Powers, Lo-Fi Symphony, 9 p.m.
6.01 FRIDAY
Ace of Spades Suicidal Tendencies, Strife, Stepchild, Kill The Precedent, 6:30 p.m. The Blue Lamp Iconoclast Robot, Stuck, Storytellers, 8:30 p.m. The Boardwalk Josh Gracin (from American Idol), Frank Hannon (of Tesla), The Dry County Drinkers, The Zac & Jay Band, Erin McKinney, 7 p.m. Capitol Garage Get Down to the Champion Sound w/ DJ Esef and special guests, 10 p.m. Center for the Arts Wonderbread 5, 7 p.m. Cesar Chavez Park Concerts in the Park 21st B-Day w/ Oleander, Jonny Craig, Track Fighter, Allinaday, Verdugo Brothers, 5 p.m. Fox & Goose Cold Eskimo, Caught in Motion, Surrogate, 9 p.m. G Street WunderBar DJ Chrispix, 9 p.m. Golden Bear DJ Crook, 10 p.m. Harlow’s Cash’d Out, 7 p.m.; Reminisce, 10 p.m. Javalounge White Russian, Instagon, 8 p.m. Luigi’s (Davis) The Secretions, Concussion, Magi-Kool Doods, 8 p.m. Marilyn’s Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, Walking Spanish, 9:30 p.m. Mix MC Doug Lazy, DJ Elliott Estes, 9 p.m. Old Ironsides Mondo Deco, The Blah Boutique, Jem & Scout, War Elephant, 9 p.m. On The Y Chaos in Mind, No Beatings from Holly, Embodied Torment, Vital Perception, In the Silence, 8 p.m. The Park Ultra Lounge Joe Maz, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Tainted Love, 10 p.m. Press Club DJ Rue, 9 p.m. Shine Mango Jennings & Friends, 8 p.m. Sol Collective Izreal Graham (Album Release), J Ross Parrelli, Mic Jordan, Task1ne, Chad Adams, Harry Brown, DJ Kool Kutz, hosted by Old Ghost, 9 p.m. Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Cotton Jones, Old Light, Emily Jane White, 9 p.m. Swabbies on the River Marsellus’ Briefcase, 6 p.m. Torch Club Pailer & Fratis, 5:30 p.m.; Funk Revival, 9 p.m. UC Davis: Jackson Hall University Chorus, The UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, 7 p.m.
6.02 Saturday
Ace of Spades Yo Gotti, Gaudy Boyz, Fr3e Boys, The ONFC, Higher Learning, Quen, 7 p.m. Beatnik Studios Sherman Baker (Album Release), Autumn Sky (Album Release), Ricky Berger, 7 p.m. The Boardwalk C-Dubb (Album Release), Brutha Smith, KickUInDaTeef, Guero & Lil Jess, Foothill Fam, Side FX, 2HK, Skunkzilla, 420, Darkside Boyz, Cylince, Tha Dreammasta, 7 p.m. Cache Creek Casino Arturo Sandoval, 8 p.m. The Cave West of Sunset, Weslester, 8 p.m.
SubmergeMag.com
Club Retro Josiah James, Brett Miller, Jacob David, Jeremy Cater, Moura, 6:30 p.m. Fox & Goose Four Eyes, Bright Faces, Arts & Leisure, 9 p.m. G Street WunderBar DJ Alazzawi, 9 p.m. Harlow’s Juliana Zachariou (Album Release), Elaine Kate, 7 p.m. Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, 7:30 p.m. Javalounge The Astrozombies, Bad Ending, The Porter Project, 4 p.m.; Fate Under Fire, Witzend, Spirit of St. Louis, 8:30 p.m. Level Up Lounge DJ Los, 9 p.m. Marilyn’s Mouthpiece, 9:30 p.m. Mix DJ Mike Moss, 8:30 p.m. Plea for Peace Center Point of View, Second To Last, Jonny Craig, Kurt Travis, 7 p.m. Power Balance Pavilion Powerhouse Pub Coalition, 10 p.m. Press Club DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m. Shine Nyceria, Penjula, Under the Light, One-Leg Chuck, 8 p.m. Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Jhameel, James & Evander, 9 p.m. Swabbies on the River ZuhG, Grass Child, Enoeca, Hans, Quinn Hedges, Skinny Fat, 3 p.m. Torch Club Johnny Guitar Knox, 5 p.m.; Twilight Drifters feat. Charley Baty, 9 p.m.
