Submerge Magazine: Issue 65 (August 2 - August 16, 2010)

Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas

august 2 – 16, 2010

#65

Behind These Eyes G a n g l i a n s LI v e

M i d t o w n C o c k ta i l W e e k

A F o n d Fa r e w e l l t o C h e l s e a

Andrew W.K. The Real Thing

G o a p e l e mother’s milk

W. Kamau Bell The Racial Dialogue

free

2

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

18

contents

12 26

65

it’s a wrap

august 2 – 16

2010

03 Dive in 04 The Stream The Optimistic 05 Pessimist 07 Submerge your senses 10 Goapele 12 Deftones 16 Andrew W.K. 18 W. Kamau Bell 20 Calendar 26 Midtown 28 Live<<REwind 29 refined tastes shallow 30 the end Cocktail Week

Ganglians, G.Green, Fungi Girls

16 cofounder/ Editor in Chief/Art Director

Melissa Welliver melissa@submergemag.com cofounder/ Advertising Director

Jonathan Carabba jonathan@submergemag.com Advertising sales

Josselin Basaldu josselin@submergemag.com senior editor

James Barone Contributing editor

Mandy Johnston

Contributing Writers

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

Submerge Magazine

2308 J Street, Suite F Sacramento, Calif. 95816

916.441.3803 info@submergemag.com

Contributing Photographers

Matthew Burks, Wesley Davis, Russ Wonsley distribution

printed on recycled paper

Vince Girimonte, Monica McStotts

www.submergemag.com

dive in

Clean Cuisine

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 I love Deftones. What I love most is that they’re still around making heavy albums, TOGETHER. That can’t be said for most of my favorite bands (i.e. Refused, At the Drive In, etc.).

I’ve been waiting quite a long time to feature Deftones. When Submerge first started, there was a major buzz around their new album Eros, and that’s when I first came up with the idea that we should have a wrap-around cover featuring the band. In my many years of working in and designing publications, I never even thought I’d be able to do something like that.

Due to Chi Cheng’s unfortunate accident, Eros got shelved.

Thus, I put my poster-esque wrap-around-cover idea on hold as well.

With Chi in their thoughts, Deftones decided to move forward and created their heavy and melodic masterpiece, Diamond Eyes.

And while I’m excited that we were able to resurrect the wraparound cover idea with this new album, I wish nothing more that Chi could have graced our first Deftones cover.

While they were touring in support of their new album in Europe for the past month, trying to nail down an interview with these hometown heroes proved to be a bit difficult. Luckily, they returned to the states only a week ago, and we were able to speak with drummer Abe Cunningham. Please be sure to flip over to page 12 where you can read about everything from how they still claim Sacramento as their hometown to how they came across the bassist who will fill Chi’s shoes for the time being.

Beyond our Deftones interview, we’re pretty excited about all the features in this issue.

The man, the myth, the legend, Andrew W.K. took time away from partying to discuss his career and how the past half-decade has been some of the most challenging times he’s encountered. Please read our interview with W.K. starting on page 16 where he discusses the controversy behind his character and his thoughts about being on Vans’ Warped Tour this summer.

Two incredibly talented Bay Area performers will be entertaining Sacramento as well this August. Hailing from San Francisco, comedian W. Kamau Bell will be performing The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour at The Comedy Spot. In our interview he discusses racial dialogue and humor. He strives to make you think differently about the world we live in. Start by reading our interview on page 18.

Goapele, from Oakland, will be performing at Harlow’s Aug. 13. With anyone, your experiences make you who you are and with Goapele, after taking time to focus on becoming a mother, her experiences have helped her with her writing and recording process for her future album, Milk and Honey. In our interview, starting on page 10, she discusses motherhood and her collaborations, as well as the “neo-soul” category in which her music constantly gets classified.

Enjoy issue 65!

Melissa-Dubs

Follow us on Twitter! @SubmergeMag

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

3

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

Ann Kirsten Kennis is suing Vampire Weekend for $2 million (they have $2 million?) claiming the group illegally used a photo of her on its album Contra. Kennis says she never gave Vampire Weekend permission to use her image on the cover and has no idea how the photograph fell into the band’s possession. The band has refused comment due to legal issues but the alleged photographer, Tod Brody, says he took the picture in 1983 and, therefore, owns the rights. Kennis only found out about the album when her daughter brought it home one day. Surprise Mom, you’re a cover girl.

Still mourning the loss of bassist Paul Gray, the members of Slipknot have not yet decided the band’s future. Gray passed away in May from a deadly combination of morphine and fentanyl, a narcotic painkiller.

Slipknot has been nominated for Grammys seven times since forming in 1995. While Slipknot decides on its future, singer Corey Taylor has continued working with his other band, Stone Sour. Stone Sour plans to release their album Audio Secrecy on Sept. 7.

4

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

Apparently, Hugh Laurie’s talents stretch beyond the television screen. Television’s House plans to record a New Orleans blues album in the near future. Laurie has often been seen playing music within his acting roles. He also plays keyboard for a charity band in Los Angeles aptly named Band from TV—the group features Laurie and fellow actors James Denton, Greg Grunberg and Bob Guiney. “I know the history of actors making music is a checkered one, but I promise no one will get hurt,” he wrote in a statement.

He’s right, and let’s hope not.

Brad Allen brad@submergemag.com

The Beach Boys are back—maybe. Nearly 50 years after forming in California, rumors are once again circulating that the surf rock band plans to reunite to play an anniversary show. As an added bonus for fans, the band plans to make the show free to the public. A location has not yet been determined, but possibilities include Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and others (has to be California, right?). The set will include several original members of the band, including Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and Al Jardine. Jardine has hinted at hopes for a full-on tour, but no plans for a tour or reunion show have been made.

Kings of Leon was forced to cancel a recent show mid-set in St. Louis. Bad weather? Sick band member? Wrong. The band received an unwelcome present from the sky—pigeon shit.

And we’re not talking about your average hit-and-run. Apparently, the band was being bombarded at the Verizon Amphitheatre.

After bassist Jared Followill took a couple hits to the mouth, Kings of Leon decided the gig could not continue. Drummer Nathan Followill apologized to fans via Twitter, saying the group did its best to play on. The drummer placed all the blame on the venue operators.

Talk about a crappy set.

And in other news…

Ellen is leaving American Idol after one season, finally remembering she has no real knowledge or background in music.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

The Optimistic Pessimist When in the course of current events it becomes necessary for some people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with one another and to rapidly consume all the resources of the Earth, the very separate and unequal station to which the laws of imagination, entitlement and Jesus Christ bestow them, a lack of respect for the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these half-truths to be self-evident, that some men are created equal (not including women, blacks, Mexicans, Native Americans, gays, Muslims, people who look Muslim, Asians, communists, socialists and the French), that only those few men are endowed by God (the white one with the beard and His son named Jesus) with certain unalienable rights, that among these are freedom, guns and the pursuit of Budweiser; that to secure these rights, governments are dismantled among men, removing their liberal justice that benefits the governed; that whenever any form of liberal government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of a small fraction of extremists to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new “government,” laying its foundation on such principles and disorganizing its powers in such form, so that it will be less likely to improve their safety and happiness.

When a long train of self-inflicted abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object is challenged, it is their right and duty to make up whatever they want about the challenger and to provide new and overly intrusive guards

The New Patriotism: A Reclamation of Independence for their future security. The history of the present president, Barrack Hussein Obama, is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world: He was not born in the United States of America and won’t show us his real birth certificate.

He is black.

He is a Muslim.

He wants to kill our grandparents.

He is a socialist.

He has ruined our perfect economy in less than a year.

He hates businesses.

He wants to tax us all to death.

He is a racist.

He wants the government to run health care.

He made oil leak into the Gulf of Mexico.

He won’t let states make arbitrary laws to punish immigrants.

He wants to let gays fight in all the wars we started.

At every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the most absurd terms; our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Bocephus Chigger bocephus@submergemag.com

Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our liberal brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have called them names and insulted their characters, and we have demanded that they disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in necessity, which denounces our separation and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war.

We, therefore, the representatives of the Tea Party movement, in general congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world (Jesus’ Dad) for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by authority of the good people of these gatherings, solemnly publish and declare, that these united Americans are, and of right ought to be a free and independent nation, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the liberal left America, and that all political connection between them and liberal left, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as a free and independent nation, they have full power to levy war, contract away rights and resources, promote capitalism, tax the poor, and to do all other acts and things which independent nations may rightly do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, your fortunes and our tainted honor.

God bless (new) America!

passione (pas sio ne) passion, love, addiction, fervor abbiamo passione per la pizza e per lo stile di vita urbano.

seasonal & local ingredients organic espresso & gelato lots of two-wheel parking

SubmergeMag.com

16&Q Midtown facebook.coM/HotitaLian 11:30a UntiL Late nigHt 916.444.3000

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

5

0 $c1 s lone S

a

o ’ S t n e m a r c

top shElF ounces $325 * coupons not valid in combinations with any other coupons or offers. limit 1 per patient. coupon must be presented at time of purchase. no copies. cash value is 1/10th of 1cent. coupon must be presented at time of purchase. exp: 8/31/10

$15 OFF VaPorizers

EasyVape orVaporite Delux * coupons not valid in combinations with any other coupons or offers. limit 1 per patient. coupon must be presented at time of purchase. no copies. cash value is 1/10th of 1cent. coupon must be presented at time of purchase. exp: 8/31/10

t o p

c a n n a b i S

AUGUST PATIENT APPRECIATION • FREE GIFT with every donation • $5 Pre rolls or 5 for $20

10+ different strains

$10 off SAFETY SCREENING Mold,thc, cBD, cBN

• HIGH GRADE SHAkE (2 Grams)

$10-$25 each

MiN oF 2 saMplEs

* coupons not valid in combinations with any other coupons or offers. limit 1 per patient. coupon must be presented at time of purchase. no copies. cash value is 1/10th of 1cent. coupon must be presented at time of purchase. exp: 8/31/10

• MIx & MATCH 1/4 & 1/2 oz

c l u b

Must have Doctor recoMMenDation anD valiD ca iD

GET YOUR CANNABIS

SAFETY SCREENED

FOR MOLD & POTENCY THC/CBD/CBN Potency Testing THC/CBD/CBN Test Pricing: Sample size: 2 gram

Qty 1-4

Qty 5-19

Qty 20+

SaMPle DroP oFF: MoNDay THurSDay

$110

$100

$85

reSulTS PiCk uP: FriDay’S

Mold and Fungi Screening Mold and Fungi Pricing: Sample size: 2 gram

Qty 1-4

Qty 5-19

Qty 20+

$20

$19

$16

on select strains

Monday - Saturday: 10aM – 7PM • Sunday: 12PM – 5PM • www.unitynPc .org

1832 tribute road Suite e • SacraMento • Phone - 916.564.1824 E a s y F r E E way ac c E s s - N E a r c a l E x p o - D i s c r E E t l o c at i o N s E c u r E o N - s i t E pa r k i N g

6

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Your Senses SEE HEAR TASTE Touch

SEE

TOUCH

Hands-on Star Trek exhibition at Aerospace Museum of California Trekkies rejoice! Star Trek – The Exhibition, open now through Jan. 5 at the Aerospace Museum of California (located at 3200 Freedom Park Drive), is the largest display of Star Trek artifacts and information ever put on public display. The exhibit features sets, costumes, priceless museum pieces and props from all five Star Trek television series and 11 Star Trek feature films, including the recent blockbuster adaptation. Come aboard the bridge of the Starship Enterprise and sit in the captain’s chair, and enjoy interactive kiosks and one-of-a-kind displays, photo opportunities and more. Die-hard fans and novices alike are sure to have a blast. For more information, visit www.aerospacemuseumofcalifornia.org.

