Submerge Magazine: Issue 63 (July 5-19, 2010)

Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas

july 5 – july 19, 2010

#63 Grandaddy + Earlimart=

Admiral Radley Bastards of Young Keeping Sacramento Punk Alive and Young

Mozart Season It All Starts Here

sheL b y kaN tA r

free The Shack Beer & Burgers!

L i f e o f R i c hes •

Dum Dum Girls Live at the Lamp

•

Musical Charis music for people

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Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

contents

63

14 08

I wish i was

on a boat!

2010

july 5 – 19

03 Dive in 04 The Stream The Optimistic 05 Pessimist 08 Admiral Radley your senses 11 Submerge Season 12 Mozart 14 Shelby Kantar 16 Bastards of Young 18 Calendar 23 refined tastes Spotlight 24 Album The Shack

Musical Charis People People

12 cofounder/ Editor in Chief/Art Director

Melissa Welliver melissa@submergemag.com cofounder/ Advertising Director

Jonathan Carabba jonathan@submergemag.com Advertising sales

16 Contributing Writers

Joseph Atkins, Robin Bacior, Josselin Basaldu, Corey Bloom, Bocephus Chigger, Liz Franco, Brad Fuhrman, Anthony Giannotti, Blake Gillespie, Vince Girimonte, Ryan L. Prado, Adam Saake Contributing Photographers

Josselin Basaldu josselin@submergemag.com

Matthew Burks, Wesley Davis, Russ Wonsley

senior editor

Vince Girimonte, Monica McStotts

James Barone Contributing editor

Mandy Johnston

distribution

Dum Dum Girls, Crocodiles

Submerge Magazine

2308 J Street, Suite F Sacramento, Calif. 95816

916.441.3803 info@submergemag.com

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

SubmergeMag.com

25 live<<rewind shallow 26 the end

printed on recycled paper

dive in

All content is property of Submerge and may not be reproduced without permission.

Visit www.submergemag.com to view more material you can’t have. Submerge is both owned and published by Submerge Network. 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 2443 Fair Oaks Blvd. #508, Sacramento, Calif.

95825. Or you can e-mail us at info@submergemag.com. Your opinion matters to us, believe it or not, so please feel free to speak your mind and we just might listen. Thanks for reading Submerge!

Melissa welliver melissa@submergemag.com Every time summer rolls around I think of how much I love water related activities. I simply want to spend every free minute in or around the water.

There’s something special about H20, and sure, maybe it has a little bit to do with the hot-ass Sacramento summer sun, but it makes people come together like no other. Oh, the joys of cooling down, relaxing and simply having a good time are owed to this awesome molecule.

Particularly for me, I think my fondness of water stems from my upbringing and being fortunate enough to have had parents with a ski boat and a best friend with a houseboat. I’d classify my younger self as somewhat of a “lake rat.”

Spending 70 percent of my school-free days on lakes (mostly Shasta), I have done everything from skiing and kneeboarding to tubing behind a boat at 30 miles per hour.

I even have dabbled in the world of wakeboarding. Only being able to clear the wake and maybe do a bunny-hop here and there, I decided I’m much better at being a spectator of this ever growing sport. I have much admiration for those who are able to basically use the water as a trampoline, springing off the boat’s wake to do an “insert silly trick name here,” all while being pulled fast as fuck behind a water vessel.

One of the best things about living in Northern California is all the great lakes and rivers around the Sacramento and surrounding areas, my two favorites being the Delta and Shasta Lake—a bit further north, but worth the drive.

The Sacramento River and the Delta are actually the home turf of professional wakeboarder and West Sacramento native, Shelby Kantar, who graces our lovely front cover for issue 63. Please read about this professional rider and how she’s traveled the world but still realizes its smart to finish school and get a degree. You can read more about this Sacramento State graduate (where she’s also working on her masters) on page 14.

Beyond water, another great thing about this time of year are all the CD releases that are happening.

Locally we have Mozart Season (back cover), who recently signed to Equal Vision Records and are putting out an EP titled Nightmares on July 20. Please read on page 12 our interview with Nate Richardson and Troy Cooper as they discuss that even though the band has been around for five years, the hard work actually starts now.

The second local band that’s featured in this issue is Bastards of Young, who are currently on tour with The Secretions. They are releasing their first album this summer and will be back in Sacramento on July 17 to perform at The Press Club. My favorite part about their release, California Redemption, is it’s available on cassette (but you can also download it). If you are unable to attend the show on the 17th, you will have another opportunity to get your cassette from them when they preform July 24 at Luigi’s Fungarden.

And finally, on July 13, Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray of Earlimart and Jason Lytle and Aaron Burtch of Grandaddy have joined forces and are releasing an album called I Heart California under the new moniker Admiral Radley. They will be on tour supporting their new release and Sacramento is very lucky to be able to see them live at the Blue Lamp on July 16.

Please read our great piece about them on page 8 where they discuss how they got together and even how they decided to name their band (it’s a pretty wild story).

front cover photo of Shelby Kantar courtesy of Liquid Force back cover photo of mozart season

by Russ Wonsley

Enjoy issue 63!

Melissa-Dubs

Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

3

The stream Kanye West will drop his new album on Sept. 14.

The new LP is titled Good Ass Job and will feature the single “Power,” which leaked last month. Billboard reports that Q-Tip, Pete Rock and Wu Tang’s RZA all loaned a hand in production on the album. Good Ass Job takes a departure from Kanye’s last effort, 808s & Heartbreak, dropping the soulful Auto-Tune singing (isn’t that quite the oxymoron) and returning to his traditional rapping. West officially released “Power” on July 1, after performing the song live at the BET Awards the Sunday before.

4

reading all the blogs, so you don’t have to...

The anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death was June 25, and what better way to honor the musical legend than to auction off all of his personal memorabilia. Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas hosted the occasion that featured everything from Jackson’s loafers to his jackets. Jackson’s infamous crystal sequined glove from his 1984 “Victory” tour fetched a cool $192,000. The loafers brought in $90,000 after being listed at only $2,000 to $3,000. The auction brought in just under $1 million as the MJ super fans ran wild.

Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson was tabbed to complete unfinished work of late and legendary songwriter and composer George Gershwin. Gershwin,

who rivaled Irving Berlin as one of the originators of the popular song, left behind two unfinished songs when he died in 1937. Wilson took the unfinished music to complete “The Like in I Love You” and “Nothing But Love,” and will add his own versions of 11 other Gershwin tunes for Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin. The collection of classics will be released Aug. 17 and then Aug. 24 on vinyl. Brian Wilson said in a press release, “[Gershwin] had a gift for melody that nobody has ever equaled, yet his music is timeless and always accessible. This is the most spiritual project I’ve ever worked on.”

Somehow Poison’s Bret Michaels has revitalized his career, enough to at least stay present in popular culture. Artistically, he’s an afterthought, but Michaels has managed to keep his career afloat…a hard task for a washed-up former hair band lead singer. He has parlayed his VH1

Brad Fuhrman brad@submergemag.com

reality show Rock of Love into a role on Celebrity Apprentice, a duet with Miley Cyrus and now a potential spot as Simon Cowell’s replacement on American Idol. “I would love to be a judge on American Idol. I think I would bring a lot to the table. I would have to bring my own personality.”

And then he proceeded in standard pop-star fashion by referring to himself in the third person.

“Bring Bret Michaels in to be original to who and what I am. Bring someone who can bring a little grit, true grit back to the show.” Michaels is reportedly meeting with Idol executives to discuss the possibility of him joining Ellen DeGeneres on one of television’s most popular shows.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

The Optimistic Pessimist Man vs. Woman Bocephus Chigger bocephus@submergemag.com I’m Bocephus Grylls. I’ve traveled to the most dangerous parts of the planet in search of the most extreme challenges, all to show you how to survive. I’ve been to the edge, and I’ve always made it back, but this may be my toughest challenge yet. I’m in Sacramento, braving the raging storms of the dating scene. Last year, hundreds of people were shot down while trying to meet people at bars across the city. I’m here to see if I’ll fare any better and hopefully give you some tips and tricks so you can survive the harsh climate that is Sacramento’s dating scene.

After seeing the congested causeway traffic, I knew my only way in was by helicopter. I used an old British Special Forces technique to rappel in quickly and silently so as to not arouse suspicion. Once I hit the ground, I quickly gathered my rope and began surveying the area for other useful items. I found a small glass mirror, a burned CD titled ‘70s Love Funk, a couple limes and various bar flyers, which I added to my pack. You never know what you are going to need, but you don’t want to be left empty-handed at a critical moment.

With my gear stowed away, it was time to head into the jungle. I reviewed the flyers and chose my target location: 21st and Q or, as the locals say, Benny’s. I’d heard the drinks are strong here and the crowd is diverse. If I was going to succeed, I needed to keep my options open. A diverse crowd is going to let me do that. After ordering a drink to equalize the playing field, I decided to assess the situation with a quick go around the bar. It wasn’t long before I spotted a quiet, brown-haired female in the corner nursing a drink with her best mate.

I grabbed the stool next to her when I ordered my next drink and listened in on her conversation with her friend. It turned out she just broke up with her boyfriend last week. She said she was driving down an alley not too far from there, and she saw

her boyfriend kissing some other girl. She was so pissed that she threw a bunch of CDs at him out her car window. Then she said something about funk love songs and how much she missed that CD. Man alive!