6.03 Sunday
Ace of Spades Leftover Crack, Apathy Cycle, Another Damn Disappointment, The Scowndrolls, The Aberzombies, 6:30 p.m. The Blue Lamp Pregnant, Carlos Forster w/ Mike Coykendall, The Marble Faun, 3 p.m. Capitol Garage Karaoke w/ Jeff Jenkins, 9 p.m. Club 21 Bojangles Dance Club w/ DJs Robert Long, Daruma, Markz, Peanut, 9 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m. Dive Bar Lindsey Paveo, ZuhG, Barry Crider, 9 p.m. Harlow’s A Silent Film, 7 p.m. Javalounge The Marrow, Odd Moniker, 8 p.m. Plea for Peace Center Dandelion Massacre, 12 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Austin Lounge Lizards, 3 p.m. Press Club Sunday Night Soul Party w/ DJ Larry & DJ Hailey, 9 p.m. Swabbies on the River Indian from Pluto, Hans & the Hot Mess, In the No, Steven Storey, Forest Flanigan, K39, 3 p.m. Torch Club Blues Jam, 4 p.m.; Johnny Guitar Knox, 8 p.m.
6.04 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. Harlow’s JD McPherson, 7 p.m. Luna’s Cafe Nebraska Mondays hosted by Ross Hammond, 7:30 p.m. Plea for Peace Center Vow of Hatred, War Hound, The Beautiful Ones, 7 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m. Sol Collective Microphone Mondays, 8 p.m.
Comedy Laughs Unlimited It’s Not Me, It’s You w/ Tony Dijamco, Kevin Young, hosted by Erikka Innes, May 22, 8 p.m. BT, Mickey Gordon, May 31 - June 3, Thurs., 8 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.
Luigi’s Davis The Comedy Space hosted by Tim Logan & Ray Molina, June 4, 8 p.m. Luna’s Cafe Keith Lowell Jensen’s Comedy Night, every Wednesday, 8 p.m. Naked Lounge Downtown World’s Worst Doctors Comedy Improv, May 31, 8:30 p.m. Po’Boyz Bar & Grill (Folsom) Comedy Open Mic, every Monday, 9 p.m. Punchline Comedy Club Mike E. Winfield, May 23, 8 p.m. For the People Comedy w/ Frankie Quinones and more, May 24, 8 p.m. Comedy Allstars, May 25 - 26, Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. Kabir Singh Presents: When Sac Attacks w/ Ellis Rodriguez, Ric James, DJ Sandu, May 30, 8 p.m. Dat Phan, May 31 - June 3, Thurs., 8 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m. Sacramento Comedy Sportz Mayhem Improv Comedy, every Thursday, 9 p.m. ComedySportz, every Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. Sacramento Comedy Spot The Neighbors Kids, May 24 & 31, 9 p.m. Top 10 List Podcast Live!, May 25 & June 1, 8 p.m. Johnny Taylor Presents Comedy Kill! w/ Trevor Hill, Jason Armenio, Daniel Humbarger, William Head, Leslie Small, Josh Argyle, hosted by Johnny Taylor, May 25, 9 p.m. In Your Facebook, May 26, 8 p.m. Anti Cooperation League Improv, May 26 & June 2, 9 p.m. Worlds Worst Doctors Improv, June 2, 8 p.m. Open Mic Scramble, May 27 & June 3, 7 p.m. The Stoney Inn Comedy Open Mic, every Monday, 8 p.m. Tommy T’s Save Your Seamen: Benefit for Prostate Cancer Survivors w/ Mike Osborne, Daniel Humburger, Jason Resler, Ellis Rpdriguez, May 22, 7 p.m. K-von, May 24 - 27, Thurs., 7:30 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m. John Witherspoon, May 31 - June 3, Thurs., 7:30 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.
WORRIED? STRESSED OUT? DEPRESSED? There are answers in this book. BUY AND READ
DIANETICS
THE MODERN SCIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH
BY L. RON HUBBARD
May you never be the same again.
PRICE: $20.00
Hubbard Dianetics Foundation of Sacramento 1007 6th Street Sacramento, CA 95814 | (916) 448-5891 sacramento@scientology.net www.scientology-sacramento.org © 2012 CSSAC. All Rights Reserved. DIANETICS and SCIENTOLOGY are trademarks and service marks owned by Religious Technology Center and are used with its permission.