Good Clean Dirty Fun Sacramento’s hottest burlesque crew, The Sizzling Sirens, are back at it on Aug. 6 at Marilyn’s on K for their “Good Clean Dirty Fun” variety showcase. See all new performances from the girls that celebrate classic vaudeville variety and the ladies’ signature modern fusion style. There will be live music from The Harley White Jr. Orchestra, vaudeville MCs The Freebadge Serenaders and drink specials all night.

Bring a date, a group of friends, it doesn’t matter—a sexy fun time is sure to be had by all. Tickets are on sale at www.marilynsonk.com and are $15 for general and $25 for reserved seating. Music starts at 9 p.m. and the hotness starts at 10. For more information on The Sizzling Sirens, visit www.sizzlingsirensburlesque.com.

TASTE

Delicious Italian Foods at the 25th Annual Festa Italiana

HEAR

Beach Boys classics performed by local musicians Nothing says summer like listening to The Beach Boys, and on Aug. 7 at Old Ironsides, you can catch tons of local musicians performing nearly 50 of their classic hits. Local promoter extraordinaire Jerry Perry is known for throwing awesome “tribute shows” (among many other rad shows), and this one is sure to be no different. Performing musicians include Aaron King and the Imperials, Adrian Bourgeois, Baby Grand, David Houston, Dog Party, The Freebadge Serenaders, I Scream on Sundae, Jackson Griffith, Jem and Scout, Justin Davis, Ol’ Cotton Dreary, On Display and The Only Men. The show starts at 8 p.m. and is 21 and over.

SubmergeMag.com

Every year Northern California’s Italian community gathers for one of the country’s premier celebrations of all things Italy. Presented by the Italian Cultural Society of Sacramento and now in its 25th year, the Festa Italiana is better than ever. Try Italian regional food specialties and Italian wines and beer by some of Sacramento’s best Italian restaurants; enjoy music and dancing from Italian bands, singers and folk dancers; stroll in the “Italian marketplace” or play bocce ball; check out the cool Italian cars, bicycle & motor scooter show and so much more. The festivities will be taking place at the Croatian Park located at 3730 Auburn Boulevard (two blocks east of Watt Avenue and I-80) on Saturday, Aug. 7 and on Sunday, Aug. 8. Admission is $10 (kids 15 and under are free) and parking is free. For more information visit www.italiancenter.net.

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

7

e

s

e

n

t

Fri, aug 6 & sat, aug 7

two

s

day

sat, aug 21

r

Fri, aug 13

p

s!

The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

ezera paint over pictures pledge the silence

mon, aug 9

The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

The BaTTle Of Midway • exyluM • SiphOn SOul The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

The MuTilaTOrS • The hOwlerS The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

thurs, sept 9

Aug 7

tues, aug 17

Aug 6 aloversplea batten down your heart twenty days with julian

sat, aug 28

sat, aug 14

The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

who ride The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

wed, sept 15

The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

wed, aug 11

venue • 1417 r STreeT • SacramenTo

Fri, aug 20

delirious

Misery

nighTMare in TwilighT • BeyOnd all endS The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

Tag yOur dead • raelin The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

8

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 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

sat, oct 2

sat, sept 25

sat, sept 18

The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

wed, sept 22

thiur, oct 14

paper melody • the american scene The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

suN, sept 26

The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

skyeatsairplane • chelsea grin the chariot • vanna

fri, oct 1

The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

tues, Nov 16

The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

misery • revocation nightmare in twilight • jack ketch The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

ALL SHOWS ALL AGES

SubmergeMag.com

The Boardwalk • 9426 GreenBack • oranGevale

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

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

9

Mother May I?

Goapele Has the Voice of an Angel, the Spirit of Oakland Words Corey Bloom

Much like her music, Goapele is not a one-dimensional individual. Born in Oakland to a South African father and Jewish American mother, her lineage and upbringing provided a fountain of culture for her to draw upon. From activism to the arts, she absorbed it all and channeled her experiences through music.

With an angelic voice and adventurous ear, Goapele defies genres and has continued to evolve over the past decade.

Since her debut in 2001 the sultry vocalist has gone on to release three albums. After a five-year hiatus brought on by the birth of her first daughter, Goapele is putting the finishing touches on her fourth, titled Milk and Honey. With big name producers from across the country, the album is a melting pot of sounds, from synth-driven and heavy drums to sweet melodies. Goapele says that becoming a mother played a big part in expanding her world and making her “more open in general.”

“I think it was more so how much bolder and empowered, and also how vulnerable I felt after the whole experience,” she says. “It has expanded my sense of love. Also, it really pushed me through the writing and recording process. I don’t feel like lyrically I’ve changed very much, except that I’m putting myself out there a little bit more on this album instead of holding my cards close.”

A soft-spoken, strong soul blessed with boundless talent, Goapele has all the tools. It’s her world, and she is the architect. In advance of her Aug. 13 performance at Harlow’s, Submerge linked up to talk about Milk and Honey and some of the misconceptions that follow her.

I heard you say in an interview how people thought you would come back and write lullabies, but how that’s not the case.

Yeah, yeah [laughs]. It’s kind of interesting in that way because it didn’t make my music softer or my lyrics more edited, it made me more open and bold.

With your time off did you find you came back with a renewed energy or creative pulse?

I took my time recording this album, and I feel ready right now. After I had my daughter I took time to be home with her and take advantage of that experience, but I have really dedicated the past couple of years to craft this album the best way I can. What it is was that I was able to take more time than I ever had before because it was on my terms and pace.

I feel it’s been public for a long time that Milk and Honey was your next album title. I’m always interested when a title holds for so long. Did you build down from a certain concept and sort of mold the album off of that?

Well, it was one of the first songs I recorded. It

10

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

was a very sensual song, and I felt like that would be the overall tone throughout this album.

There were songs I was writing at the time that had a different vibe, but I really liked the “Milk and Honey” idea. I like that it was something nourishing and sensual… I need to find more words to explain it [laughs].

Did that song steer you in a certain direction?

Not really, I just kept recording. In the creative process I just like to get everything out there. I hooked up with so many producers and musicians along the way things were always changing. I would feel like, OK, I’m done, but then another opportunity would open up so I just kept going. At the end I think it will all make sense, and it will all tie together. When I first started recording, it started with my in-house producers like Bedrock, Mike Tiger, Dan Electric, and throughout the process I got to work with different people I had met throughout the years like Kanye West; Khao, who is out of Atlanta; Raphael Saadiq and others.

More recently I worked with Drumma Boy who produced the next single, “Right Here.”

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Again, I read a quote I really liked where Drumma Boy talked about playing you his R&B stuff but you identified with the harder, crunk stuff.

Yeah [laughs]. I feel like as producers and musicians, we have to give our truest selves.

That’s what I know him for, so that’s what I want from him. I can come off super laid-back and positive, and I do want my music to have a positive impact, but I’m not strictly a calm, soft and gentle person. I really like hard-hitting drums and bass lines. And then my natural way of singing is kind of laid-back, so I like how those two things fit together.

You have a universal sound, but do you feel there is an element that is a direct reflection of your Oakland/Bay Area roots?

Probably the combination in my sound—that it’s raw but still beautiful. I feel like that is Oakland.

It has a rough vibe but it’s gorgeous at the same time. It has the water right there, so much green, but there are other elements that can be rough around the edges. I would be happy if the violence went down, but I do like that people can be individuals and not worry about fitting in a box.

Yeah, I feel like that is really personified in the “Milk and Honey” video. It’s a very elegant video, but you got the two slugs in the bottom row of the teeth.

[Laughs] Yeah, exactly. It’s not typical. We all have so many different aspects of ourselves, and in entertainment it’s like people want us to be one certain way but that’s not how most of us are as men and women.

You may have just answered this, but what do you think is the biggest misconception of you?

Yeah, kind of what we were just talking about and people just wanting to keep me in the neo-soul category. Yes, I have been strongly influenced by soul music and I always want what I do to be soulful, but it does bleed out of that category.

Is that a term you have come to disgust, or are you just kind of eh with it?

It turns me off, but I understand it. When you’re doing something that doesn’t quite fit the titles that are already out there then it’s easy to just make a new title, but it’s the best when you don’t have to have any title at all. Just your name.

That’s what I’m working for.

ENIGMADESINEHAUS

“I can come off super laid-back and positive, and I do want my music to have a positive impact, but I’m not strictly a calm, soft and gentle person.”

– Goapele SubmergeMag.com

O TRI ARI JAH OM E.C AC SP MY

916.275.8813

Check out Goapele. com for all the latest happenings, including her new song “Victory” off an upcoming collaborative project with artists from South Africa. See her preform at Harlow’s on Friday, Aug. 13.

