Submerge Magazine: Issue 80 (March 7 - 21, 2011) by Submerge Magazine

Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas

march 7 – 21, 2011

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The Adjustment Bureau

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Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

contents

10 16

cofounder/ Editor in Chief/Art Director

Melissa Welliver melissa@submergemag.com cofounder/ Advertising Director

Jonathan Carabba jonathan@submergemag.com Advertising sales

18 Contributing Writers

Robin Bacior, Josselin Basaldu, Corey Bloom, Bocephus Chigger, Brad Fuhrman, Anthony Giannotti, Blake Gillespie, Vince Girimonte, Bobby S. Gulshan, Ryan L. Prado, Adam Saake, Amy Serna, Jenn Walker Samantha Saturday, Amy Scott Dennis Scott

senior editor

Blake Gillespie, Monica McStotts

James Barone Mandy Johnston

10 12 16 18 20 24 25 25 26

Submerge Magazine

2308 J Street, Suite F Sacramento, Calif. 95816

916.441.3803 info@submergemag.com

Contributing photographers

Josselin Basaldu josselin@submergemag.com

Contributing editor

03 04 07 08 09

distribution

printed on recycled paper

www.submergemag.com

80 2011 march 7 MARCH 21

Dive in The Stream Submerge your senses The Optimistic Pessimist CapitAl Capture

Sacramento fashion week

Marnie Stern Travie Mccoy 7x7

St. Patrick’s day lists

walking spanish calendar refined tastes mini burger truck

the grindhouse The Adjustment Bureau

Live<<Rewind

Best Coast, Wavves, Hunx and His Punx, Royal Baths

the shallow end All content is property of Submerge and may not be reproduced without permission. Visit 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 2308 J Street, Suite F Sacramento, Calif. 95816. 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!

dive in Going Green Melissa welliver melissa@submergemag.com With our breadth of coverage when it comes to all things booze, It’s quite obvious we here at Submerge are fans of adult beverages. From our Beer Week coverage to Cocktail Week to special holidays (i.e. our New Year’s Sparkling Wine guide), indulging with a refreshment in hand is a pertinent part of any festivity. With St. Patrick’s Day, clearly a drinking holiday, upon us again, it was hard to think of anything that could top our feature from last year when we scoured Sacramento to find the perfect pint of Guinness. But after a good brainstorming session recently at The Golden Bear, with beers in our bellies we decided to come up with a list, 7 lists of 7 to be exact (duh, 7 is a lucky number). We really got to the bottom of what people might think is important during St. Patty’s Day celebrations and came up with bars that are open early, establishments that don’t serve green beer, alternatives to Guinness and/or how to spice up your Guinness and more. Lets face it, a reason to party during the week with all your friends is always needed. So why not do so listening to live music? We have a list of 7 solid places you can hear tunes on St. Patty’s. Now, while St. Patrick’s Day can be a good time, we also wanted to give you a few “fashion” tips so you can avoid being “that guy” or “that girl.” Or maybe you want to oppose our suggestions and start “winning” (for more on winning see page 26). The final list features 7 bars serving corned beef and cabbage. To see our 49 St. Patty’s suggestions please turn to page 16. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Sacramento. For a good time, use these lists, keep a copy handy even. But of course, please drink responsibly. On our front cover this issue we have Travie McCoy. Before heading out on tour he took the time to talk with us about his huge hit single, which I’m sure you’ve heard easily over 100 times on the radio, “Billionaire,” where he’s at with Gym Class Heroes and his little incident involving the Berlin Wall and getting arrested. McCoy will be coming to Sacramento’s Ace of Spades on April 1. That will give you plenty of time to read our interview with him on page 12 and get your tickets before the show sells out. On our back cover we have the local band Walking Spanish. Their second full-length album, Wishbones, is coming out late this March. Between bachelor parties, road trips and playing shows, we were able to sit down with Alex Nelson not just once but twice to talk about his inspiration when it comes to writing songs, his influences, as well as how it is working with his brother Jackie Greene. Read up on page 18 then be sure to catch Walking Spanish’s CD release show at Old Ironsides on March 25. Last but not least, our other feature story is on Marnie Stern. Let me tell you, it was a hard interview to lock down, perhaps because of her current obsession with Tetris, but once we did she definitely opened up. One of the things Stern expressed was that she wished more people would focus on her songs as a whole and not just her guitar parts (she shreds!). This is probably difficult considering she’s been called one of the “Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time.” Be sure to read about Stern on page 10, then watch her perform at the Townhouse on March 19 with Tera Melos and Amaranth. Also in issue 80 you’ll find hilarious columns such as The Optimistic Pessimist and The Shallow End, plus reviews of the new movie The Adjustment Bureau and a Noise Pop show review featuring Best Coast, Wavves and others that took place on Feb. 26 at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. On another note, I’ve noticed a lot of our papers are flying off the shelves, racks and whatnot lately! I want to truly thank you for picking us up. If you ever find that our issue ran out where you normally pick up Submerge, please let us know by calling or e-mailing, and if we have extras around, we’d be happy to restock the location for you. And as a back up, just know we also have a digital version online (you can find it on the top/right hand side of our website, Submergemag.com) that looks like the real thing. If you need your Submerge fix ASAP when sitting behind your desk at work or at home, you can always navigate to that! Enjoy issue 80, Melissa-Dubs

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

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The stream Courtney Love:

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The often-quotable Liam Gallagher of Oasis spouted out about Radiohead and their new record in an interview with Thequietus.com. “I heard that fucking Radiohead record [The King of Limbs] and I just go, ‘What?!’” he said. “I like to think that what we do, we do fucking well.” He didn’t think timber was a respectable inspiration, saying, “Them writing a song about a fucking tree? Give me a fucking break! A thousand-year-old tree? Go fuck yourself!” He took particular offense to the fact that the tree was so elderly, “You’d have thought he’d have written a song about a modern tree or one that was planted last week. You know what I mean?”

Brad Fuhrman

Courtney Love avoided becoming the first highprofile court case over Twitter defamation by agreeing to pay designer Dawn Simorangkir over $400,000. Love took to Twitter to broadcast her defamatory comments, tweeting that the designer was an “asswipe nasty lying hosebag thief.” Love pulled the free-speech card, but that was shot down due to Love’s influence as an entertainer “and the power of social media to disseminate such comments.” Love closed the account shortly after but had since reinstated her page.

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Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

Deftones will be releasing a vinyl-only covers album to help celebrate Record Store Day on April 16. The release will be limited to just 5,000 copies and will aptly be titled Covers. Side A will include a cover of The Cars’ “Drive” plus Drive Like Jehu, The Smiths, Sade, Jawbox and The Cardigans. Side B will feature covers of Japan, The Cure, Duran Duran, Santo & Johnny, plus “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Deftones begin a full U.S. tour April 14 that concludes at The Warfield in San Francisco on June 13. Danger Mouse and The Shins’ James Mercer are teaming up for another Broken Bells release this month. The two will drop a 4-song EP online March 29. The EP will be titled Meyrin Fields and is a followup to their 2010 self-titled album that has sold over 300,000 copies. The four songs included are “Meyrin Fields,” “Windows,” “An Easy Life” and “Heartless Empire.”

Soundgarden reunited after a 12-year break and are working on a new album, consisting of “90 percent new” songs, according to an interview with Billboard. Drummer Matt Cameron said that “there’s a little bit of evolution going on with some of this new music, but we’re not straying too far from the formula. It has all our signature elements—and more. I think people are going to really love it.” The band is even digging up old material, Cameron said. “We’ve tried to update the super-old stuff. It doesn’t sound too old and dusty and crusty to my ears—but maybe to someone else it will.” The new album will be the band’s first since 1996’s Down on the Upside. Soundgarden will also release a live album on March 21. And in other news… Charlie Sheen is winning.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

REGIONAL

Sac city rollers return!