Misc. 1409 Del Paso Blvd. GOOD: Street Food & Design Market, June 3, 1 p.m. Blue Cue Trivia Night, every Wednesday, 8 p.m. Bows & Arrows Drawing Event: Pompsicle live figure drawing, May 23, 6 p.m. Art Opening: Jagged Edges by James Mullen, June 1, 6 p.m. The Boxing Donkey Trivia Night, every Tuesday, 8 p.m. Clark’s Corner Cigars & Scoth feat. Casillas Cigars, June 4, 6 p.m. Dive Bar Fishnet Friday’s w/ The Sizzling Sirens, June 1, 9 p.m. E St. Plaza (Davis) Davis Flea Market, May 27, 11 a.m. Fox & Goose Pub Quiz, every Tuesday, 7 p.m. Golden Bear Random Knowledge Trivia Night, every Wednesday, 8 p.m. The Guild Theatre Movies On A Big Screen presents: Gamera the Invincible, May 27, 7:30 p.m. Little Relics Boutique & Galleria Legends & Legendary Show Grande Finale, May 26, 6 p.m. Luna’s Cafe Poetry Unplugged, every Thursday, 8 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Sac Pong Circuit, every Monday, 8 p.m. Sacramento Ballet Studios Beer & Ballet, May 24 - 27 Scottish Rite Center Sac-Con Comic, Toy & Anime Convention, June 3, 10 a.m. Shine Poetry with Legs w/ hosts Primal Urge, Bill Gainer, May 23, 8 p.m. Screenplay Slam: Actors on stage performing local scripts, May 31, 7:30 p.m.
IQ TESTED We offer for a limited time, free intelligence and personality tests. Your IQ, personality and aptitude determine your future. Know them. No obligations.
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Church of Scientology of Sacramento 1007 6th Street • Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 448-5891 www.scientology-sacramento.org
© 2012 CSSAC. All rights reserved. Oxford Capacity Analysis and OCA are trademarks and service marks owned by Religious Technology Center and are used with its permission. Printed in USA.
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
25
Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers go viral for all the right reasons Words James Barone photo josh sanseri
26
M
uch of how the music industry does business has changed, especially over the past decade, but some things remain the same. Perhaps labels aren’t the way to go anymore, and maybe artists are better off releasing EPs or singles as opposed to full-length albums. That’s really just window dressing. What matters is good voices and musicianship plus good songwriting usually equal good music. Unfortunately, another constant of the business seems to hold true: Good music doesn’t always equal success. If there really was a formula that guaranteed a hit, everyone would be using it. In most cases it’s just a matter of chance. It was perhaps good fortune that Nicki Bluhm’s career in music began at all. Her now-husband Tim Bluhm, frontman for The Mother Hips, overheard her sing at a New Year’s Eve party, as the story goes, and encouraged her to start writing songs and perform live. Along with her band The Gramblers, Nicki released her first album, Toby’s Song, in 2009 and has since shared stages with notable rockers such as Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and Jackie Greene. But despite all that, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers recently had an unlikely breakthrough that brought their music to a wider audience. One of a series of videos called “The Van Sessions” the band posted to YouTube went viral. The video features the band singing as they drive between gigs, in this case a cover of Hall and Oates’ classic “I Can’t Go for That.” Posted March 23, the video currently has over 1.2 million hits, and when Submerge conducted a Google search for the song title, Nicki and the Gramblers’ video came up second only to the original. “Subconsciously, I think we knew that it was good content to have, but again, you can never really premeditate or expect
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
anything like that to happen,” Nicki says of the impetus to post the videos in a recent interview. “There are tons of people in the world who do really incredible stuff, and it doesn’t get any attention at all. “For us, we’ve had way more triumphant moments, whether they’re at a show or in the studio or whatever, that people don’t really know or hear about, but for whatever reason, these videos in our van were the things that people like. There’s no way to know that. But what we do know, what we were doing was pure and fun and real.” The video brought the band some much-deserved attention. Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers’ most recent album, 2011’s Driftwood, is a beautiful collection of country-fried pop-rock mixed with sun-baked soul—the kind of songs that seem as though they would be far more at home spinning on vinyl than queued up on Spotify. Nicki is happy to report that once the extra attention was turned her and her band’s way, she and the Gramblers were able to hold on to it. “It was interesting to see something go viral,” she says. “Ultimately, you have all this attention that you weren’t expecting, and your goal is to direct it to your original music. I think we did. I think we managed to do that. I think people saw the video and got curious about who we were. A lot of people really did check out our original stuff and bought our records, and I hope that continues.” As long as they keep putting out good music, it should. Nicki says that the band is currently hard at work on their third album, which should be out in early 2013. When we caught up with Nicki Bluhm, she was fresh back from a rehearsal where the band was revisiting some of their earlier material. Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas
When you go back to the old stuff, do you feel the need to tinker with it a little bit or do you leave it as is? A little bit of both actually. I know when I hear a song off a record, I really appreciate it being played the way I know it and not deviating from that. I guess just putting a little extra glitter on top is what we aim to do, so maybe we’ll add an extra harmony or maybe we’ll add a little extra instrumentation, but structurally we like to stick with how the song was originally written and arranged. You said you’re working on some new songs… We’re in the studio recording our third full-length album. We’ve been playing one song off of that. We’re just so excited to play some of the new songs. We definitely continuously work on the new songs. We’re trying to save a lot of them for the album release, because it’s a lot more fun when the album is fresh, but we can’t help it sometimes. They’ll slowly trickle into our set, I think, leading up to the third album’s release. How long have you been in the studio working on the next record? We’ve been in for a couple of months. We did a lot of it live, full band in the studio, which was really fun. And now we’re doing a lot of going back and listening. Initially we were planning a fall release, but now we’ve pushed it back to 2013 so we can really take our time and make sure we’re really happy with the way the songs turn out. We’re hoping to be done in the next couple months, but we’re still spending some time on it and giving it some extra love and care. Did you start trying out different things than on your last album writing-wise? I think so. Like Driftwood, there were multiple songwriters, so I’ll do a lot of the writing, and so will my husband Tim and Deren Ney, our lead guitar player, and our newest member of almost two years now, David Mulligan, will have a song on the new record. It’s really fun to have multiple songwriters. I think this album will be a little different, because we’re coming more at it as a band in the way that it was recorded—the nature of how the songs were arranged. We went in with skeletons of ideas, and we all helped arranged each other’s songs. There was a bit more of a group effort, I think, in this record as opposed to coming to the studio with a totally finished product and having other people play on it. We all put a little bit of our two cents in on each song.
“A lot of times I listen to live recordings and I’m like, ‘Oh God, I can’t believe this is in the world.’ With a lot of the recordings from the studio, you go back and remember the time that you were doing it and what was going on in your life, and it can be very nostalgic, which is always really fun—or it can be really sad, or whatever it was that you were going through.” – Nicki Bluhm SubmergeMag.com
Listening to Driftwood, it felt like a live album. It sounds like a band record as opposed to a producer’s record. Was a lot of that recorded live? Honestly, I can’t even remember that well. I think it was probably a mix of both. But certainly, I think it was done a bit more piece by piece than the album we’re working on now. We always strive to have that live feel. None of us really like over-produced records. I think the best way to achieve that is to do stuff live, but certainly the current record was done more in that fashion than Driftwood. On Driftwood, there was a little bit less of the live happening, though, of course, there was some. Do you go back and listen to your previous albums? Typically, I don’t love to go back and listen to them. We obviously will reference them. Like today, we were referencing an old record of ours that we’re going to start playing again. It always feels so good. It had been a couple years since I’d listened to the recording and I’d finally listen back and laugh at it, or sometimes it just really warms me too. A lot of times I listen to live recordings and I’m like, “Oh God, I can’t believe this is in the world.” With a lot of the recordings from the studio, you go back and remember the time that you were doing it and what was going on in your life, and it can be very nostalgic, which is always really fun—or it can be really sad, or whatever it was that you were going through. But I don’t make a habit of it, but when I do I typically enjoy re-listening to the recorded songs. Before you were talking about how you like having multiple songwriters. Do you write all the lyrics, or do the guys writing the songs chip in lyrics also? Tim and I will co-write songs, but typically we’ll write our songs independently. One person will write the lyrics and melody. There are exceptions where Tim and I co-write, but for the most part, the songwriter does music and the lyrics. When you’re writing your own lyrics, you know what place it comes from emotionally or mentally or whatever, but when you’re singing someone else’s lyrics, do you have to change your approach to how you connect with the words? I think that because we all know each other so well, but I think we all come at the songwriting— and I obviously can’t speak for everybody else— but it feels like everyone comes from a place where they’re writing songs for the band. So, I’m not sure how personal the songs are to the writer, because they know that they’re writing songs that will be sung by me in this band, so they’re specifically crafted songs. I tend to relate to them all pretty closely. Daren will write songs sometimes from my perspective, so it’s almost like me singing this story of what he thinks about me. It’s all very intimate. We’re all very close… we’re family. If the song is written as a deep emotion for the writer, I feel like I know that person so well, I don’t really have to talk to them about it. I can feel Nicki Bluhm and the and sense. I don’t Gramblers will play know. All I can say is Marilyn’s on K in Sacramento on June 1. that we’re all really Tickets are just $8 and the close, and the songs show will get underway are vehicles for each at 8:30 p.m. For tickets, go to Marilynsonk.com or other and this band, Nickibluhm.com I think.