DAV E

WI T H LYN C

H

SP E CIA L GUE AND ST TO N Y GAL IOT O

Fresh Fruit & Toppings Organic Coffee, Tea & Snacks Available in Non-Fat or Sugar-Free Downtown westfielD Plaza

buy one get 2nd

1/2 off

*

*of equal or lessor value must present coupon - expires 8/31/10

Upstairs across from the Food Court (916) 448-3844 | M-Sat 10am-8pm Sun 11am-6pm

YummyYogurtCafe.com

facebook.com/YummyYogurt twitter.com/YummyYogurtCafe

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

11

Deftones are back at the top of their game

Do it for Chi! Words Jonathan Carabba

S

acramento’s own marquis band, Deftones, have come quite a way since their inception in the late ‘80s. From gigs at backyard barbecues to sold-out shows at the Cattle Club, to landing a record deal and headlining huge tours all around the world in support of chart-topping, genre-busting albums, these guys have been through thick and thin and have maintained momentum, as well as a rabid fan base, along the way. During

a recent interview with Submerge, drummer Abe Cunningham reminisced on the old days. “We’ve surpassed any expectations,” he said with a chuckle. “We wanted to play the Crest Theatre; that was the huge goal.” After agreeing that they’ve achieved that goal and then some, he went on to say, “Every day from this point on, not to be corny, is a blessing. We’ve been so wild over the years and just fucked off so much and just been out of our minds fucked up on everything, just having the rock ‘n’ roll time of our lives. And I’m not saying that we’re angels now, we certainly have a blast to this day, but we’ve chilled out a bit.”

Unfortunately, Deftones original bass player Chi Cheng remains in a semi-conscious state after a horrific car accident in early November 2008 left him in a coma. This near loss of a friend and band mate quite obviously sent a shockwave through the group, who at the time was done with a record called Eros. After much deliberation, the band ultimately decided to put the release of Eros on hold and quickly got back to doing what they do best: making music. They enlisted longtime friend and former Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega to fill in as Chi slowly recovers. As the group began gathering at their West Sacramento rehearsal spot, it was quickly evident that they were all itching to create again, despite having just shelved an entire record that they poured themselves into for over a year. Before they knew it, the band had an entire new album’s worth of material. That material, born of tragedy and heartbreak, became the band’s sixth studio release called Diamond Eyes. The album charted at No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard 200 in May of this year and is arguably some of the band’s best material to date. “We’re better now than we’ve ever been,” Cunningham said with confidence.

In the following interview, Cunningham chats about their new record, Cheng’s current status, the band’s new lineup and more.

12

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

I’m curious, who in the band still calls Sacramento home?

Stephan [Carpenter], our guitarist, he moved down to the Los Angeles area a while ago. Chino [Moreno, vocals] lives in the L.A. area too. He moved down there maybe about three or four years ago. Frank [Delgado, keyboardist] and I are still here, and Chi is here.

Sergio, our buddy who is playing bass with us is from New York. But I mean, we’re still a Sacramento band, we still claim it.

That’s cool because you guys have become such an international force over the years. It’s nice to see you still claim Sacramento. I feel like some bands that blow up from here end up claiming the Bay Area or L.A. or something.

I am sporting a Giants hat, but hey, you know? [Laughs] I mean shit, it’s where we’re from. Everybody’s from somewhere. And it’s not even that bad, so what the fuck, you know?

How is it performing the material off of Diamond Eyes? The record was conceived, produced and released in a very timely fashion, how does that affect the way the songs are translated in the live setting?

I mean everything is new still; the songs are still all very new. This is really the first record that we went in [to the studio] with the material all done since probably Around the Fur, actually really since our first record. Since then, we’ve mostly written everything in the studio, which can be really cool, but it also can be just fucking crazy because it’s super expensive and if you’re not gelling and getting shit done, it can just be insane. It can be a really costly, mentally draining experience all around. So that’s the way it’s kind of been for the past four records, at least up until this one. We just went SubmergeMag.com

in and blasted it out. We wrote it so quick and had a blast doing it despite everything that had been going on with Chi. It was a catalyst for us getting down to it.

So it was a more organic approach than you took with previous albums in that you guys were able to completely play all of these songs live in your rehearsal room before ever hitting record, right?

Yeah, dude! We can’t even play some of the songs on some of our records [laughs]. We’re actually like, “Wow, we’re a real band again.

We can play our own shit.” Not that we couldn’t play all our other shit. In the studio we’ve never tried to do anything so outlandish that we could never really perform it live. Studios are great for that.

You can get down and you can make the most insane masterpiece, but can you pull it off live? That’s why we always tried to limit ourselves a bit, because we’ve always wanted to be able to do it live. This time around we just blasted it out and had a great time doing it.

If you don’t mind, I’m sure it’s a touchy subject, but I’d like to talk briefly about Chi and that whole situation. When’s the last time you saw him?

Chino and I went down right around Easter; we were taking off for tour for quite some time. He’s back down in Stockton.

So he’s at home now, not in a hospital, right?

Yeah, he’s been home for a while. It’s way better than being in a hospital somewhere.

How is he doing? I read on www.oneloveforchi.com that he is undergoing some crazy “wake up protocol” and being looked after by top-notch doctors. What can you tell me about that?

These doctors that took him on are apparently involved with a lot of people coming back from the Iraq war and Afghanistan. There’s been a skyrocketing number of people coming back with traumatic brain injuries—roadside explosions and shit like that. Anyway, these doctors I guess have had tremendous success with people that are in exact or similar states that Chi is in, bringing them back to some degree. Because, I mean, he’s awake, he’s there, but he’s trapped.

It’s kind of like the Metallica “One” video.

I just got the goose bumps, because I was thinking the exact same thing. It seems like he’s come a long way already, though, like his eyes are open now and he looks more aware and you can talk to him and he engages, right? How encouraging is that, being one of his closes friends and band mates?

All I want is the best for him, man. I think about his son, he’s got a son. I think about his whole family obviously, but he’s got a 12-yearold son who’s just the raddest kid and that’s really on my mind. He needs his dad back. Fuck him playing in the band again, that would be awesome if that could happen, but…

Continued on page 14>> Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

13

“Obviously we took time off to just try and figure what the fuck we were going to do and why this happened, and you just realize that some things you can never ever no matter how hard you try find an answer for, and this is one of them.”

– Abe Cunningham on Deftones’ decision to continue on without bass player Chi Cheng When it came time to make the call to bring in Sergio on bass and to continue playing and writing music without Chi, was that a tough decision?

I mean not really, and I don’t mean to be insensitive. Obviously we took time off to just try and figure what the fuck we were going to do and why this happened, and you just realize that some things you can never ever no matter how hard you try find an answer for, and this is one of them. Well, I’ll tell you why it happened; he wasn’t wearing his fucking seatbelt. So, of course we were trying to figure out what’s up with the band, and we took a couple months just to breathe and figure some stuff out. We just said, “Shit, this is what we do, we play music, we make music and we play it. We’ve been doing it for a long time now and it’s really what we do.” It was as simple as that. It’s what we do.

Was everybody in the band on the same page or was there some struggle between members?

Well yeah, it eventually came back to that struggle. At first Stephan wanted to just like start over again with a new band and all this stuff. Hey, I can dig that but come on, you know? Everyone was just kind of juggling ideas around, and it just came down really to getting back into our little spot out in West Sacramento. We have this studio we’ve had out there for a really long time. We just wanted to get out there, and we started jamming again, just for the sake of playing music. We actually had a record pretty much done called Eros. We’d been working on that for over a year already, and that was pretty much done. The whole thing with Sergio is, we had a show booked and we had this one thing we needed to fill, this one obligation. He had played with us before, he’d filled in for Chi way back, but he also came from this band Quicksand that we loved and was totally a huge influence on us, so we were all buddies over the years.

14

Was there ever anyone else in the running or was it Sergio all the way?

Yeah, it was kind of funny. He’s all neurotic, all New Yorker and shit. He came out here and I think he thought in his mind there was going to be 50 or 100 people in line to try out like that Metallica movie. He came out and he was all nervous, and we were like, “Dude just come out here, fuck this, come kick it.” We kind of shot the shit for a little bit and in actuality we were like, “Dude, you’re the only person we had in mind. There was nobody else.” He was just like, “Phew” and took a deep breath.

Can you tell me a little about the decision to put Eros on hold and start the writing process all over again for what would become Diamond Eyes?

It was really a huge decision for us. When it was brought up, I was like, “Yeah, I’m down,” when inside I was like “Fuck, I really don’t know.” I knew we could do it, but I had some reservations.

We had just done this Eros thing. We were totally tapped creatively and all this shit. I was like, “We can do it! But wait, can we really do it?” But everything just came, you know? And with Eros, honestly, if we would have put that record out right now, it just was not the right time for that record. It’s not that it’s bad, there’s some good stuff on it; it just wouldn’t be good for us, man. And really it was out of respect for Chi, too. We spent all this time writing and recording and making these songs with him, and for us to go out on tour with those songs without him would be a trip. We just said, “Fuck it, let’s not shelve it, let’s put it on simmer on the backburner and let it chill a while and Chi, hopefully he can join us.”

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

You worked with a new producer on this one, Nick Raskulinecz.

How much of an influence did he have on this record? Was he there during a lot of the writing?

Oh yeah, he was in there every single day with us from the get-go until we finished the record.

Was that new for the band, to sort of have that outside influence when crafting a record? Have you ever let anyone in creatively like that?

Never. We did most of our records with Terry Date, who is a dear friend. He’s a producer, but he’s more of an engineer. If he had an opinion, of course he’d say it, but he never was hands-on up in our shit. Normally we don’t like that shit, we’re like, “Fuck man, we can do this. We’re doing OK, leave us alone,” but Nick is just a rad dude and is so much fun to be around. He was right up in there with us.

Everyone totally gelled and trusted him. Our biggest hang up is we’ll be jamming for hours and hours and hours and have cool shit come out, but nobody will ever stop and say, “That was tight, do that.”

What he did was just float around the room and encouraged us to do what we were already doing. He just made everyone confident, like, “Wait, I’m doing rad shit, cool!” It was like fire, man.

It seems like everything was in place, you know? Nick was a fan of the band and on board to produce, Sergio came out and fit right in, you all started creating music again together in your old band room.

It’s pretty uplifting, and frankly I think Chi would be pretty proud.

That’s our whole goal; there will always be some people that don’t get it. They ask, “How could you? How dare you?” You know what, fuck you, you have no idea how this works. You can sit on your keyboard on the Internet and talk shit. It’s really not been like that though. For the most part everyone’s been very supportive. We’re out doing our thing in Chi’s name, in his honor. He’s right there with us in spirit. I Catch Deftones live at know he’s around.

Memorial Auditorium on Aug. 8. Opening will be Circa Survive. Show starts at 8 p.m. and is all ages.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

1/8 ths low a s $ 28!