Roller derby is back! Submerge is once again proud to be a sponsor of the Sac City Rollers for their 2011 season, which kicks off this Friday, March 11 at Foothill Skate Inn (4700 Auburn Boulevard). The Shamrock Slam, as it’s being called, will feature an exciting bout with the Rude Girls facing off against the Sweaty Betties. There will be a beer garden, raffle prizes and all sorts of vendors. Doors open at 7 p.m.; get your tickets in advance (cheaper that way) through Brownpapertickets.com. Find more information at Saccityrollers.com. Ira Skinner’s solo project, Paper Pistols, which consists of Skinner playing live drums over programmed music he composes, is soon to release a new five-track EP which will more than likely be self-titled, the drummer/programmer/recording engineer recently told Submerge. “The recording process has been slow,” he said. “Although I own a recording studio, I don’t find much time to work on my own music. I plan on dedicating one day a week to my own music and finally finishing [the EP].” Skinner said the songs are mostly older ones that he’s recorded before but wasn’t satisfied with. “All my previous sessions have been recorded all over the West Coast in various studios,” he said. “Something about the previous recordings sounds unfinished to me.” Skinner has played with some of Sacramento’s most beloved bands over the years (one being the Evening Episode); he currently plays drums in Pets (though he isn’t a full-time, official member), another local favorite. When asked if he ever gets lonely now that he doesn’t have a band to call his own, he responded, “Absolutely. I really miss the Evening Episode members. That band was full of people throughout the years that I could really trust musically,” he said. “It is nice being on my own, though. I don’t have to show up to practice or balance anybody’s schedule. Also, nobody’s there to turn down a song. My band thinks everything I do is great.” Find Paper Pistols on Facebook to sample a couple tracks and to keep an eye out for the EP release date. SubmergeMag.com

Jonathan Carabba Send regional news tips to info@submergemag.com

A recent RJD2 performance that was canceled at UC Davis’ Freeborn Hall has been officially rescheduled for Thursday, May 5. The prolific producer was caught in bad weather back in late January and couldn’t make it out. Here’s to hoping there are no freak snowstorms in early May! Tickets are available in person at the Freeborn box office, by phone at (530) 752-1915 or online through Tickets. com. If you had a ticket for the Jan. 27 show, it’s still good for this one. Opening will be DJ El Conductor and Eliquate. Yuba City-based indie/pop/rock group Thee Atlantic have a new self-titled EP they are releasing at Club Retro on Saturday, March 12. It’s six tracks and was recorded at Mayhemness Studios with Bob Swanson here in Sacramento. Also on the Retro bill is The Paper Melody, another impressive band from the Yuba City/ Marysville area that has a new EP, The Nightmare Academy, out soon, plus a really cool new music video for the title track online now. There are a lot of good bands that aren’t only playing in and around Midtown. Remember that, oh dear Submerge readers!

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill in Citrus Heights is hosting a great lineup of punk bands for a St. Patty’s Day party on March 17, and what’s better than good live punk music and beer—lots of beer? Not much, really. Especially when you are in Citrus Heights. Mosh pits and ear-ringing will be provided by The Secretions, Hanover Saints, Drastic Actions, Mad Judy and Surrounded By Thieves. Doors open at 6 p.m. and there’s a $10 cover. 21-and-over only.

Distillery 2107 L Street • Sacramento • (916) 443-8815 FRi, MaR 11 Lessons In Failure, Terra Ferno, Revolver $6 10pm SaT, MaR 12 Pine Box Boys (SF), Colonel Jimmy & The Blackfish, Coffin Hunters $8 10pm

FRi, MaR 18 Acoustic Fridays: Adam Varona, Ross Hammond, Christian DeWilde, Odd Moniker $6 10pm SaT, MaR 19 Skinner’s B-day Celebration!!! Cura Cochino, Rabbits (OR), Ungoliant (Skinner’s band debut)

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Karaoke Every Sun-Thurs 9pm Free

FRi, MaR 25 Pets, The Polymers, Jet Black Popes $6 10pm

SaT, MaR 26 Fight Inside, The Stalking Distance, Rivals, Plasma Cannon $6 10pm FRi, aPR 1 Sexrat, This Luxury, Hybrid Creeps $6 10pm

COMiNG SOON!

april 2 : Cattle Ness & The Revenge, KB & The Slingtones, Jenny Lyn & Her Real Gone Daddies $8 10pm april 8 : Blackeyed Dempseys, Tater Famine $7 10pm april 9 : Drastic Actions, GET SHOT!, Kill Devil, The Number 13 $7 10pm april 15 : Be Bold Brave Robot, The Inversions, Pilots Dare Me to Die $5 10pm april 16 : Walking Dead, The Left Hand, Dead Panic, The Nerv (SF) $7 10pm

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Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

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Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas Audio Express — Sacramento Submerge — 3/7/2011

Your Senses SEE HEAR TASTE Touch

touch

Learn to Ski or Snowboard at Boreal

Sacramento State’s Peak Adventures has put together a really great package deal for anyone looking to get up to the snow to learn how to ski or snowboard before this season is over. On March 13 for one price (anywhere from $80 to $114 depending on if you’re a student or not), you’ll get a ride to and from Boreal Ski Resort, a guide, a lift ticket, equipment and a beginner lesson. If you think about it, this is a steal. Not having to drive is worth it alone—just sit back and enjoy the beautiful scenery and then when you get there, try not to break your tailbone. Space is limited, so sign up soon by calling (916) 278-6321. For more information, hit up Peakadventures.org.

HEAR

Bob Woods Band CD Release/Video Shoot Sacramento musician Bob Woods goes way back. He started playing music in 1971 with the Sacramento Western swing band Tokpela. He then went on to form the Nevada City club favorite band the Bob Woods Trio. He’s played with a slew of notable cats, including Tiny Moore, Bill Kirchen and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, among others. Now, his current four-piece band (Woods on guitar and vocals, Pete Kmeto on bass and accordion, Steve Namie on drums and Ray Elzey on pedal steel), is readying their full-length, This Town, for release on March 12 at Marilyn’s on K. The group will also be shooting a music video that night, so bring your dancin’ shoes and your best moves, and you just might end up in the final cut. Also performing will be Nothin’ Personal and Dirt Nap Band. Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets are just $10 at the door. If you RSVP ahead of time, you’ll save yourself five bucks. Call (916) 524-9671.

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Phat Joe at Laughs Unlimited Over the years, the Submerge crew has caught Sacramento comedian Phat Joe opening a number of shows, and we can vouch 100 percent that this guy is the real deal. He delivers gut-busting laughs joke after joke (usually at his own expense) that will leave your cheeks sore. He’s believable, likable and naturally funny—think Gabriel Iglesias (the “Fluffy” guy). See Phat Joe for yourself at Laughs Unlimited on March 17–20 opening for Key Lewis. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit Laughsunlimited.com.

6th Annual Sacramento St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl This is arguably Sacramento’s biggest and best pub crawl! On Saturday, March 12, this giant drinking trek brought to you by 5hundy Social Club will kick off at 2 p.m. in Old Sacramento at River City Saloon. From there the mobile party will hit Vega’s, Back Door Lounge, O’Mally’s Irish Pub, River City Brewery, Cosmo Café, Vallejo’s, The Elixir Bar, Shady Lady, R15, Zebra Club, Press Club, Alley Katz, Capitol Dawg, The Depot, de Vere’s Irish Pub, Capitol Garage, Gallagher’s Irish Pub, Pyramid Brewery and finally Shenanigans, where there will be live music and dancing to round out the night, if you can last that long, that is. There is no cost to join this epic pub-crawl, but obviously drinks are on you at each location. Many of them feature specials, so keep an eye out for those. The event will take place rain or shine; for more information visit 5hundy.net/CalPubCrawl.

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SubmergeMag.com

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

Shamrock Slam Sac City Rollers Present:

Friday March 11

Feel like getting lucky? Foothill Skate Inn 4700 Auburn Blvd 7:00 Doors Open

7:30 First Whistle

Rude Girls

Tickets: $10 in advance $15 at the door $30 VIP $6 ages 7-12 under 6 FREE

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vs. Sweaty Betties

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Tickets available at www.brownpapertickets.com, Foothill Skate Inn, Cruz Skate Shop, The Beat and Dimple www.saccityrollers.com

Friday

March Early States 25th

Luigi’s Fungarden 1050 20 th Street • Sacramento All Ages. Beer for 21+

The Optimistic Pessimist

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

$5 8 p.m.