\ wednesday
may 23
Clap Your Hands saY YeaH
The DaRcys plus
Harlow’s • 2708 J sT. • sacTo • 21 & over • 8:30pm
Dum Dum giRls
wednesday
may 23
plus
Young prisms • sisu blue lamp • 1400 alHambra blvd. • sacTo • 21 & over • 8:00pm sunday
jun 10 plus
union HearTs • sHarp obJecTs
blue lamp • 1400 alHambra blvd. • sacTo • 21 & over • 8:00pm wednesday
jun 27 plus
and so i waTcH You from afar • deafHeaven Harlow’s • 2708 J sT. • sacTo • 21 & over • 7:30pm
heartless bastards
monday
aug 13
plus
liTTle huRRicane
Harlow’s • 2708 J sT. • sacTo • 21 & over • 8:00pm saturday
aug 18
Mother Hips
Harlow’s • 2708 J sT. • sacTo • 21 & over • 8:00pm
abstract entertainment
TickeTs available aT: The beaT (17Th & J sT.), Dimple RecoRDs, phono-selecT oR online aT: evenTbRiTe.com, TickeTs.com • TickeTs for Harlow’s sHows also available aT Harlows.com www.absTracTsacramenTo.com
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
27
BICYCLE MURAL TOUR 2012
Guide yourself through Sacramento’s many murals —with our help, of course
Words Steph Rodriguez | photos Cassie Thompson & Chris Johnson
M
ay is Bike Month occurs once a year, encouraging all Sacramentans to forgo gas-guzzlers and hit the streets on two-wheeled transportation. Learn to tune up your ride by attending the free bike clinics at any Mike’s Bikes location or participate in the Capitol Park Neighborhood Bike Ride pedaling over bridges and through trails with friends. But if it’s eye candy you’re after during a leisurely ride with fellow cyclists, Submerge has once again created a list of murals around the Midtown area you can appreciate while on your fixie, cruiser or single-speed. Artists featured this year include Shaun Burner, Alex “Cabron” Forster, Skinner and plenty more. Since last year’s map, a growing number of new murals have added a colorful touch to coffee shops, convenience stores and even a wildlife nonprofit building. Let this guide be your real-life Choose Your Own Adventure, except better, with bicycles and artistic expressions. Just plug these addresses into Google Maps and have at it!
Ishi
Valley Vision building 2320 Broadway
Cabron (Start of the tour)
Alex Forster, known as Cabron, won the Valley Vision’s mural contest in 2010, choosing to represent the Sacramento Valley’s past by painting the Native American Ishi of the Yahi tribe on the side of the non-profit building. “I just wanted to show one iconic figure from that era and how demographics have changed,” says Cabron of the mural. “Ishi’s story was told in all the schools. He was supposedly the last of his tribe and he epitomizes that shift from the old world and the modern world clashing.” Ishi’s intense eyes watch busy traffic whizzing by the intersection; stare back at Broadway and 24th Street.
A mural of monsters
Javalounge 2416 16th Street
Skinner
Off the beaten path in the alleyway of the Javalounge coffee shop are a gang of monsters painted by local artist Skinner. His mural of ghouls survived a truck smashing into the art piece a couple years back according to the artist, who plans on touching up the piece before summer. “I create because it is a function of who I am,” he says. “It’s in everyone. Everyone has an instinct to explore; it just depends on how much you pay attention to that aspect of yourself [and] how much you nurture your path of discovery.” Skinner is currently at large in Florida doing what he does best.
Time to Wake Up
Sunday Morning in the Mines
Royal Market 1701 T Street
Masonic Temple 1123 J Street
Shaun Burner
Living so close to a blank canvas was too tempting for artist Shaun Burner. Often frequenting Royal Market, Burner bugged owner Haripal Singh for permission to paint the building until he finally gave in. “The open hand with the light coming out [signifies] letting go and the clenched fist with the dark oozing out is holding on,” explains Burner. “The diamond from the third eye for the crown Chakra and also in western culture, the diamond is revered as such a precious gem when the real gem is the mind.” Artist and friend Mike Rodriguez also helped with Time to Wake Up, which is still a work in progress according to Burner.
El Tigre
Born Free USA non-profit building 1122 S Street Cabron
First Ishi, now El Tigre. Cabron once again brightens up the side of a non-profit building, this time, for Born Free USA near 12th and S streets. “When I paint, I like to tell stories. When I hear a story, when I read a book, I visualize it,” he says of his art. Catch the 85-foot-wide, monochromatic tiger during May is Bike Month and be sure to attend the soft opening in celebration of the mural on June 9. This Second Saturday event features DJ Dom Som, indie craft vendors and you can even meet Cabron himself.