5

$

HIGH HIGH GRADE GRADE & & TOP TOP SHELF SHELF

45 cap on

Jumbo Pre-Rolls

$

1/8

ths

OVER OVER ONE ONE GRAM GRAM EACH! EACH!

Best

sat Z O g n i t r a t s $ 70!

1

CLONE

Selection in Sac ONLY

10

$

A selection so cool you need shades:

Grand Daddy Purps • Green Crack Purple Voo Doo • Pineapple Express Blue Dream • Recon • Northern Lights Grape Ape • Afrec • Hindu Skunk Sour Diesel • Cantelope Haze OVER 40 STRAINS TO CHOOSE FROM! SELECTIONS CHANGE DAILY PRICES START AT ONLY $10. GRAM!

RIVER C ITY WELLNESS

3830 Northgate Blvd, Sacto 95833

916-736-6337

TRU

SubmergeMag.com

Open Mon-Sat 10am-7pm

ATM

ATE

XEL

Dr.’s Recommendation Required

NORTHG

INT.

80

5

BUS.

80

NEW LOCATION 50

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

15

Andrew W.K. puts a tumultuous five years behind him Words James Barone • Photo Andrew Strasser

H

ardships can be blessings in disguise. At least, that’s how Andrew W.K. sees it—maybe because he has little other choice. In 2001, W.K., born Andrew Wilkes-Krier in Stanford, Calif., burst on the scene and relased the best thing to happen to pop-metal since Mötley Crüe’s Dr. Feelgood. I Get Wet, W.K.’s debut album, catapulted the relatively unknown songwriter/party starter into the thick of pop culture’s collective unconscious. No doubt, anyone embarking on the road to stardom—for those lucky enough to achieve such a height—marks a strange and interesting journey. However, W.K’s path has seemed downright bizarre.

By 2006, W.K. stood ready to release his third full-length studio album, Close Calls With Brick Walls, but the magic carpet he was riding was practically pulled out from under him. Contract disputes caused the album to be widely released in Asia only with a vinyl-only release in the United States. With his career in limbo, W.K. managed to keep himself busy. He evolved.

“2005 to 2010 was the best of times and worst of times,” he says.

“There was more confusion and complication with people I’ve worked with pretty much my whole professional career—personal issues, business issues, contractual issues that made things crazy.”

To add to the insanity, W.K. had to deflect constant accusation about his authenticity. Since the beginning of his career, questions circulated as to whether he was who he said he was or if he was just a corporate construct. Recently, W.K. decided to stop ignoring the controversy and faced it head on, which may have only stirred up more questions. In a September 2008 talk he gave at Madame JoJo’s in London, W.K. revealed secrets about his mysterious past. In something of a confession, he admitted that “Andrew W.K. was created by a large group of people.”

“On the one hand it may be a little scary to admit this to you all, that I may not be exactly who you thought I was, and that the guy who was, in fact, first hired as Andrew W.K. is a different person than the guy sitting here on the stage tonight,” he said (full video of the talk is available at www.rockfeedback.com). “I’m the next person who is playing Andrew W.K.” Out of that craziness, however, W.K. broadened his horizons. He produced records for other artists such as Lee “Scratch” Perry; hit stages as a motivational speaker; and opened a night club/venue, Santos Party House, in New York City, where he now lives with wife/band mate Cherie Lily.

W.K. even ventured into children’s television programming as host of Cartoon Network’s Destroy Build Destroy. Perhaps furthest removed from the high energy music he’s known for, in 2009, he released 55 Cadillac, a harrowing instrumental piano album for Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth’s Ecstatic Peace! label.

“These are all new areas that in 2005, I never thought I’d be able to do, but now I can look back and say everything happens for a reason,” he says. “Those hardships ended up being their own rewards.”

Andrew W.K and his fans were rewarded in March 2010 when Close Calls With Brick Walls saw a proper worldwide release.

The mammoth 18-track album was released as a two-disc package with Mother of Mankind, a collection of B-sides, rarities and unreleased tracks.

“A lot of times I never imagined that these songs would be heard by anybody, so it was thrilling, a bit scary—in a good way—to get them out,” he says. “It was also really satisfying.”

With the uneasiness of the past five years behind him, W.K. is back to doing what he does best: rocking the fuck out and igniting fans worldwide with his undeniable enthusiasm. He says a new album is on the horizon for 2011, but in the meantime, you can check him out on this year’s Vans’ Warped Tour.

16

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

How is Warped Tour going for you? This isn’t your first time. Do you still enjoy the experience?

I enjoy it more now than ever before. The first time we got to do Warped Tour was in 2002. We did a handful of shows. We were doing Ozzfest that summer, but we were able to duck out and get a little taste of the Warped Tour. We loved it and were able to do the entire tour in 2003. To be invited back to do it again after seven years is a big surprise. I’m really able to appreciate the professionalism and efficiency and the hard work of everyone involved much more than ever before.

I think the tour has just gotten better. Every year it improves.

Being gone for seven years, have you noticed the scene change since the last time you were on?

I don’t even know what the scene is other than a bunch of people—really young people, young people of all ages—coming out to enjoy a really memorable summer day with high energy music.

As far as a scene or culture that goes beyond that, I don’t know if there is one or how to describe it.

It doesn’t seem really appropriate to call it a punk scene, it doesn’t seem really appropriate to call it anything except high energy. It’s enthusiastic about life and friendly and open-minded and passionate vibes.

You have a party tent set up at this year’s Warped Tour…

It’s a big tent that allows me and anyone who wants to go in there to celebrate the day together and create some memories and have some fun.

I’m there, my band is there. We’re all hanging out there not only to say thank you to the folks that are coming, but to get those experiences and memories under our own belts. Every day that I play or tour—not just Warped Tour, but in general, going around the world doing entertainment—I meet people all the time who either saw us for the first time at the Warped Tour or first heard about us there or had a friend that saw us there.

It’s definitely a powerful opportunity to make an impact and meet people, and that’s what the party tent is all about.

Close Calls With Brick Walls finally got a full release here in the United States and United Kingdom. The album had limited release here and elsewhere in the past, but how did it feel for the album to finally be available in stores to a wider audience?

It just feels like relief on one hand. There’s nothing more that I can do for that record. It’s done. It’s had its time, and now we can move forward. It’s very satisfying now that everyone who’s ever wanted it can now have it more easily.

Of course, anyone who’s ever wanted it from when it was first released in Asia could’ve had it by downloading it on the Internet. It just felt good to make an official worldwide version. We love playing the songs from that. It’s great to make sure people are aware that it’s there.

Now that the album is out, does that signify the end of your contract dispute? You’re free to release albums under the Andrew W.K. name again?

The main issues that we had been having have been resolved over the past six months. Over the past year, we’ve been piecing together, reassembling the plans we’d had in place since ’99. It’s not very interesting to me. I would imagine it to be kind of boring stuff. There are a lot of people that it takes to work in show business the way we want to work. I’m grateful for this entire team of people and everything they do. I don’t talk a lot about what we do behind the scenes, but I’m glad it’s all worked out.

SubmergeMag.com

“What happened with us was that people began to accuse me of not being—not a real person—but not being who I said I was, or not being the way I said I was, and that’s just not true.” – Andrew W.K.

There were a lot of allegations made about you, and you seemed to be pretty open with confronting them recently. Are you happy with the way you handled the situation?

I’ve been dealing with certain allegations, rumors and accusations since the first album came out.

I’ve tried to handle them many different ways.

The stuff that you saw more recently…I’ve tried a different approach to be more upfront. In the past, I ignored things entirely, and that did not help. It made people a lot more paranoid or curious as to why I would ignore these things and pretend they weren’t there. Certainly the approach of acknowledging the questions was a new one, and I think it does work better that way. Sometimes, you think you can ignore an issue and it’ll go away, and this one didn’t. Almost 10 years down the road into my career, it’s never fully been resolved. People will always have questions, so from now on my approach will be to answer them, or at least acknowledge them as best I can.

Do you think the mystery helped you in some way, like, by giving you some sort of rock star mystique?

It could be fun to some people in the audience, but most people seem pretty upset about it. That hasn’t been fun for me either. The people I work with don’t want to be in the limelight. When you’re in show business, everything is on display to a degree, because it’s a show. Most people don’t care about bankers or pharmaceutical company people, because they think those characters are boring—and they usually are.

But because show business has this automatic excitement, they assume that everyone working in show business is exciting, but they’re usually not. And they’re usually not interested in being exciting. They’re just interested in the business…

What happened with us was that people began to accuse me of not being—not a real person—but not being who I said I was, or not being the way I said I was, and that’s just not true. That’s been the hardest part for me, the disappointment my fans have had or my friends have had, that feeling of being disillusioned and getting hung up on genuine concerns, but ones that have just been distracting them from the real point of this, which is that this is supposed to be very fun and exciting… I would prefer that it all go away, and that’s why I used to deal with it by ignoring it.

Now that you’re out on the Warped Tour, have you noticed that it’s starting to fade into the background?

Most people don’t know or care about what we’re talking about. A small percentage of people I meet are concerned with this… It can drain a lot of energy from me. I used to be way more stressed out about it, because it felt really bad when someone would say, “You’re a fake,” or “You’re not a real person,” or “You’re a paid actor.”

That took a lot of energy away from me too, so now I just try to focus on what really matters with this stuff, and ignore the rest or just let it be on the side.

Are you going to make anything else like 55 Cadillac again?

Someday I’d like to make another instrumental album. That one will always be the way that one is, but the next one is going to be a rock album for sure. That one had a lot to do with the contracts I was in. It came at the right time. It made sense at that time. But thank you for asking about that. I want to make all kinds of albums, you know?

Andrew W.K. will be one of the main attractions at this year’s Vans Warped Tour (now in it’s 16th year, can you believe it?). Warped Tour 2010 will pass through the Sacramento area when it lands at the Sleep Train Amphitheatre in Marysville on Aug. 12. Make sure you stop by Andrew W.K.’s party tent to meet the band, win prizes and of course PARTY HARD.

Party On! Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

17

Behind the Curve

W. Kamau Bell on America’s Racial Tourette’s Words Vincent Girimonte

W. Kamau Bell reassures me in our conversation last week that yes, I read the fine print correctly: if you bring a person of a different race to his show, The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour, slated for two performances Aug. 20 at The Comedy Spot, you will be rewarded with a two-for-one discount. This bargain first struck me as some sort of revealing trap, or maybe just a joke I wasn’t quite in on—“people are so cynical.” My next question: who’s in charge of this…profiling of a racial nature?