Learning never ends. Kids think that once you get older, you don’t have to go to school anymore, but much like with everything else, those little bastards don’t know shit about shit. I’ve spent almost 21 years of my life in pursuit of a formal education. I have obtained a high school diploma, a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, a Juris Doctorate, $200,000.00 in student loan debt and even I am not done yet. Despite all of these achievements, I am still required to attend continuing legal education conferences every year, and I am not alone. Doctors, engineers, real estate agents and most other professionals are required to complete some form of continuing education classes. There is no need to sugarcoat it; most people come to these conferences because they have to. If allowed a choice, I’m guessing 99 percent of the attendees at any given conference would rather be picking up dog shit with their teeth than spend a Saturday in a random hotel conference room with their colleagues and peers. This yearning for freedom unites us, but it is not enough on its own to keep us happy. Fortunately, there is plenty of fun to be had. Believe it or not, some people actually come to these things for the guest speakers. Conference planners try their best to get interesting people to speak about advancements in a given field and sometimes they actually succeed. Many of the speakers at my conferences are other lawyers who are basically trying their hardest to point out the incompetence of everyone else in the room while elevating themselves above the fray. Sometimes they know what they are talking about, but they almost always come off as dicks. Fortunately, they are usually followed by the ex-junkie who is there to talk about substance abuse. His stories are head and shoulders above everyone else who will speak. This dude is a human train wreck and there is much to be learned from him. When the speakers aren’t talking at you, they might just let you ask them questions. If the junkie didn’t make you laugh, then the

inane questions of your colleagues probably will. This is your opportunity to learn how stupid your peers truly are; and I got to say, I’m surprised every time. It’s almost guaranteed that one person will keep his hand raised with questions during the entire Q&A period. Each question will leave the room dumber than it was before, until eventually, the speaker will stop calling on him. He will never get the hint, though, and he will use every last bit of energy he has to keep his hand held high. Pity this fool, but not too much. The only one worse than him is the person who asks questions that he already knows the answers to just to seem smart. In actuality, he is the dumbest one there. If the questions alone don’t tip you off on the level of genius surrounding you, then try looking around the room. Conferences offer some of the best people-watching possible. This last time around I saw a woman walk in, sit down in a wheel chair in the front row and spend the rest of her day making hippy jewelry as the speakers stared on in disbelief. Her husband was wearing a girdle with his big ass gut hanging out. Another guy was passed out with his head tilted back and his mouth wide open. Had I planned ahead and brought some grapes, his gaping yap would have made for an excellent basketball hoop. If mouth basketball isn’t your thing, then maybe all the promotional schwag will entice you. Industries that service yours will be there in spades, and they will have crap for you to take home. While it’s mostly pens and desk calendars, you might come up on a free yo-yo or a stress ball if you are lucky. In addition to free crap, you are usually entitled to a free meal or two, so don’t forget to bring your appetite. Bagels, muffins, fresh fruit, juice and coffee for breakfast…buffets with desert for lunch…for those broke dicks out there like me, it’s time to get fat off the land. And when the day is done, swooping up a few drinks is easy when the company credit cards come flying out. Expense it, I say… It’s been a long day and you have earned it.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Capital Capture Sacramento Fashion Week: Emerging and On-Par Audrey Jade

Nkaujer Jules Thor

Josselin Basaldu capitalcapture@submergemag.com Kira Martinson

Faatui Toele

Maisha Bahati

YOURAD 03 8 3 ERE H916) 441 (

.com g a m rge

ubm s @ o f

According to the stylish and reputable website Dailycandy.com based out of New York, some major spring trends are here. Namely, bright make-up, sheer fabrics, “Tutti-Frutti” flirty prints, wide-leg pants, long skirts/dresses and spring hair (big, natural, textured) are exciting trends that perpetuate the “free-as-a-bird” attitude that is so loved about spring. Although true style and fashion relies on new perspectives and creativity rather than “following trends,” Sacramento deserves kudos for keeping up with national fashion trends. During the 2011 Sacramento Fashion Week, emerging designers, SubmergeMag.com

fashion lovers and design supporters displayed the ability to stay current and on trend, as well as forming some new trends. Braids, bracelets, fun hair buns and chain accessories are carving a spring niche in Sacramento fashion. I attended the “Emerging Artist Showcase,” supporting upand-coming talent cultivated right here in Sacramento. Audrey Jade, Brenda Vie, Faatui Toele, Kira Martinson, Maisha Bahati, Nkaujer (Jules) Thor and Noognuv Thao showed varied and thematically orchestrated lines. Good Show, Sacramento.

Affordable. Effective.

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

Obsession Pays Off

Marnie Stern’s Unintentional but Compulsive Musical Attack Words Robin Bacior • photo David Torch

ast fall when Tina Fey won the Mark Twain Prize for Humor, she remarked she was honored to be one of the few females to win this noted honor but looked forward to a time when we stopped counting women’s successes. Can’t a girl just be good at something without it being such a novelty? In Marnie Stern’s song, “Female Guitar Players Are the New Black,” she mocks that idea through her own musical lens. Sure, Stern has worked hard. Back when she was 23 (she’s now nearly 35), she became quickly enamored with gritty, Northwestern rock a la lady punkers Sleater-Kinney, and soon after became immediately inspired/ obsessed by finding her own niche in music. Her determination turned into long hours of learning the ins and outs of hammering out guitar licks— straightforward, jaggedly lined noises. Stern’s approach morphed into finger-tapping, methodfierce sounds and nimble fingers. While that’s all pretty far back in time, she has recently come full circle. In early January she released Demo, the compilation of songs that originally landed her on Kill Rock Stars, a large majority of which comprise Stern’s first release, In Advance of the Broken Arm. The cassette/digital only release is a good refresher on Stern’s earlier work, rooted mostly in fixatednit-picked strings, “trying to lock weird guitar parts together to see if they fit,” Stern said. When asked by her label who would be her dream drummer, Stern automatically noted Hella’s drummer Zach Hill, who agreed to play and produce the project, and went on to tour with Stern as well. Hill seemed like the perfect match for Stern’s aural energy. The Sacramento-based drummer has adorned many projects with his marvelous percussive powers. His drumming is both rambunctious and polished—explosions of sound, two-steps ahead of the listener. Hill is known for his unorthodox approach to time signatures and his quick ankle-work with double hits of the bass drum. His adventurous style was the perfect nail bed for Stern to lay her own spiky sound upon.

Following her original first release in 2007, Stern was immediately put on a media pedestal as a technically driven female artist. Venus Zine named her one of the “Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time” in their Spring 2008 issue, followed by various nominations at the 2008 Plug Music Awards, including “Female Artist of the Year.” People instantly took to Stern’s quirky approach as both overwhelming and awesome, but being known as so technical has become more of a stigma for Stern. “I find it annoying. It puts a lot of pressure on me to be good at it and puts pressure on me as if I’m walking around with a guitar slung on my shoulder telling everyone on the street that I’m a good player,” Stern said. Sure it can get on her nerves, but it’s not all bad. Sleater-Kinney was the predecessor for Stern’s career, and the train can easily continue, bringing new creative ladies to the limelight. Women like Kaki King and St. Vincent push the average bounds of their instrument, looping rhythmically and complexly composed pieces to make full, symphonic-feeling music, changing the normal frame of a female solo artist’s classically simple song. Sound evolves, and if that’s a product of a little extra pressure on Stern, then it’s not all bad, so “at the same time, if it inspires any girls to play music, that’s good,” Stern said.

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Stern taps away at her fret board, notes piling on top of each other in a mess, like dropping a deck of cards. Her chaotic guitaring is laid on beats that are all at once anxiously abrasive and so quick they barely touch down as a tangible rhythm. Absorbing it is like drinking five cups of coffee and listening to your heartbeat. “I really don’t know how or why, I get pretty compulsive about stuff. For instance on tour right now Vince [Rogers, drummer] and I are going to start a Tetris tournament, and I will sit and play Tetris as many hours as it takes to win. So I guess the same thing happened with guitar. I just decided and played it for 10 years every second,” Stern said, and quickly added, “and also it’s fun.” However, as Stern has gone on to develop in her musical career, she’s lost her drive toward focusing so specifically on guitar parts. “I used to be more technically driven…and I don’t really care as much anymore,” Stern said. “I would prefer people to focus on my songs themselves, as opposed to just the guitar parts.”

Last fall, Stern released her third fulllength, a self-titled piece. While listeners might have expected to have pinned Stern’s style to a specific frantic-guitar pattern, they’ll be surprised by Stern’s resistance to style repetition. “It always has to be different, and never can be formula, or else it sounds like formula to me,” Stern said. “I always have to just look down and not know. It always has to be a blank screen, unfortunately, which makes it much harder for every single song but more exciting when it catches.” With her head down, following a new path, Stern has branched out of her own dexterously savvy road to a more lyrical terrain, but reluctantly, which in result gives a tough but honest product. It’s no coincidence such a vulnerable piece would be self-titled. Things haven’t changed too much—she’s still the speed queen—but Stern’s effort to sing out and be heard is far more apparent on this album. For an artist with such a forward musical presence, Stern’s always been notoriously shy when it comes to the lyrical side of performance. “It’s uncomfortable for me; it’s the hardest part, vocals and finding melodies, so I focus on it,” Stern said. “The last record was real personal for me, and I put myself really into it, and I’m proud I felt brave enough to do that.” When asked to specify what beyond the writing itself made Stern so vulnerable in this particular album, she simply replied, “The way I’m singing, I mean, the whole thing, it’s like Barbara Streisand.”

“I would prefer people to focus on my songs themselves, as opposed to just the guitar parts.” – Marnie Stern SubmergeMag.com

Marnie Stern will be appearing at Townhouse on March 19, with both guitar licks and Tetris tips at hand. Also performing is Tera Melos and Amaranth.