I couldn’t believe my luck. The crew must have had a hand in this. I pulled the CD I had found earlier out of my rucksack and baited the trap. It only took a second for her to notice.

With my trap sprung it was time to start improvising some sort of shelter. I waited for her friend to go to the bathroom to make my move. Before we knew it, we were in a cab on the way to her house. I found a bottle of tequila in her kitchen, but there was nothing to mix it with. I reached into my pack and pulled out the two limes I found earlier and suggested body shots. It was a risk, but I had to build this fire before it was too late. We pounded shots until only the worm remained. I knew it would be an excellent source of protein, so I swallowed it down. She asked what else I had in my pack, and I showed her the rope. I found some old boards and using the rope, I was able to fashion a sex swing. It was impressive, and apparently she thought so too.

I woke up the next morning with a bad headache and an even worse taste in my mouth. The woman next to me was white as a ghost. After several unsuccessful attempts to wake her, I found my rucksack and grabbed the mirror. A bushman in the Outback of Australia once told me that if you held up a mirror under someone’s nose, you would be able to tell if that person was still breathing. It was my first time trying the technique, but it worked!

With her life secured, I left my phone number on her nightstand and headed off to my rendezvous point. Thanks to good equipment, planning and a lot of luck, I accomplished my goal, and I’ll live to see another day.

www.215grass.com

THIS AD IS INTENDED FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN ISSUED AND HAVE A VALID RECOMMENDATION FOR THE USE OF MEDICAL CANNABIS.

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

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Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

ALL SHOWS ALL AGES

The TickeTs AvAilAble @ Dimple RecoRDs, The beAT, ARmADillo(DAvis), TickeTs.com, musicToDAy.com, boARDwAlkRocks.com AnD boARDwAlk box office

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

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ALL SHOWS ALL AGES SubmergeMag.com

The TickeTs availaBle @ dimple records, The BeaT, armadillo(davis), TickeTs.com, musicToday.com, Boardwalkrocks.com and Boardwalk Box office

VENUE • 1417 R STREET • SACRAMENTO

Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

7

Salute eey at their aSltRa dl A dm S ing T h eir Ca l ifor n ia De vot ion r

Words Robin Bacio

enon, but the amount of State pride isn’t a new phenom thrown toward California and in n grow adoration continually awed at. It’s a destination, an is definitely something to be sprawl of drastically varying anchoring point and a wide . breathtaking than the previous e landscapes, each mile mor that rise surp and it comes as no It really is the Golden State, ia r new album I Heart Californ thei dub ld wou Admiral Radley . plot tern wes d goo this for to openly announce their love noza and Ariana Murray The four members (Aaron Espi rs Earlimart, and Jason Lytle of the straight forward alt-rocke country-twangers Grandaddy) and Aaron Burtch of former llers of the Central Valley, a were all past-or-present dwe California that can be a bit of section of the giant sprawl quiet, creatively. roll coming out of there,” “There’s not a lot of rock ‘n’ Espinoza said. their similar roots and The two groups bonded over Espinoza said. ds,” frien e “geographically we mad is what led to the eventual That topographic connec tion Radley. Grandaddy frequently merger, later dubbed Admiral re Espinoza had relocated whe toured through Los Angeles home; eventually in return, and would often stay at his , imart on the road with them Grandaddy began to bring Earl . two the een d betw which created a stronger bon to take us on tour with “They were super kind enough ame really, really close them a bunch, and we just bec . because of that,” Espinoza said ed, and eventually aint acqu er bett g min beco r Afte rt and Grandaddy ima Earl , unit somewhat of a tight-knit e idea of creating one cohesiv began casually toying with the an e mor , ision dec ed n’t a forc project. The collaboration was ent. lvem evo easy ty naturally,” Espinoza said.

“It all just came together pret don’t we get together and “We all just decided, ‘Hey, why e some songs together for a basically drink beer and mak few days,’” Espinoza said. t they recorded a few This was in 2004, at which poin e across their name, taken rough tracks, when they cam the man /my th himself, from a chance encounter with in Los Angeles, taking a Admiral Radley. The group was in the studio. They headed ion break from a lackluster sess to check out a Heisuke to the Hammer Art Museum were approached by a suited, Kita zawa exhibit, where they as Admiral Radley. After a older man referring to himself which the foursome told ng duri short bit of conversing— toying with for the band and him some names they were his thumb—he told them, with Murray pulled a splinter from they should name themselves a prophetic sort of command, advice. The stor y sounds a his after him. They clearly took “in essence, it’s all basically little odd, even fictitious, but . find him again,” Espinoza said true, so we’re just trying to

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Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

aligned be falling into a kind of preWhile everything seemed to ical mus was waist-deep in their own place, at the time everyone k wor to time parallel pockets of free endeavors and couldn’t find dy dad Gran ch whi ng few years, duri on the project. Over the last lly all siting the material and eventua revi an beg four the ed, disband parts, new remixed and added some went down to Los Angeles and rt California. resulting in their record, I Hea noza in a van going to SXSW,” Espi e we’r w kno you “Next thing ” fun. it’s is, it t wha y ly trul said. “It’s been fun; that’s real the ” seems to be the lace tying That defining undertone of “fun All “I’m and ” gs like “Sunburn Kids album together. Carefree son but a sound and consistent pulse, n clea a p kee r” Fucked on Bee inent on prom is e igre ped try oun alt-c rela xed demeanor; the band’s “Lonesome Co.” more ballad-esque songs like track, “I Heart California,” The album begins with the title Admiral became centered on. All the which the record incidentally little with and ia, forn Cali in ed and rais Radley members were born dents. exception have remained resi k it ination with California. I thin fasc this “We’ve always had r offe to has it gs thin , all of the is the best state in the country said. a noz Espi s,” che bea and forests geographically— deserts and with coin there’s all this weird shit “But on the other side of the y side seed a ly ss. There’s definite politics, crime and homelessne g on blin dab of kind n’s ar song, Jaso to it as well. On that particul both sides of the coin there.”

88

ation “We’ve always had this fascin best with California. I think it is the ngs thi state in the country, all of the serts de it has to offer geographically— the on and forests and beaches. But this all other side of the coin there’s and weird shit with politics, crime a ly homelessness. There’s definite seedy side to it as well.” dley – Aaron Espinoza, Admiral Ra

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OK, where as in Earlimart I hav is scheduled to release The album, I Heart California, nately touring the West Coast, July 13, followed by predomi y pit stops in monster hubs but making a few cross-countr is the future of Admiral Radley like New York. Beyond that, … them find know where to unknown, but you’ll always

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SubmergeMag.com

Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

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Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Your Senses SEE HEAR TASTE Touch

TOUCH

Water Features at Folsom Aquatic Center

Beat the summer heat and have fun doing it at the Folsom Aquatic Center, located at 1200 Riley Street. Even if you or someone you know has a pool, you surely don’t have four diving boards; giant inflatable toys (think ABC’s Wipeout); a three-story-tall, 165-foot-long waterslide; a high dive; a play structure (which features a slide, climbing ladders, adjustable sprayers and water cannons!); lap lanes; water basketball; inner tubes and a snack bar. Folsom Aquatic Center also offers all sorts of swim lessons for kids, as well as classes for adults like water aerobics and Pilates. The Folsom Aquatic Center provides lifeguards trained at the highest level, so you can relax and be assured the kids will be safe. For hours of operation, prices, and more information, call (916) 355-8318.

HEAR

Tips on Screenwriting From a Pro Aspiring writers, listen up: here’s your chance to learn the ins and outs of screenwriting from someone who actually knows what he’s talking about. Gary Weinberg, a member of the Screen Actors Guild, is an accomplished screenwriter and actor. He’s written everything from television pilots to full-length films; he’s actually sold screenplays (the important and hardest part); performed with countless theaters (many right here in the Sacramento region); appeared on television, in indie flicks and in national commercials; he co-produced for Alpine Pictures and more. He’s back in Sacramento after living in Los Angeles for a while and is itching to share his knowledge with our region’s writers. His Screenwriting 101 class, scheduled for Saturday, July 17 at Tangent Art Gallery (2900 Franklin Boulevard), is a three-and-a-half hour workshop that guides students through basic screenplay formatting and structure, plot and character development, how to write great dialogue and how to get a script seen. Maybe you’ve had an idea for a great movie for years, maybe you’re just curious about the process of writing a script for film, Weinberg’s intro class is a good place to start. If you find it’s something you’re really passionate about, you can enroll in his eight-week-long “intensive” screenwriting program. For more information on how to enroll, visit www.generationnextmedia.org.

SEE

Bastille Day Waiter’s Race On Wednesday, July 14, Sacramento will celebrate the French national holiday Bastille Day with our very first Parisian-style waiter’s race. Watch local waiters and waitresses race through the streets holding trays of wine bottles and glasses (usually with one hand), with the ultimate goal being quite simple: cross the finish line first with the bottle and glasses intact and as full as possible. The tradition started in Paris pre-World War II and American cities have been catching on ever since. New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., are a few who have joined in on the fun. The Sacramento race will fittingly start at Le Petit Paris at 10th and Capitol streets and will end in the courtyard at 1801 L Street.