“We have a strict ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy at the door,” says the San Francisco-based comedian, who, in addition touring with the Curve, released his second stand-up album, A Face Full of Flour, earlier this year. “You don’t want to put some door person at the forefront of telling somebody ‘you two are the same race!’”

The show’s moniker is as unambiguous as Bell himself, a “raceist” commanding attention through a blunt dialogue on our racial States, and his build even—6-foot-4 with an afro. Digital slides, video clips and various other media are used as part of Bell’s shtick, striving to stimulate and invigorate the atrophied, “post-racial” conscience, white, black, brown or Polish (remember: no asking or telling).

Photo Adam Davis

18

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

It seems as though your show employs some didactic techniques; are you giving us a race lesson, in a sense?

I definitely like people leaving the show thinking “I didn’t know that,” but it’s a comedy show. If people want to learn, there are people way smarter than me to learn from—it’s not a funny lecture.

I’ve always liked comedy that left you with something afterwards, though. I’m a big fan of Bill Hicks and Lenny Bruce, people who were comedians first, but also want to change the way you think about things, change the air in the room a little bit. I’d be stupid to compare myself to two of the greatest comics in the history of mankind, but I think that’s the school of comedy [under which I perform]. I think that’s also true of Chris Rock; he wants you think differently when you leave the room.

How did race first manifest itself in your material?

Like a lot of things, it’s the fault of your parents. My mom was a Ph.D. student at Stanford back in the ‘70s. She was trying to get her degree in African-American literature, but at that point Stanford didn’t consider African-American literature to be a field of study. She withdrew from the program rather than take a Ph.D. in a program she didn’t want…so that’s my mom. My dad has always been the kind of black person who was either the first or “I’ll be better than everyone around me.” He’s been a super successful businessman because he refuses to be defined by his race. Being raised by those people sort of puts you in the way I see the world. I’ve always struggled with how the world sees me versus how I see the world.

You spent much of your youth in Chicago. How did your time there influence your views on race?

Chicago is one of the most racially segregated cities in the United States. There are probably still places in Chicago where black people shouldn’t go. The difference in Chicago is they might tell you when you walk in, “Oh no, black people shouldn’t be here.” Oh thanks, I’ll see you later. Coming out to San Francisco, which has the reputation of being super liberal, there are places where black people shouldn’t go, but they just don’t talk to you. That’s true of every racial group— I’m only speaking from the black perspective. The racial dialogue in San Francisco isn’t usually talked out loud, because people think we solved it by virtue of our area code. In Chicago, I feel like you can tell somebody, “You’re being racist,” and they’d be like, “You’re damn right I’m being racist,” which is a different problem. In the Bay Area it’s, “What? How could I? There’s no way. I have a black friend.

I order my burritos in Spanish.” I think living in San Francisco is what pulled the show out of me.

You’re a language guy. Give me an accepted word or phrase pertaining to race that you find annoying.

We’re two years into the era of the first black president, and there’s still this debate about whether or not we’re living in “post-racial” America. That was solely an invention of the media. It doesn’t even make sense. I looked it up in the dictionary and found out it’s not in the dictionary. It doesn’t mean anything. In the show I talk about how I can disprove the idea of post-racial America in two words: Cleveland Indians. I show the logos for the Indians, for the Redskins, the Braves: We still have sports teams named after races of people.

SubmergeMag.com

“The racial dialogue in San Francisco isn’t usually talked out loud, because people think we solved it by virtue of our area code.”

– W. Kamau Bell Photo Anna Matsen

The last six months of news has been fraught with racial tension— I’m thinking Shirley Sherrod, the Tea Party, Arizona SB 1070. What did happen to that “post-racial” society of November 2008?

When I started doing this show, people thought this guy Obama could maybe be vice-president for Hillary Clinton. How quickly things changed. It’s interesting to me, because America having their first black president has become a lightning rod for racists. It’s almost like having racial tourette’s. And the right has done a really good job of making people believe that their problems are the fault of [Obama]; not that we, the rich people, have destroyed the economy.

It’s easy to blame the black guy. I’m also not there to cheerlead Barack Obama. The show is hyper-topical; there are things that come in and out of the show based on how topical they are.

Why can Americans laugh about race but not talk about it seriously?

Well a lot of race humor—and this is what I try to steer clear of—is just making fun of other races. A large part of humor settles on making fun of people; not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s not the same as when Chris Rock talks about race, or Dave Chapelle talks about race. The thing I’m trying to do with the show is use jokes to indict stuff I don’t like, but I’m not just making fun of it. It’s easy to make fun of other people, you know, “That’s true! Chinese people do Catch The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism blah, blah, blah.” in About an Hour at The Comedy Spot, Aug. 20, playing back to back at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

19

904 15th Street 443.2797

Between I & J • Downtown Sacramento

august TUES

3

WED

4

THURS

5 6 7

SUn

8

TUES

& the soothers 9PM X trio 5PM

harLey white Jr.

Featuring aaron King 9PM

gino Matteo & the FaMiLy

9PM Johnny KnoX 5PM

9PM

BLues JaM 4PM

MinD X 8PM hans eBerBaCh 5:30PM

Lew Fratis trio 9PM

WED

aCoustiC oPen MiC 5:30PM the return oF

THURS

12 FRI

The Den Buff Clout, If It Don’t Scare the Cows, Sputniq, Zagadka, 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 Strapped for Cash, Nuance, 8 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Press Club This Luxury, Just Lions, 9:30 p.m.

8.03

ron haCKer

10 11

Monday

aCoustiC oPen MiC 5:30PM

PhunK BanD

SaT

8.02

Lew Fratis trio 9PM

goLDen CaDiLLaCs

JiMMy PaiLer 9PM

X trio 5PM

harLey white Jr.

Featuring aaron King 9PM

aCoustiC trio 5PM

13 the niBBLers 9PM

Ca l en da r

Also available at www.submergemag.com/calendar

Doug Cash 5:30PM

aCoustiC trio 5PM

FRI

music

august 2 – 16

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, 6 p.m.; The Dreaded Diamond, Wife Son, 8 p.m.

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

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

Shady Lady Chub City w/ Flower Vato, 10 p.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Doug Cash, 5:30 p.m.; Lew Fratis Trio, 9 p.m.

8.04 Wednesday

Bisla’s Open Mic, 9 p.m.

Blackwater Cafe Open Mic, 7 p.m.

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

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

Marilyn’s Smirker, The Crazy Haris Band, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Gerard Fragamino, 8:30 p.m.

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

Press Club HUMP w/ Pance Party, DJ Whores, 9 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.

Venue 100 Monkeys, 7 p.m.

8.05 thursday

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

The Blue Lamp Amberglance, Prefix, Sell Your Secrets, 9:30 p.m.

The Boardwalk Upperclass Ent, Bad J, Train Gang Clik, Supakid, Confidential, 8 p.m.

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

Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m.

Club Retro A Holy Ghost Revival, X-Ray Cat, Black, The Kennedy Veil, Kriptic, 6:30 p.m.

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

Delta of Venus Run on Sentence, Ellie Fortune, 8 p.m.

Fremont Park Hot lunch Concert Series w/ Shannon Curtis, JP Spangler, Aaron Beaumont, 11 a.m.

G St Pub DJ Somebody, 10 p.m.

John Natsoulas Gallery Garage Jazz Architects, Chikading!, 7 p.m.

Luigi’s Fungarden Wax Fingers, 8 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 Dan Hanley and the Horse’s Mac, Misty Knight, Matt Bradford, 8:30 p.m.

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

Powerhouse Pub James Otto, 2 Steps, 9 p.m.

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

8.06 Friday

The Blue Lamp Miss Lonely Hearts, Not An Airplane, 9:30 p.m.

The Boardwalk A Skylit Drive, The Divine, Aloversplea, Batten Down Your Heart, Twenty Days with Julian, 7 p.m.

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

Cesar Chavez Park The Golden Cadillacs, Light Rail, Johnny Guitar Knox & the Soothers, 5 p.m.

Club Retro K Sera, I Am Empire, Amberglance, No Where But Up, Smelling Colors, 6:30 p.m.

Distillery Blackstone the Chronicles of Ash Black, 10 p.m.

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

Harlow’s DJ DNA & Abs, 10 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Flamenco Del Oro, Drea Pacot, Gopal, Leta Y Mas, 8:30 p.m.

Johnny KnoX 5PM SaT

14

DeLta wires 9PM

BLues JaM 4PM

SUn

15

MCw Bash! harLey white, Jr. orChestra 8PM

torchclub.net

20

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

8.06

Blackstone the Chronicles of Ash Black Distillery 10 p.m.

8.09 Ludacris

Who Ride, Delirious Venue 7:30 p.m.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Marilyn’s The Sizzling Sirens, Harley White Jr. Orchestra, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Jus James, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Light the Beacon Fire, Kim Tillman, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Shannon Curtis, JP Spangler, Aaron Beaumont, 9 p.m.

The Park Ultra Lounge DJ Billy Lane Powerhouse Pub Utz Shuttlecock, 10 p.m.

Press Club DJ GVNTR, 9 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers, The West Nile Ramblers, 9 p.m.

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

Torch Club Acoustic Trio, 5 p.m.; Gino Matteo & the Family Phunk Band, 9 p.m.

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

Vega’s DJ Tiny, 9 p.m.

8.07 Saturday

Arco Arena Stevie B, Shannon, Debbie Deb, Trinere, Johnny O, Connie, Company B, Stacey Q, Nocera, 6:30 p.m.

Barcode Nightclub & Lounge DJ Billy Lane The Blue Lamp The Zeros, Dungeons & Drag Queens, Blue Diamonds, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk A Skylit Drive, The Divine, Ezera, Paint Over Pictures, Pledge The Silence, 7 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Face to Face (tribute to the music of Elton John and Billy Joel), 8 p.m.

Capitol Garage J.Ras, Tribe of Levi, DJ WokStar, 9:30 p.m.

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

Club 21 Quality w/ Oh No, Roc C, Sky Net, J Ross Perrelli, Lady Blue, DJ Rated R, DJ CCOUBZ, 8 p.m.

Club Retro The Ataris, Gasoline Heart, Don’t Panic, Mirros, Body Electric, 6:30 p.m.

Distillery Hoods, Give Em Hell, Macontent, 10 p.m.

G St Pub DJ Charlie, 10 p.m.