Stephanie Taylor
Labor of Love
Limon’s Barber Salon 1423 21st Street Gabriel Romo and Joshua Silveira
Gabriel Romo is currently painting an exposition in Guadalajara, Mexico, with artists Shaun Burner and Miguel Perez. Romo’s Labor of Love mural rests on the side of an old, wooden shed next to Limon’s Barber Salon. “That was the first mural I painted outside,” admits Romo. “That piece was inspired by heartbreak. It started out as an ‘emo piece’ about the labor of love, but it was something the owner was not too interested in. I reworked the idea to include the barber, his labor of love and the piece itself was my labor of love to the community.” Artist Josh Silveira helped complete the mural alongside Romo, who says painting outside has become his new labor of love.
Psychedelic mural painted in 1973
Old Tower Records 726 K Street Frank Carson
K Street businesses have come and gone, but one iconic mural still remains. Chipped away in some areas, but still as bright and psychedelic as ever, is rock concert poster artist Frank Carson’s work. The mural was completed in 1973 and resides on the old Tower Records building. Check it out—man.
28
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
Inspired by the original art piece that hangs in the Crocker Art Museum by German artist Charles Christian Nahl is Stephanie Taylor’s digital reprint on the side of the Masonic Temple on J Street. Whiz down the busy street, safely of course, and catch a glimpse of the men who appear to be climbing out of frame.
Ancient Futurism
Shine Coffee house 1400 E Street Shaun Burner (End of tour)
Slapped on the 14th Street side of Shine coffeehouse is another piece by Shaun Burner. Burner admits to just going with the flow when it came to painting this piece, throwing it up in a couple of hours. “For me, it is a complete release… If I mess up I just make it into something else, not worrying about the line I just dropped or the one coming up, but the one at hand. For me, this is meditation,” says Burner. “It’s my tai chi. It’s a metaphor for life. Do the best you can with whatever you do. Don’t reflect on the past too much or worry about the future, but be present in this moment that is continually happening, and own that shit.” Burner’s on-the-spot Ancient Futurisms make another appearance on the front of the Midtown Furniture & More store on E and 16th streets. May is Bike Month ain’t over yet! There are still a few more events, such as the Tour de Cluck in Davis, before May draws to a close. To learn more, and maybe get inspired for next year, go to Mayisbikemonth.com.
Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas
live<< rewind
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus Sparks The Rescue
Give ‘Em What They Want Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Sparks the Rescue, Namesake, Self Proclaimed, Mercedes Ave The Boardwalk, Orangevale Saturday, May 19, 2012 Words Ashley Hassinger Photos mike ibe From pop-punk to alternative, many types of rock filled the Boardwalk in Orangevale on Saturday. With four bands lined up to open for Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, the audience got a taste of both local and touring bands from across the States. First up was local Sacramento band, Mercedes Ave. Recently formed, the band’s vocals were a bit shaky throughout the performance. The vocals of Kris Loewen and backup vocalist and bassist Nick Lunetta, didn’t quite complement each other; while the melodies from the lead guitarist Nathan Furey and the drumming of Jon Medley were decent. It is evident that the band as a whole had a great love for music, but perhaps with more time with each other, they’ll perfect their sound and blend their vocals and their melodies more seamlessly. As they write in their biography on Facebook, “We aren’t perfect. We still have a long ways to go as a band, as musicians and even as friends.” With their own self-criticism, it won’t be long before their sound is more polished. Self Proclaimed, a four piece band also from Sacramento comprised of vocalist Ethan Blankensop, lead guitarist Matt Miramontes, bass guitarist Blake Harris and drummer Jeffery Willams, gave the audience a good show. Full of energy and projecting a good stage presence, Self Proclaimed had the crowd engaged and played high-energy songs. With fast tempo songs in their set like “Half Past Sunday,” full of catchy hooks, they made it easy for new listeners to jump on board with their sound. Blankensop had a raspy voice, which set the band apart from the previous local talent. They had fun at the end of their set covering Blink-182’s “All The Small Things,” which pumped up the entire crowd. Up next was the first touring band, Namsake from Atlanta, Ga. Signed to Imagen Records, Namesake was a refined pop-rock band. From the vocals of Will Crafton to harmonies from guitarists Brad Wagner and Troy Harmon, bassist Seth Van Dusen and drummer Kevin Nordeste, it was evident that these guys have been performing for a while. SubmergeMag.com
Self-Proclaimed
Their melodies had the entire crowd clapping and bobbing their heads. Conversing with the audience, Crafton spoke to them saying, “I don’t say this very often, but this may be the best crowd of the tour.” The crowd really took to their sound and their chemistry as a band. Namesake ended with their song “Movement,” a tune about getting through a hard time. Sparks the Rescue, from Maine, followed Namesake and kept the energy level high. Around for the past three years, Sparks the Rescue showed that with time, harmony and lyrics are perfected and the interaction amongst the band members was solid. The band changed it up by covering country group Lady Antebellum’s song, “Need You Now.” It was a great cover that gave the song a rock makeover. Sparks the Rescue was a great band to open up for Florida-based rock band The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Around since 2004, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus has used its time together wisely, perfecting their lyrics and refining their rock sound. With the recent release of the newest album Am I the Enemy, the band played a mix of both old and new material. Opening up with the song “False Pretense,” Red Jumpsuit started the crowd off with vigor, and did an amazing job keeping the crowd engaged and up dancing on their feet. Lead vocalist Ronnie Winter slowed down the tempo twice, playing songs “Cat and Mouse” and “Your Guardian Angel” off Red Jumpsuit’s album Don’t You Fake It, acoustically. With one song left in the set, the audience starting shouting “‘Face Down,’ ‘Face Down,’ ‘Face Down.’” Red Jumpsuit obliged by closing out its set with that song. All the bands had a great show, and although some could use improvement in lyrics or chemistry on stage, all had their hearts out on the stage, showing their love for live music.