SubmergeMag.com

TASTE

Capay Tomato Tasting and Celebration with Live Music Capay Organic and Farm Fresh to You are putting on a really killer event on Saturday, July 10, at Capay Organic (FFTY’s “second generation farm”), which is located just 40 minutes west of Sacramento. Bring your friends and family, come out to the farm and taste some delicious heirloom tomatoes and tacos made with fresh farm veggies. Dance to live music from The Bottom Dwellers, The West Nile Ramblers and Mumbo Gumbo, and support their sustainable nonprofit by purchasing beer or wine or by bidding on silent auction items. Bring some chairs or a blanket and make an afternoon out of it! Tickets are $15 in advance, available by calling the Farm Fresh To You office at (800) 796-6009.

Visit www.farmfreshtoyou.com for more information.

Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

11

Moving Pictures

With Their Debut EP for Equal Vision Records, Mozart Season Gets Down to Business Words James Barone | photos Russ Wonsley Movies—especially great love stories—end when the characters realize their love for one another.

But really, isn’t that the beginning of the story?

With roughly five years under its belt, Sacramento post-hardcore band Mozart Season has had a career that is practically cinematic in its ups and downs: extended breaks, members coming and going—it hasn’t been the smoothest ride. But through it all, the band’s founding members, including frontman Nate Richardson, managed to keep the banner of Mozart Season flying at full mast and play to an avid (and downright rabid) local fan base. In June, the band announced that they had signed with Equal Vision Records, a name of great renown in the punk/hardcore

12

scene. The Albany, N.Y.-based label has been home to Coheed and Cambria, Circa Survive and H2O, and now boasts a lineup that includes Pierce the Veil and Chiodos among others.

“I’ve always been working toward this,” says Mozart Season bass player Troy Cooper, a member of the band since November 2008.

Cooper was handpicked to take the mantle of bass player by his predecessor, Richardson’s older brother Nick. Cooper is still very appreciative of the opportunity he was given and able to run with. “To join Mozart Season with people I was friends with and play the music I enjoy and sign to the label I’ve wanted to sign with since I was a kid is crazy and lucky,” he says.

Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

A fairytale ending? Actually, it’s just the beginning of the story.

The band announced the signing to Equal Vision with a quick blast on Twitter. “We are very excited to annnounce [sic] that we have signed with Equal Vision Records!” the post read. The day before, the band hinted that they’d be letting fans in on “the greatest secret we’ve ever kept.”

But this great news wasn’t as immediate as Twitter’s 140 characters might have you believe.

The band traveled a long road to work up to that announcement.

“We officially signed two months ago,” Cooper explains. “We’ve been working on the album and getting all the artwork together. The whole preparation for the announcement took a long time.”

In fact, Mozart Season had been in touch with Equal Vision for a long time prior, but the band’s first attempt to get the label’s attention fell through.

“What initially happened is that when we hit up Equal Vision, we talked to one of their regular A&R guys, and we just lost touch with him,” Richardson says. But, according to Richardson, the band pushed on undaunted, and soon it was Equal Vision that came calling after them.

“We just kept touring and doing our thing and then Equal Vision hit us back up, so that’s what got us excited as far as them pursuing us,” he says. “From there, it was really easy to get in touch with them. They were open and honest about our contract, what they wanted and expected out of us, and we had the same policy with them. It was a good fit. We felt real comfortable with them from the start.”

Mozart Season’s relationship with Equal Vision took a serious step in December 2009 when label manager Daniel Sandshaw traveled to Sacramento to see the band play.

“We met with him, had dinner with him and talked with him about the label and got to know him better,” Cooper says. But even though he may have always wanted to be a part of the Equal

Vision family, Cooper and the band didn’t jump to any decisions as far as picking a label goes. He says he was also realistic about what signing to a label actually meant.

“When Equal Vision offered us a deal, we talked to our friends in bands that were signed about the perks, the pros and cons, the reality of what being signed is—which isn’t everything everyone thinks it is,” Cooper says. “You don’t get thousands of dollars thrown at you, and you don’t rocket to the top. Everything is still about working hard and building a name for yourself.”

With the label deal sorted out, Mozart Season focused on the real work—putting together their debut for Equal Vision. After some discussion between the band and the label, it was decided to release an EP, Nightmares (due out July 20), that would comprise old and new songs. Three songs (“Look Mom, I’m on TV,” “Saint Peter” and “Ankle Deep Ocean”) were taken from the band’s previous effort, the independently released 2009 EP Apotheosis, with the remaining three being new material.

“These three songs we felt were not only the standout three of Apotheosis, but also the songs that fit the theme of the Nightmares EP—just chaos and being scared of the future and the past,” Richardson says.

The songs chosen from Apotheosis were not tweaked or re-recorded for Nightmares. Cooper says that Equal Vision “really liked” Apotheosis, and wanted to bring its songs to a wider audience.

“We’ve sold a lot of copies of that EP [Apotheosis] on iTunes and hard copies, but on a grand scale, so many people have yet to hear those songs,” Cooper says.

There was even talk of just re-releasing the old EP under the new label, but Cooper calls the decision to mix old and new material the “middle ground” between the two ideas.

“We released [Apotheosis] a year and a half ago now…in January 2009, so we’ve been playing those songs for a while,” Cooper says. “We’ve been promoting that and putting that out for a Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

while. We had these new songs written, and we were planning to record a new EP even if we were unsigned this time this year.

“Our sound has progressed so much over the last year of the band playing together, mostly because this is our first time we’ve had a good amount of time to write with each other, with some of the new members,” he goes on to say.

“We wanted to just show the progression we’ve made.”

This progression sounds like an absolute explosion with Nightmares’ opening track “Famous Last Words (You’re Nothing Without Me).” The furious fretwork of guitarists Sam Trux and Benton Christensen fuel Richardson’s vocal fire as heavy verses give way to catchy, melodic choruses. Richardson’s performance shows remarkable versatility morphing from abrasive hollering to something sweetly sonorous.

The vocalist says the pop influence in some of the band’s newer songs wasn’t necessarily intentional. However, he does credit the EP’s engineer, Jay Trammell, with guidance toward that direction.

“That’s just what came out,” Richardson says. “I’m flattered that you said it’s catchy. I’m stoked, but that wasn’t what I was going for. Jay definitely helped shape that with me.”

“We wanted to write a song that has a lot of heavier parts to it, but wasn’t generic,” Cooper says of “Famous Last Words.” “We don’t try to overcomplicate stuff too much.”

Unfortunately, outside complications

affected the recording process of Nightmares.

One drummer left to get ready for marriage and another, Joseph Arrington from Utah-based band Riots of Eighty, stepped in to record the drums for the album. Luke Allen (formerly of Consider the Thief) has since replaced Arrington as Mozart Season’s permanent drummer. Luckily, Equal Vision was very understanding of the band’s predicament.

“They were really supportive and at that point, just working with the four core members: Benton, myself, Troy and Sam,” Richardson says.

“Once we brought Luke on board, they were super stoked about his history with Consider the Thief and his drumming ability. They wanted us to take our time and find someone we’d be happy working with for a long time.” Richardson goes on to say that Allen is the best drummer Mozart Season has had. “He’s the shit. He rules, and you can put that in writing.”

Though they’re both pleased with their band signing to a prominent indie, both Richardson and Cooper realize that the real work starts now.

“We’ve been jamming and playing local shows and small tours for the last five years—five years for me anyway,” Richardson says. “A lot of people think that’s the first step, but really that’s the hobby aspect of what a music career is, and now we’re at the beginning. We finally have what we need to get the songs out there and blow up.”

Armed with a new EP, label and a strong work ethic, it would seem Mozart Season has what it needs in place for a blockbuster ending.

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“We’ve been jamming and playing local shows and small tours for the last five years… A lot of people think that’s the first step, but really that’s the hobby aspect of what a music career is, and now we’re at the beginning.”

– Nate Richardson, Mozart Season Nightmares will be available in stores and on iTunes July 20. On the same day, the band will meet up with the No Bummer Summer Tour alongside Gwen Stacy, Lower Definition and A City Serene. The tour will travel around the Western United States and end in Camarillo, Calif., at Rock City Studios on Aug. 2. The No Bummer Summer Tour (with Jamie’s Elsewhere, not Mozart Season) will play Club Retro in Orangevale July 13.

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

13

dual d e xt e r ity Photo above by Mark Kawakami | Courtesy of Body Glove

Local professional wakeboarder Shelby Kantar has talent and smarts Words Jonathan Carabba

T

Portraits by Kimberly Woo | MAHFIA.COM

14

wenty-four-year-old professional wakeboarder and West Sacramento native Shelby Kantar has led a bit of a double life the past few years.

Arguably one of the top female riders out there, Kantar has traveled to compete in contests all around the world. She was the Pro Wakeboarding Tour women’s champion in 2007, she’s been in magazines and videos, she even jumped out of a helicopter into Lake Powell during last year’s Brostock event. Adventure, excitement, risk and reward: all part of the rock star lifestyle Kantar lives while with her fellow riders.

On the other hand, Kantar is extremely focused on school and furthering her non-wakeboardingrelated career. She has already completed her undergrad studies in Kinesiology at Sacramento State, where she is currently working on her masters.

“Yeah, it’s like a double life, its kind of crazy,” Kantar says during a recent interview. In fact, when Submerge caught up with her, she was in Redding, working a 40-hour-a-week internship. “It kind of got to the point where I was like, ‘Should I go to grad school or should I do one more year of competing and trying to do well?’” Kantar remembers. “It was kind of like, ‘Well, the girls that are coming up now, their parents buy them a $100,000 boat and they ride four times a day in Orlando and they work out and have personal trainers.’ So I was like, ‘OK, let’s go back to school.’”