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

Harlow’s Hip Service, 10 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Christopher Fairman, Japanese Game Show, Sam Eliot, Bedroom Kids, 9 p.m.

Marilyn’s One Headlight, 9 p.m.

Mix Dance Party w/ DJ Larry Rodriguez Naked Lounge Downtown Live Josh Cates, Speak No More, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Beach Boys Tribute Show, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Superlicious, 10 p.m.

Press Club DJ GVNTR, 9 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Seth Augustus, Zoe Boekbinder, 9 p.m.

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

Torch Club Johnny Knox, 5 p.m.; Ron Hacker, 9 p.m.

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

8.08 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.

Cache Creek Casino Los Lonely Boys, 6 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Plasma Cannon, Lucky Beltran, Left Hand, Scowndrolls, Senseless Zombie Driving Violence, 6 p.m.

Golden Bear Industry Night, 7 p.m.

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

Memorial Auditorium Deftones, Circa Survive, 7 p.m.

Mix DJ Billy Lane, 9 p.m.

Off Broadway Bastards of Young, Drastic Actions, Kildevil, Walking Dead, Like Bats, 6 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.

Ruggles Warehouse Rotting Out, Alpha and Omega, 8 p.m.

Sol Collective Sea of Bees, Pregnant, ALAK, Aunt Dracula, 8 p.m.

Torch Club Blues Jam, 4 p.m.; Mind X, 8 p.m.

8.09 Monday

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

G St Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Garage Jazz Architects, Reconnaissance Fly, 7 p.m.

Old Ironsides Manouk, Clouds Rest, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Venue Ludacris, Who Ride, Delirious, 7:30 p.m.

8.12

Vans Warped Tour w/ Everclear, Agent Orange,

Reel Big Fish, , Sum 41, Andrew W.K. and more Sleep Train Amphitheatre 12 p.m.

SubmergeMag.com

16) 441-

HUNGRY?

Be one of our contestants who goes head to head for the ultimate feeding frenzy where the winner will be crowned as...

The winner will receive a cash prize along with other fabulous goodies.

Regardless of who is crowned as winner, the beer will flow, the pizza will bake, as the tables shake!

bmergem3803 ag.com

info@su

BRING IT ON!

PIZZA EATING CHAMPION.

Alkaline Trio

YOUR A D HERE (9

2ND ANNUAL PIZZA-EATING

THROW DOWN

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21ST

AFTERPARTY AT THE FUNGARDEN! THE PIZZAS, DOG PARTY, & ROCK THE LIGHT

PRIZES GALORE BRING YOUR APPETITE!

Hurry and sign up at Luigi’s Pizza Parlor 3600 Stockton Blvd Or Luigi’s Slice 1050 20th Street Before August 13th Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

21

8.10 Tuesday

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

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Fat Cat Music House (Modesto) Reverend Horton Heat, Split Lip Rayfield, Hill Stomp, hosted by The Kountry Kittens, 7 p.m.

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

G St Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Marilyn’s Open Mic, 6 p.m.; Wendy Colonna, 9 p.m.

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

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

Shady Lady Chub City w/ Flower Vato, 10 p.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

8.11 Wednesday

www.215grass.com

Bisla’s Open Mic, 9 p.m.

Blackwater Cafe Open Mic, 7 p.m.

The Boardwalk Black Veil Brides, Vampires Everywhere, Modern Day Escape, Get Scared, 7 p.m.

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

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

Harlow’s Mother Truckers, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s The Golden Cadillacs, David Shapiro & West of Next, 8:30 p.m.

Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Clark Reese, Richard March, Stephen March, 8:30 p.m.

Off Broadway Agrimonia, Slaughterbox, Curo Cochino, Escapement, Divination of the Damned, 7 p.m.

Old Ironsides Pets, Kitten, Dog Party, Kepi Ghoulie, 8:30 p.m.

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

Torch Club Acoustic Open Mic, 5:30 p.m.; The Return of Jimmy Pailer, 9 p.m.

8.12 Thursday

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

The Blue Lamp Aroarah, Terra Ferno, Split Self, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk Divided Allegiance, Americaz Mostz Haunted, White Minorities, Corpse Circus, Slaughterhouse Ninjaz, Cylince, Lower Level, C1NK1LL, 7 p.m.

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

Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m.

Club Retro Autumn Sky, Flatlin, Relic 45, Brandon Neal, Driving the Highways at Night, Wife & Son, 7 p.m.

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

Fremont Park Hot Lunch Concert Series w/ KB & The Slingtones, 11 a.m.

G St Pub DJ Somebody, 10 p.m.

Harlow’s Peppino D’Agostino, 7:30 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 Walking Spanish, Reggie Ginn, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides KB & The Slingtones, Mae McCoy & The Neon Stars, Cheri Lynn March, 9 p.m.

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

Powerhouse Pub Whiskey Dawn, Janedear Girls, 10 p.m.

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

Sleep Train Amphitheatre Vans Warped Tour w/ Everclear, Agent Orange, Reel Big Fish, Alkaline Trio, Sum 41, Andrew W.K. and more, 12 p.m.

Sol Collective Sol Cypher, Project, Wize Guy, Now or Never, Bryan V, Graham Vinson, 9 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Roadside Graves, John Heart Jackie, 8 p.m.

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

Townhouse Judgement Day, Foxtails Brigade, 9 p.m.

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

Vega’s Blues Jam, 7 p.m.

8.13 FRIDAY

The Blue Lamp Chuck Ragan (of Hot Water Music), 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk Havenside, Kingdom Of Giants, Maltreated, Thea Skotia, These Nightmares, 7:30 p.m.

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

Cesar Chavez Park The Brodys, The Phantom Jets, This Luxury, 5 p.m.

Club Retro Nebulosus, Journal, Red Fall, Momento Mori, 7 p.m.

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

22

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill WEAVE Benefit w/ Puke and Spit, Blame Betty, Jimmy Wah, Ventura, The Common Men, Breaking Glass, Autumn Sky, String Theory, Instagon, 8 p.m.

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

Harlow’s Goapele, 10 p.m.

Luigi’s Fungarden Clouds on Strings, Dreaded Diamond, The Kelps, 8 p.m.

Main St Brewery I2W, M-80, Bugzy, 9 p.m.

Marilyn’s Jerry Garcia Tribute feat. Sean Lehe (of Izabella), 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Jus James, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Miss Lonely Hearts, Nellie Fitzgerald, 8:30 p.m.

Off Broadway Black Mackerel, Liquored Up, Teeph, Razorhoof, 6 p.m.

Old Ironsides Lite Brite, Prieta, The Kelps, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Tainted Love, 10 p.m.

Press Club DJ GVNTR, 9 p.m.

The Refuge One-Eyed Rhyno, Uncle Tony, Caught in Committee, Gas Than Fire, GAS, Iris Shanks, 7 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen The Blank Tapes, Mariee Sioux, Salt Minds, 9:30 p.m.

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

Torch Club Acoustic Trio, 5 p.m.; The Nibblers, 9 p.m.

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

Vega’s DJ Tiny, 9 p.m.

8.14

The Boardwalk Shepton Mallet, The Battle of Midway, Exylum, Fault & Fracture, Siphon Soul, 7:30 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Pablo Cruise, 8 p.m.

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

Colonial Theatre “Young Rob Show” Banditz, 6:30 p.m.

G St Pub DJ Charlie, 10 p.m.

Gold Country Fairgrounds The Hip Hop Awareness Festival w/ The Grouch, A-Plus, Musonics, 2 p.m.

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

Harlow’s Midight Players, 10 p.m.

Marilyn’s Bob Woods Band, Kate Gaffney, 7 p.m.

Mix Dance Party w/ DJ Larry Rodriguez Naked Lounge Downtown Live Honyock, Attwater, Dick Larson, 8:30 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub 10 Year Anniversary Party, 9:30 p.m.

Press Club DJ GVNTR, 9 p.m.

Sacramento Bike Kitchen San Kazakgascar, 6 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Leslie Stevens & the Badgers, Charlie Wadhams, Ben Lewis, 8 p.m.

Southside Park Southside Sessions Art and Music Festival w/ Prieta, Majesty, Smirker, O Street Dub, Esteban Villa, 3 p.m.

Sugar Plum Vegan Cafe Ricky Berger, 8 p.m.

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

Torch Club Johnny Knox, 5 p.m.; Delta Wires, 9 p.m.

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

8.15 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.

Crest Theatre Stairway to Stardom, 12 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Nekrosylum, Skry, Moment of Silence, Apothescary, 6 p.m.

Golden Bear Industry Night, 7 p.m.

Harlow’s Te Vaka, 7:30 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.; MCW Bash w/ Harley White Jr. Orchestra, 8 p.m.

8.16 monday

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.

88

Acoustically Designed

Private Music Rehearsal Studios From

220 Square Feet To 500 Square Feet

Saturday

The Blue Lamp This Charming Band (tribute to The Smiths), The Snobs, 9 p.m.

1) Long Term or Monthly Rentals 2) Air Conditioned and Have 12 Foot Ceilings 3) 24 Hour Access 4) On Site Management 5) CCTV Security System 6) Free Wi-Fi / DSL 7) huge gated parking lot Monthly lock-out from $365-$500 hourly: huge room w/ PA 4 hours $30

SubmergeMag.com

(916) 381-4500 sactostudios.com

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

23

com e d y & misc e ll a n e ous C a l e n d a r

8.15 7.24 Ngaio Bealum Larry “Bubbles” Brown, Keith Lowell JensenThe Punchline Comedy Club 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.

8.07 Enter the Dragon Trash Film Orgy

The Crest Theatre 11:30 p.m.

24

Comedy Laughs Unlimited John Fox, Joey Rockenstein, Aug. 4 - 8, Wednesday, Thursday, 8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m.

Ty Barnett, Lang Parker, Aug. 11 - 15, 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, Aug. 4 & 11, 8 p.m.

Memorial Auditorium George Lopez, Aug. 6, 8 p.m.

Punchline Comedy Club Guy Torry, Aug. 5 - 8, Thursday & Sunday, 8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.

MTV’s Disaster Date Tour, Aug. 12, 8 p.m.

Laurie Kilmartin, Aug. 13 -14, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.

Ngaio Bealum, Larry “Bubbles” Brown, Keith Lowell Jensen, Aug. 15, 8 p.m.

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

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

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

Sacramento Comedy Spot Aug. 2, Cage Match, 9 p.m.

Aug. 4, Improv 1 Continuous, 7 p.m.; Harold Night, 9 p.m.