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Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

Dr. Feel Good

Spotlight Doesn’t Seem to Spoil Travie McCoy’s Flow

Words James Barone

hen a front person for a popular band decides to put out a solo album, it always feels like his or her band days are over. Travie McCoy of Gym Class Heroes, however, seems determined to refrain from pulling a Stefani and stay put with the group that made him a star. “I don’t necessarily look at Lazarus as me going solo, per se. It was more of a side project put out on a bigger scale,” McCoy asserts from his home, lounging on his couch with his dogs, feeling lucky that he has a couple of weeks off to enjoy himself before heading back out on the road. Lazarus, McCoy’s first “solo” album, was released in June 2010, and had all the elements of a star-making effort. A highprofile team of writers, producers and guest performers were recruited for the album, including T-Pain, Bruno Mars, The Smeezingtons and Cee-Lo Green. Still, even with all these fancy new toys at his disposal, McCoy says he still yearned to have his band around him. “The performance part was the hard thing,” McCoy admits. “The writing and making the music is something that’s in me, regardless of if it’s with Gym Class Heroes or not. That was the easy part. The performance part was something to adjust to. Being on stage and not seeing the dudes that I’ve been playing with for years—I’ve been in this band for close to 12 years.” However, his instincts as a performer eventually kicked in. “Once you realize that you’re there to perform and make sure the people who paid good money for those tickets leave feeling like they were a part of something, an experience,” McCoy says, “you snap out of it. You realize you’re there to have fun too.” The majority of the music on Lazarus would certainly seem to facilitate a good time. As McCoy’s collaborators on the project would suggest, the album certainly has a feelgood vibe (exemplified by the opening track “Dr. Feel Good,” which features Cee-Lo on the hook) and a glossy pop sheen. McCoy says he has great respect for multi-faceted artists such as Mars and T-Pain who are able to write, produce and perform, but he’s not so much enamored with the idea of being an all-in-one recording artist as he is with Gym Class Heroes’ band dynamic. “I look up to guys like [Mars and T-Pain],” McCoy says. “I wish I had the time to do all that stuff, but at the same time, there’s this organic kind of bond musically that I have with my band… We all pitch our two cents in, and I think that’s what makes Gym Class Heroes special. You have four guys from four different backgrounds listening to all kinds of music. The common ground is Gym Class Heroes, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.” McCoy took the time to answer a few of our questions and, among other topics, talked about his life-changing experience working with MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation, a global grant-making organization that aims to “encourage, energize, and empower young people who are involved in HIV/AIDS awareness, education and prevention campaigns.” McCoy is an official ambassador of the foundation, and his travels to raise HIV/AIDS awareness in Philippines, India and South Africa were chronicled in the short documentary “The Unbeaten Track.” More info on MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation can be found at Staying-alive.org.

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

The album had a few guest appearances. How do you arrange the songs for the live setting? Obviously, I can’t have Bruno come out every night, so we have tracks set up and whatnot. For the most part, though, when we play “Billionaire,” I can’t hear myself over the crowd. Every night, the crowd takes Bruno’s place. I’m lucky in that aspect. With the other songs, we usually just cover the ground ourselves, just me and the band. “Billionaire” was a big hit for you. When you recorded that track, did you have an inkling that it was going to catch on the way it did? I think it’s tough to guess what people are going to gravitate toward and relate to, or what’s going to become a hit record. It’s always up to the public, I guess, but with that song in particular, after we recorded “Billionaire,” we all looked at each other like, woah. There’s definitely something special about that song. It ended up being a smash, so I can’t really complain. The track has a positive message. The title might suggest that it’s all about material wealth, but it’s not. I saw the documentary you did with MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation, where they sent you to South Africa, India and the Philippines. Did that have an effect on that song? Oh for sure, and on life in general. It makes you see things in a new light. That trip changed my life in general as far as not taking things for granted. It definitely had an effect musically as well. As far as my lyrics go, I tend to write about my life for the most part—things that I see and how I feel about things. That trip had a huge effect on me, the people I met, the things I saw… I think it would affect anyone. It definitely made its way onto my record in many different ways. I saw that you were taking in the local flavor as well on that trip, seeing local bands and things like that. Did the sounds you heard stick with you when you went into the studio as well? Totally. “Billionaire” sort of has an island vibe, like a reggae feel. Other songs have percussive elements

that I heard in Africa, even. It was sensory overload. Being there for a good cause, but also being privileged enough to check out the local music scenes. You’re working on a new Gym Class Heroes record now. How is that going? Yeah, we started working on the record a while ago. We’re deep in the process now. We’re looking to put it out by the end of the summer. We have about 30 demos—when I say demos, it can mean songs that are pretty much complete, partial songs, jams that we might pull certain ideas from. There’s a lot of material that we can pull from, but after this tour I have coming up is over and the smoke settles and we get back together and start working on the album again, it’s going to be awesome. We just had a week-anda-half session in New Jersey, and we put it up on Ustream with the sound off so people could watch what we were doing. At the end of the session, we’d play an old Gym Class song, just as a gift to the viewers for hanging in and checking us out. That’s one thing about Gym Class Heroes as well that keeps our fans stoked is that we try to stay as close to our fans as possible, be it via the Internet or at shows. We have a really cool relationship with our fans. I saw that last year you were arrested in Berlin for tagging the Berlin Wall. I guess if you’re going to get arrested, that’s a pretty cool way to do so. Was that something where you said to yourself, “When I get to Berlin, this is what I want to do?” It wasn’t anything that was premeditated. I’ve been writing graffiti since I was 7 or 8 years old, so I just saw an opportunity and took it, and unfortunately, I got caught and paid the price. But it is what it is. It was funny, because the next day there were pictures of kids in front of the piece I did. I guess in a sense, I made my little mark. At the same time, it was no disrespect to my German fans. The Berlin Wall is a huge piece of history. I was told by someone that it wasn’t illegal. There’s graffiti all over it, so I had the mindset it was fine—until I got arrested [laughs].

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

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Check out Lurkhard.com to view Donnatin and the Lurk Hard crew in Summer Boyz, a Super 8 film by Jack Mansfield. To grab some Lurk Hard gear locally, hit up FTC, Nine16 Skate Shop, Getta Clue or any Ground Zero location.

SubmergeMag.com

Travie McCoy will play Ace of Spades on April 1. Also appearing will be Donnis, Black Cards, XV and Bad Rabbits. Tickets can be purchased through McCoy’s official website, the aptly titled Traviemccoy.com or Aceofspadessac.com.

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

SAT u R DAy

March 26

1417 R STREET SACRAMENTO the

cheeseballs T u E S DAy

March 22 ST PATRICk’S DAy CELEBRATION T h u R S DAy March 17

secoNd to last

Richard Thompson Electric Trio

Free Show, 21 + ONLy

alex NelsoN acoustic trio

wEDNESDAy

March 23

wEDNESDAy F R I DAy

March 30

F R I DAy

March 11

April 1

F R I DAy

March 18

the aNtioch syNopsis

SAT u R DAy

March 19

T h u R S DAy

March 24 Nightmare iN the twilight lifeforms

SAT u R DAy

March 12

Breva JourNal

Donnis • Black carDs • XV • BaD raBBits

Saving Abel red liNe chemistry desperate uNioN f1rst class citizeN

S u N DAy

March 13

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

S u N DAy

March 20

raider dave who ride Quette daddie avery & fresha the realists

F R I DAy

March 25

T u E S DAy

April 5

the damNed thiNgs hourcast

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

F R I DAy

April 8

SAT u R DAy

May 7

T h u R S DAy

May 12

rePresa • Princess Die

F R I DAy

April 15

SAT u R DAy

April 9

SAT u R DAy

April 16

Mike Pinto the holdup pacific duB

SuNDAy

April 24

wEDNESDAy

April 27 SAT u R DAy

May 14

TuESDAy

May 3

M O N DAy

May 23 SuNDAy

April 10

damage over time

SuNDAy

April 17

T h u R S DAy

wEDNESDAy

May 5

wEDNESDAy

April 13

SubmergeMag.com

SAT u R DAy

April 23

July 13

All Ages

Tickets Available @ Dimple Records, The Beat, Armadillo (Davis) Online: www.AceOfSpadesSac.com By Phone: 1.877.GND.CTRL OR 916.443.9202

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

St. Patrick’s Day by the 7s

You’ll be wasted, so let us do the math for you Words Blake Gillespie

t. Patrick’s Day is a drunken mess, but that does not grant you license to ill into shameful behavior. We’ve got a 7x7 split guide to put some class in the Irish celebration, as well as suggestions to cause less bastardizing of this boozer’s holiday. Make this the year you don’t get a shamrock shake at McDonald’s and play Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” 90 times on the jukebox.