Kantar brings up an interesting point. In the world of action sports, there are the “rich kid” sports and the “normal kid” sports. Think about it: to go skateboarding, you need a complete board setup from your local skate shop, which will probably run you around $100, give or take, and that’s about it. To go wakeboarding, you’ve got to have a boat, and those are a whole heck-of-a-lot more expensive. It seems impossible, then, for an upand-coming wakeboarder to make a name for him

Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

or herself if their family isn’t well-off enough to buy the latest MasterCraft X-Star or Malibu Wakesetter, right? Wrong. Kantar is a perfect example. When she was 14, her parents bought a boat, but not a flashy, expensive wakeboarding boat that you’d see in magazines; they got a run-of-the mill family vacation-style boat and it was behind that that Kantar was introduced to wakeboarding.

“The only way that I got to ride behind a good boat was because I met someone who was well-off and had one,” she says. “They’d take me out and I’d just pay gas money.” Either that, or she’d hang out on a dock or near the river with her board in hand, waiting for someone to give her a pull. “We would walk down to the river and skim board,” remembers Kantar of her earlier days in West Sacramento. “I would just bring my wakeboard, and I met so many random people that way. I had nothing else to do, and I wanted to get better.”

Kantar started competing in Northern California competitions. Not long after, sponsors came knocking. Now, some of the biggest companies in the world back this local ripper: Liquid Force, Body Glove and Osiris, just to name a few. She has competed at the professional level not only throughout our own country, but also abroad in Egypt, Singapore, Qatar and Australia. Her favorite competition of them all? She claims the Egypt World Cup, even though it was a bit of a flop. “That contest was probably the most fun, because they kind of messed up and didn’t check out the site that they were going to throw it at. It ended up being like in the ocean with waves and the boat hit coral and couldn’t drive the contest,” Kantar remembers with a laugh. So, they found a little pond, rounded up a jet ski to pull the riders and made some makeshift obstacles for them to hit. “They found these galvanized steel posts like on the side of the road and they made a little rail. It was so sketchy, but Photo above by Mark Kawakami | Courtesy of Body Glove

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

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they ended up splitting all the prize money, and I just drank beer and hit these sketchy rails,” she says, adding, “And I got to see the pyramids!”

This sums up Kantar’s laid-back outlook on contests quite well. Even though she’s done well in them in the past, placing 3rd in the 2007 Wake Games, 2nd in the 2008 Egypt World Cup, 2nd in the 2008 Singapore World Cup, 3rd in the 2008 Qatar World Cup and 2nd in the 2008 U.S. Nationals, she’d rather be out with her friends shooting for a magazine or a video spot any day. “Contests are such a joke,” she admits. “The expectations are kind of ridiculous.”

For the past year or so, Kantar hasn’t been competing, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been progressing. “I’ve been having a ton of fun just improving my style, making tricks look better, learning tricks that I want to do, not necessarily what will win me a contest.” She says she and her friends like fellow Liquid Force teammate Danni Petraitis (with whom Kantar was living while up in Redding), would rather stay and film on Lake Shasta or go on a cool trip to ride rather than “sitting around a contest all day and getting like a two-minute pull.”

Kantar’s about to reap the benefits of some of her hard work when Body Glove drops their first ever wakeboard video titled Slick City, in which she is the only female rider. Slick City will be available for world-wide purchase starting July 7 through action sports media giant VAS Entertainment. The DVD will be available for purchase at local wakeboarding shops and for download on iTunes shortly after. The video has already earned rave reviews from people at Wakeboarding and Alliance, the industry’s two SubmergeMag.com

largest publications, making Slick City one of the most highly anticipated wakeboard films of the year.

The film follows some of the biggest names in the sport: Rusty Malinoski, Harley Clifford, Bob Soven, Jeff McKee, James Balzer, Daniel Doud (Kantar’s boyfriend) and of course, Shelby Kantar.

“I didn’t really get to film as much as I wanted to for that, especially my wake section,” she says, noting that since Body Glove is such a large, global company, coordinating the video shoots was hard.

She did get a lot of footage sliding rails, though, an aspect of the sport that she is particularly good at and likes. “We built some rails and got quite a bit of rail footage. I really like riding rails, so I’m glad we got that, but as far as my wake riding, I wish I could have done a little bit more for that video.”

Regardless, appearing in Slick City will surely introduce a whole lot of people to the style and charm of one of Sacramento’s best-kept secrets.

Kantar has another year and a half of graduate school, after which she plans on buying herself the nice wakeboarding boat she never had when trying to come up in the industry. “I kind of wanted to set myself up to have a normal career so that I can afford all this stuff and I can just free-ride, maybe do some more shooting even though I’ll be pretty old by then,” jokes the young, bubbly Kantar. “The girls that are competing and coming up now are so young, I feel pretty old, as sad as that is.” Contests or no contests, old or not old, Kantar says one thing is for certain: “I’m going to get my Malibu boat, and I’m going to shred.”

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Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Fine Young Bastards

Local Sacramento Punks Bastards of Young Go Old School on First Release Words Anthony Giannotti

I have been hearing a lot of people throw around that punk is dead—or, at least the Sacramento punk scene is dead. But as I waited at local punk house Casa De Chaos for lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Nick Ripley and bassist Sean Hills of Bastards of Young, it became obvious that punk, especially local punk, is far from dead. The yard and threestory house were packed with kids donning local punk rock band T-shirts and skinny jeans, anxiously awaiting the guitar-driven melodic punk of Bastards of Young. And the guys in Bastards of Young patiently waited around most of a hot Sacramento afternoon to play in a basement to a bunch of sweaty kids. You’d think after cutting their teeth on the local tour circuit for the past three years, three West Coast summer tours and countless Replacements cover-band jokes, they’d be burned out and jaded. But let me tell you, these guys are just getting started.

“We had some stuff holding us back,” Hills explains. “I had to finish at Sacramento State and other responsibilities, but now we are ready.”

Ripley jumps in, “We don’t do it because we want to make it or anything. We do it because we love it.”

This is apparent, with another summer tour headlined by fellow local punks The Secretions and the release of their very first cassette tape, California Redemption. Don’t worry: It comes with a download card so you can put it on any of your fancy modern listening devices.

“You almost have to do something weird with your release,” they told me. “That’s why we did a cassette tape and a hand silk screened box that looks like an old Lucky Strike box.”

To escape the heat, we headed over to a local watering hole and I got the scoop on the rest of their summer plans.

How did you guys end up coming together as a band?

Sean Hills: Well my brother [lead guitar/ vocals Patrick Hills] and I were playing in Hanover Saints with Wy [Harrell], the drummer. When Hanover took its initial break, we knew we still wanted to play music together. I happened to see Nick playing an acoustic set and just asked him if he wanted to get together.

Nick Ripley: Yeah I knew that Hanover was on a break and really wanted to play something punk but still melodic. I knew that he and Pat were a package deal, and they had been playing with Wy. It worked really well together so we just started playing So the cassette is really your first real release of any kind, right?

NR: Yeah, we are really stoked on it. We think it came out good. We wanted to just do the cassette for the summer and the tour. Maybe when we get back we’ll try to get a label to put it out. We only did seven songs because we didn’t want to include filler songs just for the sake of having a longer release. We wanted a half hour of solid rock ‘n’ roll. It’s weird we are still kind of in the beginning stages of our band, but we feel these songs are a good representation of our music and style.

SH: We really tried to take our time over the last 10 months or so and put this cassette together. My brother did all the recording

s t u c hair

on it. He’s getting pretty good. We had written 12 or 13 songs, but we boiled it down to our best songs. We just want to keep someone’s attention for 30 minutes.

You guys are doing a pretty decent-sized tour this summer with The Secretions.

SH: We are doing about three weeks. It should be a really good tour. We are playing a bunch of places we’ve played before, so we are looking forward to seeing some of our friends. Not only that, but The Secretions are good friends of ours and they have a pretty good following, so it’ll be fun to be out with them. But hopefully we’ll be able to do some more touring this fall.

NR: We are really looking forward to getting back to the Northwest. We toured with a band from up there called Anchor Down.

They were a lot of fun. We can’t wait to see them again. We get an awesome response from the bar circuit up there. [Laughs] I think we get a better turnout up there than we do here in town.

Do you guys like 21-and-up shows or allages shows better?

SH: The bar scene seems to be where we get our best shows in general. I think we play a style of punk ‘n’ roll that a little older audience likes. Being a little drunk helps, too. But some of my favorite shows have been in basements and house parties.

Playing basements is my summer weight-

“I think we play a style of punk ‘n’ roll that a little older audience likes. Being a little drunk helps, too.” haves s – Sean Hills, Bastards of Young r o z a

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loss program, but I like whatever shows we get good feedback from the crowd. Any time they are into it, we are into it. I think we just like to play anywhere.

NR: Yeah I agree with that. I remember on the last tour we played Missoula, Mont.

No one showed up so we played to the bartender and the other bands we were on tour with, but it was still really fun. We just played all the covers we knew and got tanked. What better way is there to travel than with good people and good music?

I gotta ask, how big of fans are you of The Replacements?