Aug. 5, Sketch Lab, 6 p.m.; Improv 1 Continuous, 7 p.m.; In Your Facebook, 9 p.m.

Aug. 6, Comedy from the Couch, 9 p.m.; The Ground Chuck Show, 11 p.m.

Aug. 7, Anti Cooperation League, 9 p.m.

Aug. 8, Open Mic Scramble, 7 p.m.

Aug. 10, Cage Match, 9 p.m.

Aug. 11, Improv 1 Continuous, 7 p.m.; Harold Night, 9 p.m.

Aug. 12, Sketch Lab, 6 p.m.; Improv 1 Continuous, 7 p.m.; In Your Facebook, 9 p.m.

Aug. 13, The Business, 9 p.m.; Bad Comedy for Bad People, 11 p.m.

Aug. 14, Three On Three Tournament, 8 p.m.; Anti Cooperation League, 9 p.m.

Aug. 15, Open Mic Scramble, 7 p.m.

Tommy T’s The High School Reunion Comedy Tour, Aug. 5 - 8, Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.; Saturday, 7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m.

Sinbad, Aug. 13 - 14, Friday, 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.; Saturday, 7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.

Misc.

16 and J Streets Midtown Bazaar, Saturdays, 7 a.m.

Beatnik Studios Tuesday Night Painting w/ Rachel Miller, every Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

Cut and Run Film Festival, Aug. 14, 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.

Capitol Garage Trivia & Movie Night, Mondays, 9:30 p.m.

Crest Theatre Trash Film Orgy Presents: Enter the Dragon, Aug. 7, 11:30 p.m.; Trash till Dawn, Aug. 14, 11:30 p.m. th

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

The Guild Theatre Movies on a Big Screen presents: Zombie Girl The Movie, Aug. 8, 7:30 p.m.; Cinema Insomnia Live hosted by Mr. Lobo, Aug. 14, 7 p.m.; Virginia Creepers, Aug. 15, 7:30 p.m.

It’s All Yoga Free Yoga Class, Fridays, 4:30 p.m.

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

Mystic Cinema (Roseville) Hell on Wheels: Roller Derby Documentary Sacramento Premier, Aug. 6, 11:30 p.m.

Radison Hotel Badge vs.

Badge: A Night of Law Enforcement and Firefighter Boxing, Aug. 13 Sol Collective Salsa Dance Classes, Mondays, 7:30 p.m.

Townhouse Record Club Movie Night & Lounge, every Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

who ride delirious

ALL AGES SubmergeMag.com

ThE TickETS AvAiLAbLE @ DimpLE REcoRDS, ThE bEAT, ARmADiLLo(DAviS), TickETS.com, muSicToDAy.com, boARDwALkRockS.com AnD boARDwALk box officE Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

25

$16 st

Imbibe in Style

Midtown Cocktail Week will raise your drink awareness Words & Photos Anthony Giannotti

2408 21st st.• sac •(916) 457-1120

tuesday-Friday 9 am -6 pm • saturday 10 am -4 pm

26

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Photo Josselin Basaldu

What is your favorite alcohol? Whiskey? Vodka? Tequila?

How do you like to drink said favorite libation? Sip it? Shoot it? Mix it? Well no matter what your drink of choice is or how you prefer to get it down your throat, Midtown Cocktail Week will have an event for you. This week of cocktail enlightenment will be held Aug. 9–15 at various locations around Midtown. It isn’t a week for just getting trashed and throwing up on your neighbor’s lawn—being a little tipsy may be a by-product of the festivities—but this week’s focus is cocktail education and appreciation. “Our goal is to educate people,” says Joe Anthony Savala, one of the event organizers and founder of the drink program at Zocalo. “We want people to drink better. People in Sacramento are eating better than ever, so why not drink better? We want them to know what fresh ingredients taste like. We also want people to get out and try new stuff!”

Education is an apparent theme in the week’s list of activities. Starting off the festivities on Monday will be L Wine Lounge, where the theme will be the art of drinking well, and timely drinks. They will be showing how you should be drinking through an entire meal, from aperitif to digestif. “We are excited to be involved again this year,” says Chris Tucker, lead mixologist of L. “We are trying to raise people’s expectations of their local bars.”

Tuesday’s events will give some of the local bartenders a chance to show off their chops with a mixology competition.

This cocktail creation competition has a similar format to Iron Chef. The battle for cocktail king will take place at Lounge on 20.

For all you whiskey enthusiasts out there, De Veer’s Irish Pub will be showing off their impressive whiskey selection with their Whiskey Around the World tasting on Wednesday. The whiskey experts at De Veer’s will be sharing some pretty intense knowledge while helping you find a whiskey that suits your palate. So come with a thirst and an open mind. Shady Lady Saloon will be handling Wednesday’s after party, as well as hosting a number of their own events throughout the week. “We are really excited about this event,” says Shady Lady bartender Travis Kavanaugh. “We have different events going every night of the week.” Just a few of the special attractions at the Shady Lady during Midtown Cocktail Week will include a Don Julio presentation, a tiki-themed night, live hand-rolled cigars and visiting guest bartenders from San Francisco’s prohibition-themed saloon Bourbon and Branch.

SubmergeMag.com

“We really want people to know how much better fresh hand crafted cocktails taste,” Kavanaugh says.

Tequila guru Joe Anthony Savala breaks down Thursday’s activities at Zocalo. “I love Latin spirits—mezcal, pisco and tequila,” he says. “We want people to enjoy them as much as we do, that is why we are doing a mezcal tasting and education.” Zocalo will be sampling different mezcals from different regions of Mexico. They will also be demonstrating how you can make simple, fresh drinks from south of the border at home. As if a smorgasbord of tequila and regional Mexican food isn’t enough, notable fine dining restaurant and bar Ella will be dispensing late-night drinks and tastings to finish off the evening.

The new dim sum restaurant Red Lotus will be starting off Friday with specialty block ice cocktails. If you have not had a chance to indulge at Red Lotus, this would be a great time to sample from its diverse menu and try an Asian fusion cocktail. Grange will be closing out Friday with some local spirits and food pairing. To say that Sacramento is proud of its local produce is an understatement; we like to see it in

Photo Josselin Basa ldu

our local restaurants. The staff at Grange Restaurant are also very strong believers in the slow food movement. “We have some really neat local alcohols and fresh local ingredients, as well as some very high profile bartenders guest spotting,” said Ryan Seng, mixologist at Grange.

We all know that The Golden Bear is known for their enticing front patio, tacos and $2 Miller High-Life, but on Saturday afternoon, be sure to investigate their newly remodeled back patio and freshly devised cocktail list.

Sunday will kick off at Hot Italian for some unique Italian cocktails. I don’t know exactly what Italian cocktails consist of, but I’m sure my fellow I-tie’s will bring more flavor than Steve Zissou’s campari and grapefruit juice concoction.

Sunday night the wrap party will be Remember these held at The Torch Club. The Torch are just a few of the Club was founded the year Prohibition events at a few of the locations. Check ended, so come dressed in your best Midtowncocktailweek. org or ask your favorite suspenders and flapper dresses. It local bartender for a will be a Prohibition-themed party full list of events. featuring five classic drink recipes.

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

27

live<< rewind

DIY FTW Ganglians, G.Green, Fungi Girls

WEDNESDAY, JuLY 28 • undisclosed location • Sacramento words Blake Gillespie • photo Sean Stout

Venues so discrete we have to refer to them as “undisclosed locations” are where the raddest shows go down. These hole-in-the-wall, permit-be-damned DIY dives are incubators for garage bands ready to put their art on parade for the ultra-knowing scene. The covert show I attended on Wednesday gave discounts to members that found out about it through a taco stand—it’s that exclusive. As a member, I was there to see a night of local celebrities in the making, a 7-inch release and three teenagers from some vast distance called Cleburne, Texas.

Fungi Girls, the band from Texas, are a strong case study as to why these shows exist. The 16-yearold lads possess one solid driver’s license, at best, between the three of them. Fungi Girls’ tour is a teen movie in the making about a summer road trip without mom and dad. If that is indeed the story, I’m eternally jealous of how those young dudes must feel traveling around the country playing gigs to strangers in California. The best I was doing at 16 was overnight basketball camps at the local college.

Fungi Girls recorded is alarmingly impressive, but a further shocker is that the lo-fi sonics translate well to the live setting. I recall a few brief moments during the more shred-heavy jams, thinking it was like watching Weezer before they were signed, which is meant as a compliment. It might be tough to stomach, but there was a time when Weezer was a celebrated comparison. It’s clear the Fungi dudes’ tastes are growing beyond Woodsist and HoZac Records catalogues, as the set flourished with songs that ripped and balanced into a few sprawling numbers—they grow up so quick.

The boys of Fungi Girls played a tight set, devoid of the minor tuning lapses. Drummer Skylar Salinas was a beast in the backdrop, stuttering in the occasional light-speed drum roll with a surgeon’s precision. (Is there a Doogie Howser joke there?) The

28

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

Fungi Girls played “Owsley Knows,” a favorite that is catchy beyond belief, and closed with the A-side and B-side of its HoZac 7-inch.

Comfort is a sacrifice for good entertainment.

There’s no air-conditioned room for members and as I walked in, the door girl was notified that my friend and I would be the last new entrants. This meant a packed, windowless room that sat without ventilation through the dead heat of summer, would be filled to the walls with bodies. If the lineup is hype-worthy enough, attending a renegade gig is comparable to an economy pack of tampons stuffed inside a nuked hot pocket—in this metaphor you’re a tampon.

Ganglians are back from its European tour.

Besides a release party for friends G.Green, the night was a welcome home to the gangly ones. The room was a pre-heated oven, but Ganglians counteracted the burn with its breezier songs, playing a new song called “My House” and “Crying Smoke.” The latter I have never seen performed live, but it turns out I’m not the only local who feels a soaked connection to it. People in the back clapped along, heads swayed to the acoustics and the throng of front row beauties danced with each other.

Feeling at home, lead singer Ryan Grubbs announced they would play a song the band wrote the night before, proceeding to pull out his cell phone to hear a recording he made, so as to remember the chords. Shouts of “play ‘Voodoo’” were honored as Ganglians closed with the request, a song I no longer recognize.

Often I’m shameless in decrying the DIY show, as it breeds exclusivity. Last Wednesday was an exception. If it weren’t for DIY shows, Fungi Girls’ touring schedule would slim dramatically and Ganglians would not have an intimate hideout to share its demos with friends.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

refined tastes

De-toxifying tastes Clean Cuisine words Josselin Basaldu josselin@submergemag.com True foodies don’t diet, but the smart ones do detox.