7 Fashion Don’ts for St. Patty’s Day

We get it. You get pinched for not wearing green. Here’s a list of items you should be slapped for wearing. Retire it already; it’s crusted in multiple years of spilled beer, vomit and corned beef residue.

5“Kiss Me I’m >>

Whether you go with the ‘fro or the green and glamorous ladies wig, you’re no better than the green beer you drink. To put it in perspective, the cheapest beer on tap is the one the bar dyes green.

Fox & Goose Gallagher’s Rubicon Brewery

The Shack Bonn Lair

free

(916)628-2935

with color service

It’s not lucky to kiss an Irishman; it leads to whiskey breath, self-defense and Catholic guilt. You also do not deserve to be kissed if your shirt says Hispanic, Welsh, British, etc. You people have your days and parades, stay off ours.

Bottom 7Saggy Bloomers

6Over-sized Green Bowties

4Beer Goggles

Who started this ugly rumor that Irishmen dress like Dandy clowns? Even leprechauns, who are too tiny to be respected, don’t encourage further ridicule with disproportionate bowties.

It’s funny because it’s true does not apply here.

Ye Olde Irish Granny Panties, if you will. Ladies, stop. Please start treating St. Patty’s Day like any other holiday and whore it up as usual. It is rough enough finding cheer in the entire country pretending to be Irish; don’t make our shamrocks blue by dressing like impoverished hags.

specializing in pin up hair & make-up

2412 21 St St ree t S a cramento

It’s not funny anymore. You can’t drink in a full body suit, and you’re just asking to be Photoshopped with penises covering your body. It is meant for green screen filming, for Pete’s sake.

Kilt Pub

S alon

You look like the mayor and the village idiot of Dummyville. You slur like him too.

Green Man Costume

River City Brewery

Sacre d Hear t

Extra Large Guinness Hat Shaped Like a Stout Glass

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1Green Wig

Irish” or Any Variation of the Saying on a T-shirt

(bars not serving green beer)

Bars preserving the integrity of Irish celebration

haircut with this ad

Jenny Cera PhotograPhy

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Non-Irish themed Locations serving Corned Beef & Cabbage

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Murphy’s 2Irish Red & Stout

Both on tap at O’Mally’s Pub in Old Sacramento

Alley Catz MVP’s

3Bellhaven

Pinecove Tavern is serving free corned beef and cabbage around 4 p.m.

Sure, it’s a Scottish Draught Ale, but it ain’t English, right? Take comfort in every creamy 5.2 percent of it. Bellhaven is on tap at Kilt Pub (Arden Way and Eastern Avenue).

Torch Club

6Magner’s Cider On tap at Fox & Goose

7Rubicon’s Irish Red At 7.5 percent, it will kick you in the blarney stones.

(*Owned by Guinness, but not a stout.)

Pyramid Brewery Limelight Bar & Café

2 3

Golden Bear at 3 p.m. with Lite Brite, Prieta and more

Press Club with Celtic punks The Pikeys and DJ Alki Brew It Up features Nine-8ths Irish Boxing Donkey with The BlackEyed Dempseys Torch Club at 3 p.m. with Mark Wellendorf, Quinn Hedges and X-Trio

fo o d c o f fe e • a r t • like us on facebook: facebook.com/shinesacramento & follow on twitter: @shinesacramento

1400 e street • sacramento (916) 551-1400 • shinesacramento.com SubmergeMag.com

Old Tavern: 6 a.m. O’Mally’s Pub: 6 a.m. Boxing Donkey in Old Roseville: 6 a.m. Cheaters: 6 a.m. Fox & Goose 7 a.m.

It never gets old. It only gets more flavorful.

Guinness and Harp

Black and Blue

(or Dark Side of the Moon)

Guinness and Blue Moon Belgian White

Collar 3(orPriest’s Black Velvet or Snake Bite)

5Dirty Hoe 6Black Castle

Guinness and Hoegaarden Guinness and New Castle

Black and 7Trash Guinness and Budweiser or any American lager, use green beer for all we care, you’re still drinking trash.

Guinness and cider, preferably Strongbow or Magner’s

The Press Club find out about great deals & special events!

Monte Carlo Club: 6 a.m.

Different ways to spice up your Guinness

Guinness and Bass

(for the most part)

Fox & Goose features Griffin

Zebra Club: 6 a.m.

1Black and Tan 4Half and Half

Places to hear Irish music

4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

At Hoppy Brewery, 25 IBU, 5.0 percent

Brew It Up

De Vere’s Irish Pub will be in Cesar Chavez Park at 10 a.m. with Zoo Station, BlackEyed Dempseys, Whiskey & Stitches, Nine-8ths Irish

Face it: you’re calling off work Friday. Don’t waste a minute of the holiday

4Harp* 5Kelsay’s Irish Red

From Celtic punk to knee slapping bar songs, you’ll feel drunker from the tunes alone.

Bars open by 7 a.m.

The Irish were too skilled at brewing to stop at the stout.

1Smithwick’s*

Whether you’re on a stumble or a crawl, several places along the way to your next drink offer chances to soak up some of the alcohol.

Irish Alternatives to Guinness

Mon 3/7 9p $3 Tues 3/8 9p $4 Wed 3/9 9p $3 THurs 3/10 9p $3 Mon 3/14 9p $3

Tess & Hip TrasH, sHayna & THe Bulldog, THe scarves THe snoBs, prieTa HuMp W/dJ WHores cTrl.alT.deFeaT W/ dJ erin & alX.T THe HoT Tar rooFers, THick soup

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DJ Rue

St. Patrick’s Day happens March 17 and will be quite a shock to your liver since it is three months removed from your annual winter holidays booze-assault. We’d tell you to go easy, but you won’t, so just don’t get yourself or anyone else killed. We mean it. And wear a sweater. It might get cold.

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916-444-7914 • Open at 10am Every Day

booking: pressclubbooking@gmail.com

Tues 3/15 9p $3

seT THeory, Tyson graF, alyssa coX “sacraMenTo unplugged” Wed 3/16 W/ danny secreTion, FigHT inside, Mark Wears clogs 8p $6 & Many More THurs 3/17 sT. paTTy’s day W/THe pikeys (irisH celTic-punk) and dJ alki Mon 3/21 BasTards oF young, killdevil, red ciTy radio 9p $5

EVERY SATURDAY - 9p $5

DJ LaRRy

EVERY SUNDAY - 9p $5

The FLoweR VaTo & DJ haiLey’s sunDay nighT souL paRTy

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

Them Bones

Walking Spanish’s sophomore album Wishbones strikes a balance Words Jenn Walker

ou could say Alex Nelson lives a scattered lifestyle. Somewhere in between picking up freshly pressed CDs, getting car steering fluid and heading to a wedding rehearsal dinner, the frontman of local band Walking Spanish found time to sit down over coffee and discuss the upcoming release of his band’s second album, Wishbones. It seems Nelson is ready to adapt to whatever situation is thrown his way. At his heel lay a backpack holding his computer, a change of clothes, cigarette coupons and a flask of bourbon, amongst other things. The first half of the following day would be spent as a groomsman in the wedding of a close friend, while the latter would be spent playing a show at Old Ironsides alongside Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers. Walking Spanish has become the centerpiece of Nelson’s life since he first formed the band with two friends in high school. Eventually he made it his own, writing all of the songs and assuming the role as band manager. The band’s evolution is apparent in Wishbones, he said. It is a versatile blend of well-structured songs, combining country, rock ‘n’ roll and pop, littered with subtly haunting, poetic verse. After listening to the album, I met with him again outside Luigi’s Slice as he polished off a piece of pizza over the hood of his Honda just an hour before band practice. Here is what the soon to be 23-year-old had to say about the new album, songwriting inspiration and maturing. In terms of this record that’s coming out, how would you say it compares to the first record, or what should the fans expect? How do you think they’ll react? I think they’re gonna go, “Whoa,” because it’s much different. I mean it’s still rock ‘n’ roll music but there is a lot more to this record. You’re listening to my songwriting and our band’s level of musicianship and our level of creativity. All those things, all those elements between this record and the first record, it’s, at least in my opinion, signs of maturing. To me, that means, just basically, that it’s better. [Laughs] To me, that just means that I’ll listen to a song and just be like, “Aw man. That’s a way better song than what I would’ve written when I was 18.” Can you tell me a little bit about the song “Counterfeit Wishbones?” What inspired it? I can tell you the emotion that arises from me is the feeling of being caged, and the idea of the “Counterfeit Wishbones,” you had chances to get out of the cage, but they were just counterfeit. When I was teaching this song to the band, I said I want this to sound like a tiger trying to get out of a cage. So I guess that’s kind of the theme of that one. As far as the lyrics go, the lyrics were inspired by, well, I’m not really sure. You’d have to dig really deep into my psyche to find out where those came from.