SH: Never heard of them… [Laughs] Just kidding. They are a huge influence on us. It’s funny, though. People see our band name and automatically think we are a Replacements cover band. [The name “Bastards of Young” comes from a Replacements song by the same name.]

There’s a message board on the Internet that we are on, and it’s full of jackasses that want to talk shit, but one guy said Gary’s Got a Boner would be a better band name. He’s probably right.

NR: [Laughs] I can’t believe people still think we are a Replacements cover band. I guess it is to be expected because of our name, but we don’t even cover one of their songs. They are a big influence on my lyric writing, though.

Come get your very own Bastards of Young cassette tape in person when the band performs on July 17 at The Press Club and July 24 at Luigi’s Fungarden.

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Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

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Wednesday

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

G St Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

The Radison: In the Grove An Evening w/ Jesse Cook and The Rumba Foundation, 7 p.m.

Bisla’s Open Mic, 9 p.m.

Blackwater Cafe Open Mic, 7 p.m.

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

The Den Summer Blondes, 1/2 of Religious Girls, So Stressed, Wool Ravine, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Dave McAsey, 8 p.m.

G St Pub DJ Larry the Flower Vato, 10 p.m.

Marilyn’s Gears Turn, Flatlin, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Gerard Fragamino, James Cavern, Ahmad Zeki, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Open Mic w/ host Lare Crawley, 8:30 p.m.

Press Club HUMP w/ DJ Whores, 9 p.m.

The Radison: In the Grove Jesse Cook & The Rumba Foundation, 7 p.m.

Shady Lady Straight, No Chaser w/ CrookOne, 10 p.m.

Torch Club Acoustic Open Mic, 5:30 p.m.; Golden Cadillacs, The Soothers, 9 p.m.

7.06 Tuesday

Capitol Garage Open Jazz Session w/ SalmonJoe, 9 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Traditional Irish Jam Session, 7 p.m.

G St Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Marilyn’s Open Mic w/ Chris 2Me, 5:30 p.m.; This Luxury, Satellite Crush, The Generals, 9 p.m.

Old Ironsides Lipstick 10 Year Anniversary w/ DJs Shaun Slaghter, Roger Carpio, Magic Bullets, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub DJs Rigatony, Alazzawi, 9 p.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Kate Gaffney, 5:30 p.m.; Lew Fratis Trio, 9 p.m.

7.08

The Boardwalk After the Burial, Memento Mori, Beneath the Rapture, Project, Lifeforms, 6:30 p.m.

Capitol City Hotel Karaoke, 8:30 p.m.

Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m.

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

Fox & Goose Tony Bataska, David Wallace, 8 p.m.

G St Pub DJ Somebody, 10 p.m.

Golden Bear Catch Hell w/ Shaun Slaughter, 10 p.m.

Harlow’s Tom Braxton, 7:30 p.m The John Natsoulas Gallery Shake Don’t Stir, 7 p.m.

Marilyn’s Rockstar Live Band Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Ron Reeser, DJ Slick D, DJ Dan Saenz, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Jackson Griffith, David Barton, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides La Noche Oskura, 9 p.m.

On The Y You Be the Rockstar Karaoke w/ Larissa, 8 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Saddle Back Ridge, Troy Olsen, 9 p.m.

Press Club Hold On w/ DJ GVNR, Sex & Weight, 9 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Emperor X, Pouch, Poppet, 9 p.m.

Torch Club X Trio, 5 p.m.; Harley White Jr. feat. Aaron King, 9 p.m.

Tre Retox Thursday’s w/ DJ Peeti V, 9 p.m.

Vega’s Blues Jam, 7 p.m.

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Barcode Nightclub & Lounge DJ Wreck, DJ BTRIXX, 9 p.m.

The Blue Lamp Vitamin P, Mean Doe Green, 8 p.m.

7.09 Friday

Arco Arena Rihanna, Ke$ha, Travie McCoy, 6:30 p.m.

The Boardwalk Method Echo, Heros Last Mission, The Reel, Amberglance, Even The Atlantic, 7:30 p.m.

Capitol Garage Get Down to the Champion Sound w/ DJ ESEF, 10 p.m.

Cesar Chavez Park Izabella, Walking Spanish, Inversions, 5 p.m.

The E Street Plaza (Davis) The Nickel Slots, 7 p.m.

Fox & Goose Dennis Johnson & the Mississippi Ramblers, 9 p.m.

Golden Bear Crucial Fix w/ CrookOne (Decibel Devils/Team Sleep), 10 p.m.

Harlow’s Arden Park Roots (CD Release), Private Criminals, Kingsuhmidtown10 p.m.

Marilyn’s Izabella, Ten Mile Tide, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Jus James, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Lisa & Her Kin, Pondosa, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Mike Farrell, Walking Spanish, One Eyed Rhyno, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Jack Mack & the Heart Attack, 10 p.m.

Press Club DJ GVNTR, 9 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Clean Slate, 9 p.m.

The Refuge The Pollination Vectors, Dog Food, Clark Reese, Exhale, 7 p.m.

Sacramento Memorial Auditorium Rahmani Live, featuring Saba and Azari Dance Group, 7 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen DM STITH, Inlets, Silje Nes, 8 p.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge DJs & Dancing, 9 p.m.

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Torch Club Acoustic Trio, 5 p.m.; Aaron King & the Imperials, 9 p.m.

Townhouse Fuck Fridays w/ DJs Shaun Slaughter, Jon Droll, Roger Carpio, 9 p.m.

Vega’s Broken, Blackstone the Chronicles of Ash Black, Fairgame, Coudee, 9 p.m.

7.10 Saturday

The Boardwalk Carcerys Vale, Early on the Morrow, To Save A Hero, Above the City, Solidus, 8 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Little Joe Y La Familia, 8 p.m.

Capitol Garage The Fortunate Few, 9 p.m.

Capitol City Hotel Karaoke, 8:30 p.m.

Clubhouse 24 Jay Shaner, Mark Badovinac, Smirker, Hot Tar Roofers!, 6 p.m.

Club Car Grease, Grit & Grime, 9 p.m.

Club Retro Silent Treatment, Aroarah, The Rainman Suite, Wings Of Innocence, Body Electric, 5 Days Dirty, Punch The Clock, 6:30 p.m.

Fox & Goose Mandolin Ave, Hard Clumpin’ Litter, 9 p.m.

G St Pub DJ Charlie, 10 p.m.

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Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

Golden Bear DJ Crook, DJ Whores, 10 p.m.

Marilyn’s SambaDa, 8 p.m.

Mix Dance Party w/ DJ Larry Rodriguez Naked Lounge Downtown Live The Isaac Howl, Honyock, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Fascination, 9:30 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Foreverland, 10 p.m.

Press Club DJ GVNTR, 9 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Clean Slate, 9 p.m.

Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen Alkali Flats, Mae McCoy and the Neon Stars, 6 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Peasant, Mighty Tiger, Katharina Ullmann, 9 p.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge DJs & Dancing, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Johnny Knox, 5 p.m.; Cole Fonseca, 9 p.m.

Townhouse Electroc w/ DJs Blackheart, Whores, Mr. Rodgers, 10 p.m.

UC Davis: Quad The Infamous Stringdusters, 7:30 p.m.

Venue Tritonal, John Beaver, 9 p.m.

7.11 Sunday

Barcode Nightclub & Lounge The Asylum w/ DJ Bryan Hawk, KJ Groth, DJ Darkstar, 9 p.m.

The Blue Lamp Reggae Bashment w/ DJ Wokstar!, 9:30 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Decay Of Society, The Kennedy Veil, Rings Of Saturn, The Descolada Virus, Our Battle Within, 6 p.m.

Golden Bear Industry Night, 7 p.m.

Harlow’s Bachata Lessons, 6 p.m.; Salsa Lessons, 7 p.m.

Mix DJ Billy Lane, 9 p.m.

On The Y You Be the Rockstar Karaoke w/ Larissa, 8 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Powerhouse of Blues, 3 p.m.; Blues Jam, 7 p.m.

Press Club DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Blues Jam, 4 p.m.; Chris Martinez & Friends, 8 p.m.

7.12 Monday

The Den Tan Dollar, Weed Diamond, Dash Jacket, Mammoth Torta, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

G St Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Harlow’s Carbon Leaf, 7:30 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Press Club Sasha & Shamrocks, The Howling, 9 p.m.

7.13 Tuesday

Arco Arena Tool, 8 p.m.

The Blue Lamp The Swingin’ Utters, Cute Lepers, The Roustabouts, 8 p.m.

Capitol Garage Open Jazz Session w/ SalmonJoe, 9 p.m.

Club Retro Gwen Stacy, Lower Definition, Jamie’s Elsewhere, A City Serene, 6 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Traditional Irish Jam Session, 7 p.m.

G St Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Marilyn’s Open Mic w/ Chris 2Me, 5:30 p.m.; Miggs, 9 p.m.

Old Ironsides Lipstick w/ DJs Shaun Slaghter, Roger Carpio, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub DJs Rigatony, Alazzawi, 9 p.m.

Press Club Blvd Park, West Nile Ramblers, Walking Spanish, 9 p.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Hans Eberbach, 5:30 p.m.; Lew Fratis Trio, 9 p.m.

7.14 Wednesday

Bisla’s Open Mic, 9 p.m.

Blackwater Cafe Open Mic, 7 p.m.

The Blue Lamp Logan Lynn & The Gentry, 8:30 p.m.