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
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FacesSubmerge.pdf
5/17/12
7:31:32 PM
2 0 t h & K S t • S a c r a m e n to • ( 9 1 6 ) 4 4 8 - 7 7 9 8 • w w w. fa c e s . ne t
Memorial Weekend Beach Party Fri. May 25th
Free Give-Aways • Cage Dancing • 12 Sexy Go Go Dancers Free Before 10pm (sign up on faces.net or download App)
Sat. May 26th
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Special Guest DJ’s • Live Performances • Cage Dancing 12 Sexy Go Go Dancers
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Y
CM
MY
Sun. May 27th
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CMY
Summer Pool Party Series Official Kick-Off Party Free BBQ • 2-4-1 Drink Specials Special Guest Performances • IPAD Give-Away
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Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
the shallow end Me for Sale James Barone jb@submergemag.com On Friday, May 18, Facebook—you know, the website—became a publicly traded company. I have about as little interest in the stock market as most people who are interested in the stock market probably have in my column, but as with most people who are obsessed with the media, the Facebook IPO (which means initial public offering, as I have now found out) was big news. That rat-prick bastard and founder, CEO and majority shareholder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg, rang the opening bell as his company’s stock opened at $38 on the NASDAQ. At the ceremony he stated in that croakingly annoying voice of his that Facebook going public was a huge milestone for the company, but it wasn’t the ultimate goal for the Menlo Park, Calif.-based media giant. “Our mission isn’t to be a public company,” the 28-year-old fucking billionaire said to the crowd. “Our mission is to make the world more open and connected.” Well, la-di-da. After a half-hour delay in the trading (presumably as NASDAQ officials posted, liked and shared statuses commemorating the event), the mad dash began to gobble up pieces of the world’s largest social network, which now boasts nearly a billion users. The price of the stock quickly rose 10 percent, but then as people realized they were clamoring to buy shares in a company that essentially produces absolutely nothing and provides a service of questionable value, the price dropped. Facebook closed up a mild 23 cents after its first day of trading. Pundits and commenters were quick to chime in on Facebook’s lackluster showing. In a video posted by the Associated Press, Brian Hamilton, CEO of Sageworks, a financial information company, pointed to that little shit Zuckerberg, who is sole majority shareholder wielding a lot of power in the company, as a possible culprit. “You’re making a big bet in one individual,” said Hamilton, who also brought into question the belief that Facebook’s user base is infinite. The video also ruminated over the debate of just how the social networking platform could actually "monetize its users" (i.e. us). This is what sort of rubs me the wrong way. It’s not that I’m jealous of that fucking weasel-y,
hoodie-wearing prick Zuckerberg for having an awesome Aaron Sorkin-written movie about his life or for attaining an almost god-like level of success—a level that not even in my wildest, delusions of grandeur could I ever have the scope or breadth of imagination to dream up for myself—at such a young age. Seven years younger than me to be exact. I’m not jealous. I’M NOT. What bothers me (really I’m not) is that what Zuckerberg and now all these fuckwits on Wall Street are making money off of is me, and not just me but all of you too. Now, this isn’t like another product. CocaCola makes its money off of us too. It provides us with a soft drink that we fork over money for. That’s fine. They get profits, we get diabetes. Maybe that’s not the best example, but you see what I’m saying. But considering what we share on Facebook on an everyday basis, it’s really us that they’re selling. Our lives are online now. Where we’re going; who we’re there with; pictures of our kids; comments from our mother; wishes for a happy birthday; who we’re in a relationship with, how we just became single and why it’s complicated now; how you feel about that asshole who just cut you off in traffic. It’s all on there. When pundits and commenters are using nebulous terms like “user base,” what they really mean is all of you, if you’re on Facebook. I’m guessing you probably are. So what do we get out of this? It’s too early to tell, really. Maybe with the influx of investor capital, the site will see some exciting new improvements. Maybe the app for iPhone will finally work like it’s goddamn supposed to (I’m not holding my breath), but that’s all best-case scenario stuff. Now that it’s a publicly traded company, all those people with their hands in the pot are going to want to see returns on their investment. They’re going to see us (I’m sorry, the user base) as dollars and cents. What exactly are we worth? Am I making any sense? In any case, I’m sure whatever happens, we won’t see a penny from it. No one will give us a nickel for sharing our lives so openly so others can profit. Zuckerberg won’t have us over for a barbecue at his mansion, to thank us for making him so exorbitantly rich, that obnoxious, nerdy bitch. I mean, I’m not jealous, I’m just saying.
Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas
The
Boardwalk
Wednesday, may 23
BoarDwalKroCKs.Com
a savage loCal show
brodi niCholaS, mr. p Chill, iSland of blaCK & White, Sunny b, the old SCreen door, pendula THURsday, JUne 14
THURsday, may 24
Kingtay
Cherry red, J. point, young Shotty, t-madneSS, aCie of SmaShmouf ent, KingSWoop FRiday, may 25
anybody Killa
dJ Clay (inSane CloWn poSSe), divided allegianCe, SyndiCate of SilenCe, KiCKuindateef, loWer level
FRiday, JUne 15
Free Boys
Knox, Celly ru, marK SnipeS, aCKtup, City of treeS saTURday, may 26
F1rst Class Citizen
marCh into pariS, overWatCh, my dirty addiCtion, uS aS a nation THURsday, may 31
long in the tooth
Sunburn, Sheepherder, the hunter and the Wolf, ShadeS of devaStation
biSpora, Journal, Soma raS, tauniS year one, SymboliK saTURday, JUne 16
Vanishing aFFair
doWnShift, Jaxx, the artiSan, built the Stereo, bamvox, devil’S train Wednesday, JUne 20
J. Geils & FrienDs
feat. Jeff PitChell & gerry BeauDoin saTURday, JUne 23
FRiday, JUne 1
simple Creation
from ameriCan iDol
from tesla
the dry County drinKerS, the ZaC & Jay band, erin mCKinney
franK hannon
9426 greenBaCK
Orangevale
saTURday, JUne 9
Self Centered, fair Struggle, Company of WolveS, the Sun SetS here
(tribute to ronnie montroSe),
Rockin’ Northern California Since 1987
saTURday, JUne 2
Sono vero, offiCial reSponSe, t-dub & the internationalS, parallel THURsday, JUne 28
shaDes oF DeVastation Salythia, the War Within
C-DuBB CD release
brutha Smith, KiCKuindateef, guero & lil JeSS, foothill fam, Side fx, 2hK, SKunKZilla, 420, darKSide boyZ, CylinCe, tha dreammaSta Wednesday, JUne 6
FRiday, JUne 29
wesley aVery
method eCho, WringS, the reel, SenSual Saint saTURday, JUne 30
frieghtline (tribute to grand funK railroad) THURsday, JUne 7
reStrayned, SuCKer punCh, forCe of habit, terra ferno coming soon
egg
CaliSta SKy, e-Squared, bloody rootS FRiday, JUne 8
Simpl3JaCK, the Community, the treeS
7/5: 7/6: 7/7: 7/8:
laCe leno mr. rogers alaCer snaKes n CiDer 7/12: potluCK 7/19: KeVi KeV
7/20: FriDay 7/21: BeFore you Fall 7/22: ConDuCting From the graVe 8/23: pat traVers
ALL SHOWS ALL AGES • 21+ BAR AREA tiCKets aVailaBle at all Dimple reCorDs loCations, BoarDwalKroCKs.Com anD BoarDwalK Box oFFiCe Doors @ 7pm /show @ 8pm For most shows. CheCK BoarDwalKroCKs.Com For up to Date tiCKet priCes, Door & show times
SubmergeMag.com
Issue 111 • May 21 – June 4, 2012
31
Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas
may 21 – june 4, 2012
#111 Blackbird Restaurant +Amazing BarGrace Bicycle Mural 2012 Tour Exercise Your Eyes Nicki Bluhm
Gypsy Mobile Boutique Retail on the Go James
and the Gramblers Sweet Nostalgia
+Torch Fest
is hotter than a Memorial Day BBQ
A Skylit Drive headlines Zumiez Couch Tour
Depp and Burton
lurk in the Shadows
free
Mullen Art You Can’t
Look Away From
sherman baker comi n g
clea n