So why did you title the album after it? I thought it would be kinda cool. I thought Wishbones sounded cool. Every song I write is like a piece of my mind, and if I’m putting out my words and my ideas out into the world, it’s almost like a wish. So Wishbones is kind of a neat voodoo thing that kind of has that whole theme attached to it. But it’s also like wishbones, there’s a winner and a loser. Which is kind of the way I look at the world, everything that’s good has its counterpart somewhere in the world, whether it’s directly related or not. There’s balance to everything. So was there an inspiration for the song “Jacksin?” Yeah. It’s kind of the same way that it’s fun to play video games where you shoot people, because you don’t really get to do it in real life. It’s kind of the same way I like to write a song. I wanted to get into the place to tell a story about an experience that I’ve never experienced and an experience that I don’t ever hope to experience, but by singing about it and trying to write from the standpoint of somebody who’s like that, and went through that kind of a situation, it’s almost like I was able to live it in that way. I mean, it’s obviously fictional, it’s just a story. A story that I think is a realistic story, because those things happen. Where’d you get all the music influences? Listening to it growing up. Growing up.

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

But I mean, parents? Or… Oh yeah, well I had a good kick start, coming from a family that listens to a lot of music. So, my parents were divorced since I was 8. So I lived with my mom, and my mom had a good record collection. But even more so did my two older brothers that had record collections that were even more varying. My oldest brother had all kinds of old records from all different time periods. He had phonograph records, and CDs and tapes, and all kinds of collections of music stuff. And then my brother Brian, he had White Zombie records, Rage Against the Machine. And I got really into those bands, too. So, speaking of brothers, your oldest brother is Jackie, Jackie Greene. So it looks like when you did this album, you were in his recording studio, right? Right. Well, it’s Tim Bluhm of the Mother Hips. It’s his space. Jackie used it, though. How is it working with your brother? Working with my brother? You know, the funny thing is, that’s probably the most relevant question that anybody could ask when they’re asking about Walking Spanish and they’re pertaining to Jackie Greene. Nobody ever asks me how it is working with my brother. Everybody always asks, “Have you ever played with your brother?” Or whatever, things like that. It’s funny you asked that question. It’s great, it’s wonderful. I imagine working with somebody who doesn’t understand me and what I’m trying to do as well as my brother wouldn’t be as easy. Because I can come up with an idea, and I only have to explain about a quarter of it and he’ll be like, “Oh yeah, I get where you’re going with that.” Do you have any free time? [Laughs] Yeah, sometimes. No, I do, that’s not fair. I have friends who work two jobs and go to school, and I have a lot of free time compared to them, because everything I’m doing is what I want to do. So it’s almost all free time. And that’s the band? Yeah. Everything I do is for that pretty much and that’s my job. So that’s what I do all day, that’s what I do all night. And during my free time I’m probably playing music anyways, or playing in another friend’s band. Or playing baseball with my brother for exercise in batting cages. Yeah. Playing with my dog. Reading books. Going to bachelor parties.

Walking Spanish will celebrate the release of its second album at Old Ironsides on March 25. Prieta will also perform. It will be $7 to get in, and the show starts at 9 p.m.

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SubmergeMag.com

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

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Art in the Architecture By Stylist Schielah Magnolias

eeda Salon is located in an old brick building on 34th Street and Stockton Boulevard; An industrial area seemingly void of architectural relevance. But the salon is located in an artistic gem of a building with exposed ceilings, beautiful woodwork and lots of lofty light. Deeda Salon is in an urban building with style and flare, but also has a fun story to tell: in 1973, cSu, Sacramento Art Professor Gerald Wahlberg bought the building when it was just a large, open space with white-washed brick walls. Geri enlisted the help of art students to sandblast the brick walls back to their original sate. Other students contributed to the gorgeous custom woodwork. Phallic shapes are hidden in the woodwork as Geri’s artistic signature and sense of humor. the large jacuzzi shower is made out of redwood wine barrels from europe. the large wooden doors in the front of Deeda Salon were once the entryway to where Geri’s 1958 Porsche was housed for restoration. the back of the building, now the Deeda color room, was originally where Geri lived, leasing the front space to various occupants. to truly get the full perspective of Deeda Salon’s historical and artistic building, you have to see it for yourself! So stop by or book an appointment today. Deeda Make Pretty! With Love, Schielah

The Blue Lamp Heartless Bastards, 8:30 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Siphon Soul, Journal, The Kennedy Veil, Abysmal Dawn, 6 p.m. Fox & Goose Open Mic Night, 7:30 p.m. Liquid Nightclub DJs Ron Reeser, Rustique, 9 p.m. Luna’s Cafe Chromis and Rick, 7:30 p.m. On The Y Awaiting The Apocalypse, Wormrot (Singapore), KnifeThruHead, Killgasm, 8 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Artist In You Singer/Songwriter Night, 7 p.m. Press Club Tess & Hip Trash, Shayna & the Bulldog, The Scarves, 9 p.m.

3.08 Tuesday

The Boardwalk The Supervillains, Lionize, The Bank, Silent Scribes, Beyond the Grove, 6:30 p.m. Capitol Garage Open Jazz Session, 9 p.m. Delta of Venus UC Davis Gamelan Ensemble, 5 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Traditional Irish Jam Session, 7 p.m. Harlow’s North Mississippi All Stars, 8 p.m. Laughs Unlimited Rolling Fork Blues Revue, 8 p.m. Luigi’s Fun Garden Or. The Whale, Olin & the Moon, Horde and the Harem, 8 p.m. Marilyn’s Wires & Wood, 8 p.m. Powerhouse Pub DJs Rigatony, Alazzawi, 9 p.m. Press Club The Snobs, Prieta, 9 p.m. The Shady Lady Flower Vato, 10 p.m. T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m. Torch Club Alex Nelson, 5:30 p.m.; Dippin’ Sauce, 9 p.m.

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

Townhouse DJ Elliot Estes, Billy Lane, DJ Audio1, MC Duh, El Conductor, Set Theory, 9:30 p.m.

3.09 Wednesday

The Blue Lamp Thebeatjackers, P Chill, 9 p.m. Club Car The Double Shots, 7:30 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. District 30 TGIW w/ DJ Enferno, 9 p.m. The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Rewind, 8 p.m. Fox & Goose Steve McLane, 8 p.m. Harlow’s Truth & Salvage Co., Honeymoon, 9 p.m. Laughs Unlimited Karaoke, 7 p.m. Marilyn’s Crown Point, 9 p.m. Mix DJ Cheapshot, DJ Gabe Xavier, 9 p.m. Old Ironsides Open Mic w/ host Lare Crawley, 8:30 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Twitch Angry Prylosis, Silence of the Grim, White Minorities, 9 p.m. Press Club Hump w/ DJ Whores, 9 p.m. Shady Lady Straight, No Chaser w/ CrookOne, 10 p.m. Tacos and Beer Funk Night w/ Seamoose, ZuhG, 9:30 p.m. Torch Club Acoustic Open Mic, 5:30 p.m.; Denn is Johnson & The Mississippi Ramblers, 9 p.m. UC Davis: Jackson Hall UC Davis Concert Band, 7 p.m. University Union Redwood Room, CSUS Sacramento Taiko Dan, 12 p.m.

3.10 thursday

The Boardwalk The Wad, No Beatings from Holly, The Aberzombies, In Deep, 7 p.m. Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m. The Coffee Garden Open Mic Night, 8 p.m. Crocker Art Museum Sister Crayon, The New Humans, 5 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Dive Bar Duel Thursdays w Jason, Rome, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Barking Dog Bluegrass, 8 p.m. Liquid Nightclub Red Bulls’s Extreme White Party w/ DJ Eddie Edul, 9 p.m. Luigi’s Fun Garden Cooper McBean (of Devil Makes Three), Weinland, Kevin Lee (of Silver Darling), 8 p.m. Marilyn’s RockOn Live Band Karaoke, 9 p.m. Old Ironsides 50 Watt Heavy, Fernando, H. Letham, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub 2 Steps Down, Brodie Stewart, 9:30 p.m. Press Club Ctrl.Alt.Defeat w/ DJ Erin, Alx.T, 9 p.m. Torch Club X Trio, 5 p.m.; Harley White Jr. feat. Aaron King, 9 p.m. TreUC Davis: TCS Building Yan Jun, 8 p.m. University Union Ballroom, CSUS Banda Rorros & Calibre Efectivo, DJ LG, DJ Hollabaloo, 7:30 p.m. Vega’s Blues Jam, 7 p.m.