Cal Expo State Fair Concert Series w/ The Fab Four, 8 p.m.

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

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Steve McLane, 8 p.m.

G St Pub DJ Larry the Flower Vato, 10 p.m.

Harlow’s Thriving Ivory, Ryan Star, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s Whiskey and Stitches, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Tamra Godey, Stephen March, Tony Bataska, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Open Mic w/ host Lare Crawley, 8:30 p.m.

Press Club The Happy Medium, The Common Men, 9 p.m.

Shady Lady Straight, No Chaser w/ CrookOne, 10 p.m.

Torch Club Acoustic Open Mic, 5:30 p.m.; Low Down Dirty Dogs, 9 p.m.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

7.15 Thursday

Barcode Nightclub & Lounge DJ Wreck, DJ BTRIXX, 9 p.m.

Beatnik Studios Blu, Old Ghost, Illecism, Live Manikins, DJ Oasis, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk Pref1x, Cooley Mac’n, House, Gnostek, Shaadie, Dap the Stampede, Project, 8 p.m.

Cal Expo State Fair Concert Series w/ Slaughter, 8 p.m.

Capitol City Hotel Karaoke, 8:30 p.m.

Community Center Theater The Glenn Miller Orchestra, 7 p.m.

Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m.

Club Retro Archeology, Lakes, 6:30 p.m.

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

Fox & Goose Legacy, Nine 8ths Irish, 8 p.m.

G St Pub DJ Somebody, 10 p.m.

Golden Bear Shake & Shout w/ Shaun Slaughter, 10 p.m.

Harlow’s Leon Russell, 7:30 p.m.

The John Natsoulas Gallery Mother Mckenzie, Morgan’s Orange, 7 p.m.

Marilyn’s Rockstar Live Band Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Ron Reeser, DJ Slick D, DJ Dan Saenz, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Jenna Scoggins, Nicole Norem, Exhale, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides The Beautiful Trainwrecks, McDougall, 9 p.m.

On The Y You Be the Rockstar Karaoke w/ Larissa, 8 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Dave Russell Band, 9 p.m.

Press Club Hold On w/ DJ GVNR, Sex & Weight, 9 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Os Beaches, Jeremy Messersmith, 9 p.m.

Torch Club X Trio, 5 p.m.; Harley White Jr. feat. Aaron King, 9 p.m.

Tre Retox Thursday’s w/ DJ Peeti V, 9 p.m.

UC Davis: Jackson Hall Neil Young, Bert Jansch, 8 p.m.

7.17

Mahtie Bush’s Birthday Party

MLS, Planet Asia, Mean Doe Green Capitol Garage 10 p.m.

Vega’s Blues Jam, 7 p.m.

7.16 FRIDAY

The Blue Lamp Admiral Radley, Sea of Bees, Jared Dreams of Far Out Things, 9 p.m.

Capitol Garage Get Down to the Champion Sound w/ DJ ESEF, 10 p.m.

Cesar Chavez Park Kate Gaffney, Gerald Pease, Autumn Sky, Juliana Zachariou, 5 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Hybrid Creeps, Walking Dead, Keeping Score, 8 p.m.

Fox & Goose Zoo Human Project, The Solid Fellaz, 9 p.m.

Golden Bear Crucial Fix w/ CrookOne (Decibel Devils/Team Sleep), 10 p.m.

Harlow’s Tainted Love, 10 p.m.

Luigi’s Fun Garden Battlehooch, Pregnant, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s No Bozoz, Smirker, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Jus James, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live REBEL REBEL, The Gypsy, Moonlight Band, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides White Buffalo, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub WonderBread 5, 10 p.m.

Tues 7/6: 3-2-1 COMIC NIGHT w/Cheryl the Soccer Mom, Relic 45, The Visceral.

Hosted by Noel DeWitt 9pm $3 Wed 7/7: HUMP w/DJ Whores Mon 7/12: Sasha & the Shamrocks, The Howling 9pm $3

SubmergeMag.com

Press Club DJ GVNTR, 9 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Steel Breeze, 9 p.m.

Sacramento Comedy Spot The FreeBadge Serenaders (CD Release Party), 8 p.m.

Sol Collective Doombird, Ellie Fortune, Appetite, 7:30 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Paul Lee Kupfer, McDougall, 9 p.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge DJs & Dancing, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Acoustic Trio, 5 p.m.; Johnny Guitar Knox, 9 p.m.

Townhouse Fuck Fridays w/ DJs Shaun Slaughter, Jon Droll, Roger Carpio, 9 p.m.

Venue Beatknoxx, Marcus Lee, JE

7.17 Saturday

Bell Tower Mansion Dick Larson, Der Spazm, Sherman Baker w/ spoken word by Jessalyn Joy Wakefield, 4 p.m.

The Blue Lamp The Aggrolites, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk For the Fallen Dreams, Legend, I Declare War, This or the Apocalypse, At the Crossroads, Belmont, 7 p.m.

Cal Expo State Fair Concert Series w/ The Family Stone, 8 p.m.

Tues 7/13: Blvd Park, West Nile Ramblers, Walking Spanish 9pm $5 Wed 7/14: The Happy Medium, The Common Men 9pm $3 Mon 7/19: Keeping Score, Exhale 9pm $3

Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

21

Capitol Garage Mahtie Bush’s Birthday Party feat. MLS, Planet Asia, Mean Doe Green, 10 p.m.

Fox & Goose Kill the Radiologic, The Wanchai Daggers, Angess Twin, 9 p.m.

G St Pub DJ Charlie, 10 p.m.

Golden Bear Sweaty w/ DJ Whores, 10 p.m.

Harlow’s Suzy Bogguss, 7:30 p.m.

Luigi’s Fun Garden Desario, The Shants, Boy Scouts, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s KB & the Slingtones, The Revtones, Midtown Stomp, 9 p.m.

Mix Dance Party w/ DJ Larry Rodriguez Naked Lounge Downtown Live Odame, Filthy Luke, Brian Hanover, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides LP Sessions, The Phantoms, Endroit, 9 p.m.

On The Y Cold Grave, Accidentally Murdered, Knife Thru Head, Vital Perception, Panties, 8 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Lou Dog Trio, 10 p.m.

Press Club Off With Their Heads, In Defense, Ashtray, Secretions, Bastards of Young, 5 p.m.; DJ GVNTR, 9 p.m.

Raley Field Steve Miller Band, 7 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Steel Breeze, 9 p.m.

Sol Collective Ana Tijox, DJ Crush Delight, 8 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen AB & The Sea, Butterfly Bones, 9 p.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge DJs & Dancing, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Johnny Knox, 5 p.m.; Tracorum, 9 p.m.

Townhouse Electroc w/ DJs Blackheart, Mr. Rodgers, 10 p.m.

7.18 Sunday

Barcode Nightclub & Lounge The Asylum w/ DJ Bryan Hawk, KJ Groth, DJ Darkstar, 9 p.m.

The Blue Lamp Reggae Bashment w/ DJ Wokstar!, 9:30 p.m.

Club Retro Silverstein, Emery, Dance Gavin Dance, We Came As Romans, I Set My Friends on Fire, Sky Eats Airplane, Ivoryline, Close to Home, 4:30 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Golden Bear Industry Night, 7 p.m.

Harlow’s Bachata Lessons, 6 p.m.; Salsa Lessons, 7 p.m.

Mix DJ Billy Lane, 9 p.m.

On The Y You Be the Rockstar Karaoke w/ Larissa, 8 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Powerhouse of Blues, 3 p.m.; Blues Jam, 7 p.m.

Press Club DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Blues Jam, 4 p.m.; The Nibblers, 8 p.m.

22

Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

com e dy & m i s c e l l a n eou s Ca l e n da r

7.19 monday

Cal Expo State Fair Concert Series w/ Little Big Town, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

G St Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Old Ironsides Red Elvises, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Press Club Keeping Score, Exhale, 9 p.m.

Comedy Laughs Unlimited Vince Morris, Keith Binder, July 7 - 11, Wednesday, Thursday, 8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m.

Ward Anderson, Sharon Lacey, July 14 - 18, Wednesday, Thursday, 8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Keith Lowell Jensen Presents Wednesday Night Comedy: Dennis Gaxiola, July 7, 8 p.m.; Caitlin Gill, July 14, 8 p.m.

Press Club 3-2-1 Comic Night w/ Cheryl the Soccer Mom, hosted

by Noel DeWitt, July 6, 9 p.m.

Punchline Comedy Club Sac Comedy Showcase, July 7, 8 p.m.

Melissa Peterman, July 8 - 10, Thursday, 8 p.m.; Friday, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.; Saturday, 8 p.m.

The Mahatma Moses Comedy Tour, July 11, 8 p.m.

Rex Navarrete, July 15 - 18, Thursday & Sunday, 8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.

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

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

Sacramento Comedy Spot July 7, Improv 1, 7 p.m.; Harold Night, 9 p.m.

July 8, Sketch Lab, 6 p.m.; Improv 1 Continuous, 7 p.m.; Battle Royal, 9 p.m.

July 9, Stand Up Shoot Out, 9 p.m.

July 10, Talking Shit, 8 p.m.; Anti Cooperation League, 9 p.m.; The David Lew Experience, 11 p.m.

July 11, Open Mic Scramble, 7 p.m.

July 14, Improv 1, 7 p.m.; Harold Night, 9 p.m.