Hitting the streets of Sacramento over the past few years for Submerge’s loyal fine food fiends and delish drink drankers, I’ve sampled some wonderfully delightful dining and some questionable cuisine.

Remember the chicken feet? The anchovy merlot sauce? That time I drove for dives, or ate six doughnuts in an hour? That time I tasted four burgers and fries in the “Bourgie Burger-off?” Or how about the time I sampled three superfluously sweet cakes for Valentine’s Day? I remember them all.

As tasty—or gag-reflex inducing—some of those “special” eating experiences were, they all had one common outcome: my body’s digestive system reacted angrily. Stomach aches, headaches, nausea and other details best left out of this article let me know each time I consumed something inconsiderate of my body.

But resisting tasty and interesting new sugary, dairy-containing, breaded food things is always difficult.

As a foodie in constant search of new and varied eats, I’ve rarely justified rejecting anything.

You can have favorites as a foodie, but a limited diet just isn’t an option for a future gourmande.

I know there are foods I have intolerances to, but that doesn’t mean I can always say no.

I mean, how do you say no to cheese? It’s like creamy foodie crack, available in spreadable, aged, triple cream, hard, stringy, shaved, melty and fresh forms. I took the tummy aches for those enraptured moments of divine dairy indulgence.

I had a hunch, or a hope, that I couldn’t possibly be the one of only a few foodies, with an unfortunate intolerance.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America Online solidified my hunch, publishing that approximately 30 million people develop lactose intolerance by 20 years of age.

Oh, Le Fromage!

But gluten, wheat, corn, alcohol, sugar and other food intolerances are experienced by “many” people, stated the American Gastroenterological Association.

I think most can relate to a dairy, sugar, wheat, fried food, junk food or alcohol grubbing experience that was tasty, but made their tummy twinge.

Poor organs. They just get worked and worked.

Often feeling heavy and sluggish, I was sleeping poorly and my system seemed to become progressively more sensitive and dysfunctional.

Come mid-July, I’d had enough and knew it was time to give my foodie habits a halt and my digestive system a summer cleaning.

With choices of detoxing limited to liquid-only and restricted consumption diets combined with SubmergeMag.com

herbs, the latter seemed smarter.

The Master Cleanse (the one where you just drink a rich maple syrup, lemon juice, water, and cayenne pepper mixture for two to three weeks) is popular and has gained more media attention recently from celebrity users like Ashton Kutcher.

But, there’s no way that I could not eat for that long. I’d feel like I was totally getting ripped off.

I heard about Wild Rose Herbal D-tox Kit years back and found the combination of herbal pills, liquid extract and a large variety of food options healthy and do-able.

Naturally, this herbal detox regime seemed useful to all experiencing food intolerance, essentially eliminating foods that commonly cause digestive complications like sugar, flour, dairy, fermented foods and fungus-growing foods (mushrooms) for 12 days.

I figured I could forgo my food faves for 12 days.

The first few days went amazingly well.

Knowing my food allowance was limited, I spent less time thinking about food and became more productive. But by day three, the mid-afternoon bread and late-night sugar cravings started.

Cravings were easy-ish to keep at bay with the substitution of baked potatoes or fruits.

After day five, the cravings mostly subsided.

But I put myself in front of the firing squad when I went to the California State Fair one evening and was berated by barbecue, double-dipped corn dogs, fried sweets, chocolate-covered bacon and funnel cakes. But in the name of good health, I stayed strong and didn’t cheat.

The beauty of this detox is that I still get to eat. And eat well, with more food allowed than restricted.

Sugar, flour, dairy and alcohol being the forbidden fruits essentially meant that I couldn’t have anything packaged or pre-made. (There’s sugar in everything! Check out some labels.) But with the resources at The Natural Foods Co-Op and daily farmer’s markets in Sacramento, I was actually able to explore more food. A detoxifying culinary adventure, if you will.

With an assortment of veggies, I got to make and try new dishes, resulting in a dinner of spiced, pan-fried tilapia accompanied by a Lima bean-less spicy succotash with white corn and okra, and brown jasmine rice. That meal is possibly the most delicious one I’ve ever cooked, and it helped me detox.

It’s become easier to abstain from certain food to do right by my digestive system. I feel great, have lots of energy, have been able to focus more and I’ve been feeling fabulously svelte.

Try a detox if you’ve been feeling bogged down from food. Try choosing one that’s right for your lifestyle and be sure to plan detoxing during times other than those of large food celebrations—like during the State Fair, which I’m still somewhat bitter about.

I know you didn’t ask (nor did anyone else) but I do have a date with a special dish post-detox. I will be at the Shady Lady this Friday sipping a White Linen in between gluttonous bites of their incredible shrimp po’ boy.

$ N I E V O M AL! 149 I C E PLAY LOUD 24/7!

P S .00*

*FOR FIRST MONTH'S RENT ASK FOR DETAILS

916-595-4680 www.godlikestudios.com SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY. OFFER AVAILABLE TO NEW TENANTS ONLY. LIMITED TIME OFFER.

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

29

the shallow end It’s true what they say. All the good ones are taken. You’ve been to a bar, right? Have you ever sat on a bar stool and stared into the mirror behind the bartender, behind the shelves holding all that precious booze, and caught a glimpse of your reflection, alone, hunched over your glass of Jameson on the rocks at 12:45 a.m. on a Monday night going into Tuesday morning? It’s not a pretty sight. What’s worse is you realize that everyone unfortunate enough to be in the same position as you is just as fucked. The pretty girl or guy with the fascinating job and the quick wit isn’t where you are. He/she is probably in bed—be it alone or cuddled up next to someone equally awesome—dreaming of how wonderful their next day is. You’re just hoping you have enough in your bank account to pay the bar tab you’re running.

You know what, maybe that’s being melodramatic. You’re really just sitting alone because you haven’t found anyone worthy enough to share the seat next to you. That’s what I tell myself. And 33 years in, I’ve pretty much convinced myself that it’s true.

I normally don’t dwell on these things. I have enough to worry about—serious stuff, or so I tell myself—that make getting laid or finding love or whatever you want to call it seem frivolous. But

Fit for a Princess

I’m probably just bitter because Chelsea Clinton got married.

Oh, Chelsea. You grew up before our very eyes. Ms. Clinton—well, Mrs. Mezvinsky now— was just turning 13 when her father Bill was inaugurated as our 42nd president. Remember how awkward you were at that age, but you probably didn’t have the eyes of the world fixed on you and your family. She was kind of chubby, a bit pimply, but who isn’t at the brutal onset of puberty? Still, when she was just 13 years old, Rush Limbaugh thought it was a good idea to question his television audience “Did you know there is a White House dog?” as a picture of young Chelsea flashed behind him.

He didn’t even have the balls to take credit for it, instead saying the gag was unintentional—a prank played by one of his technicians.

But who’s laughing now? Limbaugh’s a used-up, drug-addled sack of shit, and Chelsea’s barely 30 with a great job, a powerful name and her whole life ahead of her. Clinton’s presidency

James Barone jb@submergemag.com

wore on. The country prospered. He deflected accusations of infidelity and sidestepped impeachment, and Chelsea withdrew from the public eye, as much as the only child of a U.S. president could, and eventually went to school at Stanford.

I have to admit, I forgot all about Chelsea.

I didn’t see her again until I saw that she was campaigning for her mom during the most recent presidential election. She certainly wasn’t the clumsylooking tween from those early days at the White House. She was a grown, educated woman—and seriously hot at that.

Now, there’s someone you could spend the rest of your life with. Smart, good upbringing, attractive, career-oriented—Chelsea Clinton isn’t some Red Bull-and-vodka-slammer from UCSB that you accidentally fuck after some night at the bar. She’s the kind of girl you bring home to mom and her whole face lights up. She thinks, “Damn, I raised the best son in the world.”

But Chelsea had to go and get married. At

6:30 p.m. in Rhinebeck, N.Y., with A-list politicos and other luminaries looking on, Chelsea pledged her everlasting love (whatever that means) to Marc Mezvinsky, whom she had been dating since 2005. A rabbi and a pastor presided over the ceremony, and even Ted Danson was there.

The dude was on Cheers for Christ’s sake. I didn’t even have the opportunity to channel my innerDustin Hoffman and pull a Benjamin Braddock, interrupting the service at the last possible moment and rescuing the bride from her fate— which in this case would seemingly be wedded bliss with a handsome young banker.

Well, fuck me.

Oh, it’s a sad day for us 30-something, leftleaning bachelors of America. The most eligible bachelorette of our generation just got married off. To the younger generation, those of you just entering high school or junior high, learn from my mistakes. Stay in school, associate with the right people and set getting involved in some high-profile hedge fund as your long-term goal. In 15 or so years, Malia Obama will be looking for a proper suitor. Think about how happy you’d make your mother.

\

Wednesday

Wednesday

aug 4

sept 8 (Feat. Mike Mccolgan FoRMeR singeR oF dRoPkick MuRPhys)

100 Monkeys

(FeatuRing Jackson Rathbone, “JasPeR” FRoM the twilight FilMs)

the kissing club venue (FoRMeRly eMPiRe) 1417 R StReet SacRamento • all ageS • 7:00pm

Mason Jennings sept Harlow’s • 2708 J st.

thursday

sacramento • 21 & over • 7:30pm

9

(Fat PossuM) aa bondy sept Harlow’s • 2708 J st. tuesday

sacramento • 21 & over • 9:00pm

30

14

Issue 65 • August 2 – August 16, 2010

bison b.c. haRlow’s 2708 J St. SacRamento • 21 & oveR • 8:00pm

tea leaF gReen

tuesday

tRuth & salvage co.

sept 28

coRnMeal

thursday

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

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

sept 30

(Feat. Matt FReeMan oF Rancid)

sunday

oct 17

(Rick baRton oF dRoPkick MuRPhy’s)

venue (FoRMeRly eMPiRe) 1417 R St. SacRamento all ageS • 6:30pm

abstract entertainment myspace.com/abstractsacramento

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

Buy tickets at livenation.com. To charge by phone (800) 745-3000. Limit 8 tickets per person. All dates, acts and ticket prices are subject to change without notice. All tickets are subject to applicable service charges.

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 65 â&#x20AC;˘ August 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; August 16, 2010

31