3.11 Friday

Ace of Spades Whitechapel, Chelsea Grin, I Declare War, The Acacia Strain, Veil of Maya, 6:30 p.m. Blue Cue Live Band Karaoke, 9 p.m. The Blue Lamp Wahnder Lust, Soft White Sixties, AB & The Sea, 9 p.m. The Boardwalk Trances, In Oceans, We’re Not Friends Anymore, Behold the Device, 7 p.m. Cache Creek Casino Lea Salonga, 9 p.m. Capitol Garage Get Down to the Champion Sound w/ DJ ESEF & Selector KDK, 10 p.m. Crest Theatre Canadian Tenors, 6:30 p.m. Distillery Lessons In Failure, Terra Ferno, Revolver, 10 p.m. District 30 E. One, 9 p.m. The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Preach (CD Release), Illogical Beats, Quarantine & Septik, Cylince, Americaz Mozt Haunted, Teeth & Tonez, Chernobog, 7 p.m. Fox & Goose Whitewash Station, Lovelorn Duo, 9 p.m. Golden Bear Crucial Fix w/ CrookOne (Decibel Devils/Team Sleep), 10 p.m.

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Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Mar. 7–21

submergemag.com/calendar use a qr scanner on your smart phone to view calendar online Harlow’s The Remedies w/ 2 Lit 2 Quit, 7 p.m. Luigi’s Fun Garden Macdougal, Willie Tea, The Freebadge Serenaders, Quinn Alfaro, 8 p.m. Luna’s Cafe Earl Brooks, Dr. Velocity, Bag O’ Kittens, 8 p.m. Marilyn’s Great Owland, Thaw Jack Frost, 8 p.m. Old Ironsides The Troublemakers, Kepi Ghoulie Band, Capt. 9’s & The Knickerbocker Trio, 9 p.m. On The Y Psychosomatic, Embryonic Devourment, Truculence, Ontogeny, Larry David, 8 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Spazmatics, 10 p.m. Press Club DJ Rue, 9 p.m. Ruggles Warehouse Sabertooth Zombie, All Teeth, Hear the Sirens, Bust It, Troubled Coast, 6:30 p.m. Studio 21 Ras D, Hyah Fyah, 6:30 p.m. T2 Nightclub & Lounge DJs & Dancing, 9 p.m. Torch Club Jimmy Pailer & Lew Fratis, 5 p.m.; John Nemeth, 9 p.m. Townhouse Rough House w/ DJs Shaun Slaughter, Adam J, Taylor Cho; Record Club w/ Roger Carpio, 9 p.m. UC Davis TCS Art Building Hefty Thigh Fem Fest w/ Alak, Group Rhoda, Beastie, Shannon Harney, DJs Hailey, Vee, Rogue, Fuzzbox Flynn, Juliaaa, Rogue, Purr, 8 p.m. ZuhG Life Store Jake Sax, ZuhG (acoustic), Doug Cash, Jesi Naomi, 4 p.m.

3.12 Saturday

Ace of Spades Darkest Hour, Born of Osirus, As Blood Runs Black, The Human Abstract, Nightmare In the Twilight, Lifeforms, 5:30 p.m. The Blue Lamp Tribute Night w/ Stung, Petty Theft, 9 p.m. The Boardwalk As Artifacts, Hugo Stiglitz, Blacksheep, Thea Skotia, Our Endless Obsession, 7 p.m. Center for the Arts Savoy Brown featuring Kim Simmonds, 8 p.m.

Club Retro Thee Atlantic (CD Release), The Paper Melody, Final Last Words, Built By Stereo, Quiet Game Starting Now, Takings Not Stealing, 6 p.m. Crest Theatre House of Floyd, 7 p.m. Distillery Pine Box Boys, Colonel Jimmy & the Blackfish, Coffin Hunters, 10 p.m. District 30 DJ David Carvalho, 9 p.m. The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Bohica, From Cities to Salt, Steel Savior, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Hullabaloo Rock n Roll Shindig w/ DJ Hailey, 9 p.m. Golden Bear Sweaty w/ DJ Whores, 10 p.m. Harlow’s Bueno Brothers, 7:30 p.m.; The Midnight Players, 10 p.m. Laughs Unlimited The Pickups, 4 p.m. Luigi’s Fun Garden Second Saturday w/ Autumn Sky. 8 p.m. Luna’s Cafe Patrick Grizzell With Proxy Moon, Martin Purtill, 8 p.m. Marilyn’s Bob Woods Band (CD Release), Nothin’ Personal, Dirt Nap Band, 7 p.m. Old Ironsides Fascination, 9:30 p.m. Power Balance Pavilion Mercyme, Jars Of Clay, Thousand Foot Krutch, Lecrae, Matt Maher, The Afters, 8 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Dane Drewis, Bump City, 10 p.m. Press Club DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m. Shine Coffee Sonadamalay, 8 p.m. T2 Nightclub & Lounge DJs & Dancing, 9 p.m. Torch Club Q-Balls, 4 p.m.; Mofo Party Band, 9 p.m. UC Davis: Jackson Hall Yefim Bronfman, 8 p.m. ZuhG Life Store James Cavern, ZuhG, The Dirty Feet, Reggie Grahm Project, E-Squared, Ukulele Jake, 12 p.m.

3.13 Sunday

Ace of Spades Fair to Midland, Breva, Journal, Periphery, Scale The Summit, 6 p.m. The Blue Lamp Reggae Bashment w/ DJ Wokstar!, 9:30 p.m. Cache Creek Casino Lea Salonga, 8 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m. Dive Bar Clash of the iPods, 9 p.m. The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Battle of the Bands w/ The Scowndrolls, The Aberzombies, Trial By Fire, Fuel The Change, L.A.M.E., 6 p.m. The Hub Idle Times, Dead Ghosts, Produce Produce, Sacred Appalachian Hands, 8:30 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited The Majesty’s, 3 p.m. Power Balance Pavilion Disturbed, Korn, Sevendust, In This Moment, 6 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Gary Mendoza, 3 p.m. Press Club Sunday Night Soul Party w/ DJ Larry & DJ Hailey, 9 p.m. Torch Club Blues Jam, 4 p.m.; Hollywood Texas, 8 p.m. UC Davis: Studio Theatre Alexander String Quartet, 2 p.m. & 7 p.m. ZuhG Life Store Rich Krieger, The Generals, 2 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live John Butcher, Gino Robair, Phillip Greenlief, Kevin Corcoran, 7 p.m. Old Ironsides Open Mic w/ host Lare Crawley, 8:30 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Beyond the Grove, Restrayned, 9 p.m. Press Club Sacramento Unplugged w/ Danny Secretion, Fight Inside, Mark Wears Clogs, 8 p.m. Shady Lady Straight, No Chaser w/ CrookOne, 10 p.m. Tacos and Beer Funk Night w/ Seamoose, Jellybread, 9:30 p.m. Torch Club Acoustic Open Mic, 5:30 p.m.; Jimmy Pailer, 9 p.m.

3.14 3.17 Monday

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Open Mic Night, 7:30 p.m. Liquid Nightclub DJs Ron Reeser, Rustique, 9 p.m. Luna’s Cafe Victor Contreras Quartet and Mo Bros, 7:30 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m. Press Club The Hot Tar Roofers, Thick Soup, 9 p.m.

3.15 Tuesday

Capitol Garage Open Jazz Session, 9 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Traditional Irish Jam Session, 7 p.m. Marilyn’s Wires and Wood, 8 p.m. Powerhouse Pub DJs Rigatony, Alazzawi, 9 p.m. Press Club Set Theory, Tyson Garf, Alyssa Cox, 9 p.m. Shady Lady Flower Vato, 10 p.m. T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m. Townhouse Grimey w/ SPL, Lotis, Kaotics, Crescendo, DJ Whores, 9 p.m. Torch Club Doug Cash & Neil Irani, 5:30 p.m.; Lew Fratis Trio, 9 p.m.

3.16 Wednesday

Club Car The Double Shots, 7:30 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. District 30 TGIW w/ Clinton Sparks, 9 p.m. The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Rewind, 8 p.m. Fox & Goose Dave McAsey, 8 p.m. Marilyn’s Street Urchinz, 9 p.m.

Thursday St. Patrick’s Day!