July 15, Sketch Lab, 6 p.m.; Improv 1 Continuous, 7 p.m.; Battle Royal, 9 p.m.

July 17, Three On Three Tournament, 8 p.m.; Anti Cooperation League, 9 p.m.; The David Lew Experience, 11 p.m.

July 18, Open Mic Scramble, 7 p.m.

Tommy T’s Mystro Clark, July 8 - 11, Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m.

Damon Wayans Jr., July 15 - 18, Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m.

Misc.

Axis Gallery 2 Saturday Reception: Bending The Rules

by Cherilyn Naughton, July 10, 6 p.m. nd

Beatnik Studios Red Night Poetry feat. B.L. Kennedy, Charlene Ungstad, hosted by Genelle Chaconas, July 17, 7 p.m.

Bisla’s Pub Quiz Trivia, Mondays, 7 p.m.

Bistro 33 (Davis) Pub Quiz, Mondays, 9 p.m.; Poetry Night, Every 1st Wednesday, 9 p.m.

Cal Expo California State Fair, July 14 - Aug 1 Clubhouse 24 2nd Saturday Reception: Artwork by Melissa Arendt, July 10, 6 p.m.

Community Center Theatre Shen Yun Performing Arts Show, July 17 - 18 Crest Theatre Trash Film Orgy Presents: Evil Dead 2 – Dead By Dawn, July 10, 11:30 p.m..; Galaxy of Terror, July 17, 11:30 p.m.

Crocker Art Museum Summer Art Classes for Adults: Printmaking Made Easy, July 7 & 14, 6 p.m.

Crocker Architecture Tour, July 10, 12 p.m.

Fox & Goose Pub Quiz, Tuesdays, 7 p.m.

The Guild Theatre Movies on a Big Screen presents: The Romantic, July 11, 7:30 p.m.; The Nature of Existence, July 18, 7:30 p.m.

Hot Italian Art of the Game - 2nd Half, July 10, 8 p.m.

La Raza Galeria Posada Remnants and the Course of Life: Multimedia Artist Mariana Castro de Ali, July 9 - Aug 7 Luna’s Cafe Joe Montoya’s Poetry Unplugged, Thursdays, 8 p.m.

The Park Ultra Lounge Hair Wars Runway Grand Finale, July 8, 9 p.m.

Sacramento Convention Center California Grape & Gourmet, July 7, 5 p.m.

Sacramento Rock and Radio Museum Rock and Roll Eye Photographs by Greg Savalin, July 10, 6 p.m.

Sol Collective Salsa Dance Classes, Mondays, 7:30 p.m.

Art Installation by The Free Life Center, July 16, 7:30 p.m.

Townhouse Record Club Movie Night: MOOG - A Documentary Film, July 7, 7:30 p.m.; The Rolling Stones - Stones In Exile, July 14, 7:30 p.m.

Watermelon Music “Get Out of the Box” Guitar Clinic w/ Ross Hammond, July 14, 7 p.m.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

refined tastes

M o n d a y

July 12

doorS 6:30 p.M. Show 7:30 p.M.

Love Shack 5201 Folsom Boulevard Sacramento words Blake Gillespie The first step in acquiring a new restaurant location is to look at what was left from the previous owner and decide whether or not it is of use. The Shack, located on 52nd Street and Folsom Boulevard, made several executive decisions that won my heart and tummy over, but electing to paint over the word “Sub” on the sign to give the establishment its desired name made me an instant fan. Sure, there’s a noticeable space between “The” and “Shack,” but it’s got lowbudget charm.

Not yet a year old, The Shack sits across the street from SoCal Tavern in East Sacramento. The exotic overgrown shrubbery shields patrons from scorching sunrays, but the sandwich joint is still easy to spot with its bright orange, yellow and lime green color scheme. Patrons have the option of either the indoor diner and wooden booth tavern-style seating or the wraparound patio with an assortment of umbrella-guarded tables, wicker chairs and picnic benches. Do not let the name “Shack” fool you; it’s a quaint venue, but not a shoebox like, say, Jim Denny’s. I took to the patio, finding a comfortable table without much dilemma during the lunch rush.

I ordered a 1/3-pound. Shack Burger, absorbing the venue into my short list of local business burgers to try, adding cheddar for 75 cents. Mushrooms, jalapenos and grilled onions are also available extras for 75 cents apiece, while avocado, bacon and pastrami are all $1.50— industry standard. The Shack did not appear to have a signature sandwich as the menu sticks to the basics: BLT, patty melt, club, Philly-style steak sandwich and, of course, the Reuben. The burger came pre-loaded with lettuce, tomato and onions, so do not assume privilege to apply SubmergeMag.com

wedneSday

July 14 all ShowS at

The Shack

as needed, with a fat pickle slice and a side of fries. The Shack makes its burgers medium to perfection, retaining all the juicy bites that are greasy enough to dribble a little down your chin, but not clog an artery on site.

The Shack rises above the norm with its beer selection. Of the 13 beers on tap, only Pabst Blue Ribbon and Stella Artois were not of the craft brew ilk. This spot is listed as one of the admired and patronized spots of the Hop Heads of Sacramento Beer Lovers Union—if this crew is digging your brews, then you’re clearly not fucking around.

I paired my burger with a Leffe Blonde, one of my all-time Belgian favorites. Buried at the bottom of the list for domestic bottles were Budweiser, Bud Light and Coors, while the libations list spanned three pages that categorized the extensive list to include German, Belgian and Dopplebocks, among others. Had I not been on assignment, I’d have indulged in a bottle of Chimay to wash down my hearty burger and finished the Sacramento Bee’s crossword or marginally challenged the New York Times’.

Deadlines aside, the only further drawback to The Shack is that its off-the-grid location made it a safe haven for young yuppies in training. It bemused and amused me equally to be in their company, eavesdropping on 4th of July barbecue plans and regaled stories of secretly pounding fifths of vodka at River Cats games—how rad is alcohol-poisoning, bro?

I’ll chalk this setback up to the Friday lunch crowd on an impending holiday weekend. The Shack is still a great place to patron. The sliced pickle that came with my burger was huge and crunchy. Tuesdays are beer tasting nights; week one, for example, is Belgian beers. And with the brunch scene in Midtown already ablaze, I might sneak away to The Shack one weekend for a Huevos Del Shacko (two eggs, corn tortillas, ham and house-made ranchero sauce, served with potatoes) and $10 liters of mimosa.

t h u r S d ay

July 15

doorS 6:30 p.M. Show 7:30 p.M.

Suzy BogguSS

doorS 7:00 p.M. Show 8:00 p.M.

2708 J St.

S at u r d ay

July 17 SacraMento

doorS 6:30 p.M. Show 7:30 p.M.

Tickets: Harlows.com

D D

ane rewis

Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

23

Submerge

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24

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Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

Musical Charis has teamed up with JMB Records to release their latest full length, People People. For fans of “the gift of grace,” what you expected is to be expected. Musical Charis storms through this disc with the troubling aspirations of a K-Billy’s Super Sounds of the ‘70s weekend. Tarantino wanted ‘70s music in a ‘50s-style film; Musical Charis is portraying 2010 with a late‘60s/early-‘70’s feel. Except obviously the most glaring issue we have to wrestle with is that this isn’t the ‘70s; it’s 2010, which is both eerily different and similar, an issue we’ll revisit in a moment.

Musical Charis melds together many different instruments: keyboards, xylophones, piano, six-strings, acoustics, electrics, bass, tambourine, drums, female harmonies on the hook, it’s all there. They bring the opposite of Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” with a sense of location, something of the telecommuting agrarian commerce, a connection to the sort of emotive force of sound not Chunneled through Auto-Tune—creating a raw set of harmonies that acknowledges dissonance even when the individual melodies seem to be correctly aligned via analog. And that dissonance, that tension, is where Musical Charis is directing itself in a significant way.

In Blake Abbey’s words: “Let time run round until we dizzy ourselves /…/ A new age is calling and I am stalling again.” Which brings us back to the eerie differences of today and the ‘70s. The different part is easy—time has changed, obviously we don’t live in the ‘70s anymore, or you likely wouldn’t be born. Abbey says as much; the similar is where things get weird. The ‘70s had the failing Vietnam War, economic stagflation and later a banking crisis created out of intentional federal manipulation of interest rates (we almost bankrupted Mexico. No biggie). Flip to today and we’re waging two multi-front wars operating, economic fears of

stagflation and a banking crisis that was created by the finance industry out-manoeuvring the last round of spectral banking regulations (better yet, because of inflation fears, we’re asked to tighten up even further through government austerity). But what’s eerie is that this similar past is somehow accounted for as a better time. It was a time as all times are, in and of itself—each moment its own minute crisis. Things happened that made a difference then; things are happening today that have an equal force.

Musical Charis characterizes the opposite of this, as a form of nihilism, quite neatly in “Forward.” The critique of action stands out as the accumulation of the song ascending, a rising tension, a failing perspective, “And though we all stand up/In the end…/And though we all stand up/What are we fighting for.” Musical Charis suggests that these words need some further contemplation. As they end the track we can say, indeed they do.

The next track begins, “Can you, can you see the past/ Looking forward on a map.” This is a revision of knowing the past in order to create a better future, but the next part matters just as much as the former: “Are you satisfied?”

A call to action if there ever was any. Yet, as noted, Musical Charis turn their thoughts inward, focusing on self, and the stylization therein, where tracks like “Jezebel” burrow down into the sort of Crossroads in each of us, making a deal with the devil so that we can represent the passing of freight trains on our guitars. That worked when Ralph Macchio could out-cast the real abilities of Steve Vai, but today the trains are barely moving freight and whoever Ralph Macchio became, in the world we know, Jaden Smith has now replaced him. Musical Charis reminds us of all the history we’re all part of, and the history we’re not; what we do with that good data is up to us.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

live<< rewind

You sold your Line 6 amp.

Get past your plug-ins and bouncing to disc and complete the evolution on your next record.

Shake Your Moneymaker Dum Dum Girls, Crocodiles

Tuesday, June 29 • Blue Lamp • Sacramento words & photo Vincent Girimonte Dum Dum Girls maestro Dee Dee stands tall over an attentive Blue Lamp crowd eager for the “buzz show of the summer” last Tuesday, hammering away on distortion and crooning about whatever people were crooning about in 1960s Western Europe—in the movies, that is.

Niche doesn’t begin to describe this band’s appeal; the Sub Pop girls in frayed lace, leggings, and sporting beautifully chopped bangs have that production-line mannequin sound that reeks of art-school irony, but continues to resonate nonetheless.

One can’t help but wonder what shape Dum Dum Girls, who headlined Brian McKenna’s bill after local act Chelsea Wolfe and San Diego’s Crocodiles, would have taken if Dee Dee’s original bedroom project were to explore something other than the four hot-chick dynamic, and whether it would have proven more interesting.

Last Tuesday’s Blue Lamp incarnation was scintillating for its lustiness—legs, thighs, lipstick; they all nailed it—and Sandra Vu beat on drums like some steamy Amazonian coxswain. The sound, however, while pulling heavily from ‘60s pop, also seemed to play on our current infatuation with the washed-out and feminine. Lines were sometimes blurred with Vivian Girls and former HoZac Record mates The Girls at Dawn—regardless of who was there first (and despite their leggings), Dum Dum Girls is drawing from a familiar well.

This gripe doesn’t necessarily speak to Dee Dee’s (aka Kristin Gundred) ability, however. She blew a few big notes in a sort of Pat Benatar homage, shimmying just a little to the rhythm SubmergeMag.com

with a menacing scowl. Her vocals meshed nicely atop the pervasive lo-fi guitars with bassist Bambi and fellow guitarist Jules, both statuesque in the literal sense, playing foils to Dee Dee’s subtle charm. In short, there was nothing wrong with the snappy set, but nothing terribly distinguishing about it either.

I Will Be, Dum Dum Girls’ 2010 release, was co-produced by Richard Gottehrer, a pop veteran who wrote such classics as “My Boyfriend’s Back” and “I Want Candy.” An old-school catchiness permeates through I Will Be, reimagining and alluding to a time when crisp numbers reigned with Wall of Sound production.

Not everyone was buying it at the Blue Lamp, though, or maybe we’ve just become tired of it for the second time around.

Patrons spilled out of the venue on Alhambra and N for fresh air between sets—Blue Lamp regulars claim it as Sacramento’s muggiest venue, which of course is amplified by Junecoming-on-July heat. Ordinarily, such a spot deems tight leather jackets a nuisance not worth the classic motif, but strutting and strapped in to his Italian diaper was Crocodiles singer Brandon Welchez, quite committed to the whole “I’m fucking awesome” thing, propped up by the fact that he sounded pretty fucking awesome.

New single “Sleep Forever” is a soaring hipthruster, and tracks from their decidedly average 2009 Summer of Hate album seemed well suited for all 10 cubic feet (roughly) of the Blue Lamp.

And even if you weren’t buying it, with the Crocs or the Dum Dums, you had to admit: they were selling it pretty hard.

TheHangarStudios.net

#10

Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

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the shallow end Happy belated birthday, America, you big beautiful bastard. We turned 234 just this past Sunday. Hope you all had a happy Independence Day and still have all your fingers and toes attached.

Did you see any fireworks? Better yet, did you light any off? When I was a kid, we used to get fireworks every year. I’d do the ordering for the family. My dad would bring an order sheet from his place of work, and I’d scour it for a couple of days, reading descriptions of what each rocket or firecracker did, taking into account price and that we didn’t like anything that was too loud.

I liked anything that whistled and sparked.

The novelty items were fun, too. One of my favorites was the Silver Jets. They looked like giant plastic Tylenol capsules with propeller blades on the side. You’d lay them down in the middle of the street and light the fuse, and they’d spin into the air, showering colorful sparks as they went. Another favorite was the Tanks. They weren’t nearly as bombastic as their name would suggest, but they sure were fun. They were little cardboard tanks with a

Explosions in the Sky

fuse at the end. We would put a couple on the sidewalk facing each other and watch as a stream of sparks would propel them meekly toward one another. When that dollop of gunpowder would run out, they’d stop and then shoot sparks at one another in a desperate—and wholly unthrilling—last-gasp assault.

The best, though, were the Saturn Missile Batteries. They came in blocks of 25, 50 and 100. They looked like a cardboard box with plastic bullets sticking out of the top. I’d usually get two. The first I would set off just when it got dark, and the second would be part of the finale. The wick was ponderously slow on these, but once they went off, the plastic bullets would fire out of their cardboard battery, screaming like banshees and leaving trails of colorful fire in their wakes. They were enough to make you sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Mind you, all of this stuff was completely illegal where I grew up. The state of New York bans the sale of any and all fireworks. But, like anything that’s illegal to buy in New York, they were easier to get than a pack of cigarettes if you knew the right people. One time, I took my

James Barone jb@submergemag.com

list down to a nondescript track home not too far from my house. A nice old lady answered the door. I had no idea who she was. All I had was an address, but she smiled at me as I showed her my order form. She closed the door, and a few minutes later, a younger man, probably in his 30s, came forward with a box of everything that was on my list. He took my money and wished me a good day, and I carried the large cardboard box all the way home. I was 12, and a mule for illegal contraband—and I LOVED it.

Everyone on my block had fireworks. The guys at the end of the block had a full-on arsenal: mortars, M80s, Blockbusters, aerial bombs, you name it. They wielded mighty boom, so much so that it didn’t make sense to walk down to the beach to watch the pro displays. It was much more convenient to just grab a hotdog, chill in your lawn chair and strap on a football helmet to protect yourself from shrapnel. One of the neighborhood kids acted as a lookout and would sit at the corner of our one-way street, signaling the first family if the cops were coming, and word would spread from

stoop to stoop. The police car would roll up the block, looking for bottle rockets, Thunder Bombs and other such explosives, but would find nothing. Never mind that the street looked like a fucking war zone.

As we got older, the fireworks were phased out of our at-home 4th of July celebration. We left the bang-and-boom to the professionals. Still, I love me a good fireworks display, and I’m not the only one. People from all walks of life flock to see fireworks displays, be they in Sacramento, New York or any Podunk city in between. No one goes to a fireworks display and leaves bummed out. Really, what kind of miserable person would? It’s nice to have something like that to rely on for jollies. What amazes me is that even after all these years—exploding fireworks are said to have been invented in China during the Song Dynasty between 960 and 1270 A.D.—that fireworks are still pretty much the same as they ever were. You’d figure they would have been able to add fiber optics, high-def something or other or more RAM or something by now. I guess in some cases, there’s no reason to mess with a good thing.

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Wednesday

Wednesday

aug 4

Tuesday

sepT 8

sepT 28

100 monkeyS

(FeatUring JaCkSon ratHbone, “JaSper” From tHe twiLigHt FiLmS) venUe (FormerLy empire) 1417 R StReet SacRamento • all ageS • 7:00pm

Swingin’ UtterS CUte LeperS tHe roUStaboUtS

Blue lamp • 1400 alhamBra Blvd.

Sacramento • 21 & over • 8:00pm

Tuesday

july 13

saTurday

tHe aggroLiteS Blue lamp • 1400 alhamBra Blvd. july Sacramento • 21 & over • 9:00pm

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Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

HarLow’S 2708 J St. SacRamento • 21 & oveR • 8:00pm Wednesday tHe Drowning man Blue lamp • 1400 alhamBra Blvd. july

Sacramento • 21 & over • 8:30pm

orgone harlow’S • 2708 J St.

Sacramento • 21 & over • 8:00pm

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Friday

july 23

aa bonDy (Fat poSSUm) Tuesday sepT harlow’S • 2708 J St. Sacramento • 21 & over • 9:00pm

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trUtH & SaLvage Co. HarLow’S 2708 J St. SacRamento • 21 & oveR • 8:00pm

CornmeaL harlow’S • 2708 J St.

Sacramento • 21 & over • 8:00pm

Thursday

sepT 30

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tiCket oUtLetS: tHe beat!, DimpLe reCorDS, armaDiLLo CDS (DaviS), tiCketS.Com, or onLine at tiCketS.Com & eventbrite.Com, HarLowS’S tix aLSo at HarLowS.Com Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

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Issue 63 • July 5 – July 19, 2010

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Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas

july 5 – july 19, 2010

#63

Grandaddy + Earlimart=

Admiral Radley Bastards of Young Keeping Sacramento Punk Alive and Young

shelby kantar Life of Riches

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I t A l l S t a r t s He r e The Shack Beer & Burgers!

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Dum Dum Girls Live at the Lamp

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Musical Charis music for people