Ace of Spades Block Party w/ The Cheeseballs, 8 p.m. The Blue Lamp St. Patricks Celebration, 6 p.m. The Boardwalk Seriious, Cali Colab, Cal Fig, CD Loco, Fade, Skinny Kids, Nate, The Glove, 7 p.m. Brew It Up Nine 8ths Irish, 8:30 p.m. Cesar Chavez Park Whiskey and Stitches, Nine-8ths Irish, Blackeyed Dempseys, Zoo Station, Pipes and Drums, 10 a.m. Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m. The Coffee Garden Open Mic Night, 8 p.m. Crocker Art Museum Kate Gaffney, 7 p.m. de Vere’s Pipes and Drums, Kennely School Dancers, Nine-8ths Irish, Whiskey and Stitches, 2:30 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. The Fire Escape Bar and Grill The Secretions, Hanover Saints, Drastic Actions, Mad Judy, Surrounded By Thieves, 6 p.m. Fox & Goose Griffin, 8 p.m. Golden Bear Knock On Woods Players, Afterlust, Prieta, Lite Brite, Live Manikins, Sexrat, Shaun Slaughter, 3 p.m. Harlow’s BioDiesel, 9 p.m. Liquid Nightclub DJ Eddie Edul, 9 p.m. Marilyn’s Live Band Karaoke, 9 p.m. Mix DJ Peeti V, 8 p.m. The Park Ultra Lounge Trent Mazure, Billy Lane, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Chris Gardner, 9:30 p.m. Press Club The Pikeys, DJ Alki, 8 p.m. Torch Club Mark Wellendorf, Quinn Hedges, X Trio, 3 p.m. UC Davis: Jackson Hall San Francisco Symphony and Chorus, 8 p.m. Vega’s Blues Jam, 7 p.m.

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Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

3.18 FRIDAY

Ace of Spades As I Lay Dying, Winds of Plague, After the Burial, The Antioch Synopsis, 6:30 p.m. Blue Cue Live Band Karaoke, 9 p.m. The Boardwalk Coco Montoya, Mick Martin & the Blues Rockers, Tess and Hip Trash, 7 p.m. Capitol Garage Get Down to the Champion Sound w/ DJ ESEF & Selector KDK, 10 p.m. Center for the Arts (Grass Valley) Molly’s Revenge (CD Release), 8 p.m. Distillery Acoustic Fridays w/ Adam Varona, Ross Hammond, Christian DeWilde, Odd Moniker, 10 p.m. The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Kattywompus, Metal Health, The Reagan Years, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Kevin Seconds, Kepi Ghoulie, Dino the Girl, 9 p.m. Golden Bear Crucial Fix w/ CrookOne (Decibel Devils/Team Sleep), 10 p.m. Harlow’s Mary Youngblood, 7 p.m.; The New Humans, 10 p.m. Luigi’s Fun Garden Hot Tar Roofers, Perpetual Drifters, Bucky Waters, Quinn Alfaro, 8 p.m. Luna’s Cafe Sean Power’s Shadow Puppet Theater, Gilberto Rodriguez, 8 p.m. Old Ironsides Island of Black and White, The Bell Boys, James Cavern, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub WonderBread 5, 10 p.m. Press Club DJ Rue, 9 p.m. Shenanigans Stepchild, FallRise, Black, 9 p.m. Studio 21 Maltreated, Dressed In White, In Oceans, Galatia, Ember

Beside Us, Take Pride, 6 p.m. T2 Nightclub & Lounge DJs & Dancing, 9 p.m. Torch Club Jimmy Pailer & Lew Fratis, 5 p.m.; Gino Matteo, 9 p.m. Townhouse Rough House w/ DJs Shaun Slaughter, Adam J, Taylor Cho; Record Club w/ Roger Carpio, 9 p.m. ZuhG Life Store Jake Sax, Colt & Danny, ZuhG (acoustic), Jesi Naomi, 4 p.m.

3.19 Saturday

Ace of Spades Sound Check w/ Early States, Wesley Avery, Greenlight, Method Echo, Across The Tide, Human Temperament, 5 p.m. The Blue Lamp The Ricky & Del Rock Show, Dungeons & Dragqueens 9 p.m. The Boardwalk White Minorities, Mudface, Left Hand, Deadset, Death & Discord, 7 p.m. Center for the Arts Michelle Shocked, 8 p.m. Delta of Venus The Finches, Oh Foot, 7 p.m. Distillery Skinner’s B-Day Celebration w/ Cura Cochino, Rabbits, Ungoliant, 10 p.m. The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Hoods, Havenside, Maya Over Eyes, Give Em Hell, Paint Over Pictures, 5 p.m. Fox & Goose Sean Kilcoyne, Chris 2Me, Rebel Radio, 9 p.m. Golden Bear Sweaty w/ DJ Whores, 10 p.m. The Hub Mondo Deco, Soft Kill, Dangerous Boys Club, 8:30 p.m. John Natsoulas Gallery Common Frequency Benefit Dinner & Show w/ West Nile Ramblers, Pregnant,

Mucky the Ducky, The Dirt Feelin’, Stimulus, 7 p.m. Laughs Unlimited Simple Rhythm, 4 p.m. Luigi’s Fun Garden Simpl3Jack (CD Release), Prieta, The Hungry, 8 p.m. Luna’s Cafe Marty Cohen & The Sidekickes, Sal Valentino, 8 p.m. Marilyn’s The Newzmakers, 9 p.m. Old Ironsides Richard March, 9 p.m. The Park Ultra Lounge DJ Petti V, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Superlicious, 10 p.m. Press Club DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m. Shine Coffee 3rd Saturday’s Live hosted by S.Elliot, J.Keeling, 7 p.m. The Stag Whiskey and Stitches, Stout Rebellion, Pikeys T2 Nightclub & Lounge DJs & Dancing, 9 p.m. Torch Club Johnny Guitar Knox, 5 p.m.; Laurie Morvan, 9 p.m. Townhouse Tera Melos, Marnie Stern, Amaranth, 9 p.m. UC Davis: Vanderhoef Studio Theatre Curtis On Tour, 8 p.m. ZuhG Life Store Degrees of Saturn, Packard Slim, Herbella, Lost Freedom, 4 p.m.

3.20 Sunday

Ace of Spades Saving Abel, Red Line Chemistry, Desperate Union, F1rst Class Citizen, 6:30 p.m. Beatnik Studios The Dunes, 7 p.m. The Blue Lamp Reggae Bashment w/ DJ Wokstar!, 9:30 p.m. Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m. Dive Bar Clash of the iPods, 9 p.m. The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Human

Obliteration, Extirpate, Internal Decapitation, 6 p.m. Harlow’s Dwele, 10 p.m. Laughs Unlimited Hired Guns, 3 p.m. Luigi’s Fun Garden Two Ton Strap, The Sub Phobias, 8 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Kenny Blue Ray, 3 p.m. Press Club Sunday Night Soul Party w/ DJ Larry & DJ Hailey, 9 p.m. Torch Club Blues Jam, 4 p.m.; Bone MacDonald, 8 p.m. UC Davis: Jackson Hall Dan Zanes and Friends, 3 p.m. UC Davis: Vanderhoef Studio Theatre Curtis On Tour, 2 p.m. ZuhG Life Store Ken Koenig, Sherman Baker, 2 p.m.

3.21 monday

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m. Fox & Goose Open Mic Night, 7:30 p.m. Liquid Nightclub DJs Ron Reeser, Rustique, 9 p.m. Luigi’s Fun Garden Hail the Sun, Di Bravaru, So Stressed, Duck Little Brother Duck, 8 p.m. Luna’s Cafe Joe Carlson Trio, Know Hassell Project, 7:30 p.m. Old Ironsides Edisun, Eightfourseven, 9 p.m. Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m. Press Club Bastards of Young, Killdevil, Red City Radio, 9 p.m.

Comedy Laughs Unlimited Vince Morris, Dwayne Gill, March 10 - 13, Thursday, 8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.;

Sunday, 7 p.m. Best of Open Mic Showcase, March 15, 8 p.m. Key Lewis, Phat Joe, March 17 - 20, Thursday, 8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. Luna’s Cafe Keith Lowell Jensen’s Wednesday Night Comedy, Wedesday’s, 8 p.m. Punchline Comedy Club Mitch Fatel, March 10 - 13, Thursday & Sunday, 8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. Sam Bam’s Comedy Jam, March 17, 8 p.m. Josh Blue, March 18 - 20, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.; Sunday, 8 p.m. Sacramento Comedy Sportz Mayhem!, every Thursday, 9 p.m. ComedySportz, every Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. Sacramento Comedy Spot March 9 & 16, Improv 1 Continuous, 7 p.m.; Harold Night, 9 p.m. March 10 & 17, Improv 1 Continuous, 7 p.m.; Cage Match, 9 p.m. March 11, In Your Facebook, 8 p.m.; Gay & Lesbian Comedy w/ Ronn Vigh, Janine Brito, Loren Kraut, 9 p.m. March 12, Spotlight Improv Showcase, 8 p.m.; Anti Cooperation League, 9 p.m. March 18, In Your Facebook, 8 p.m.; Stand Up Shoot Out, 9 p.m. March 19, Lady Business, 8 p.m.; Anti Cooperation League, 9 p.m. Tommy T’s Chicano Kings Of Comedy, March 11, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. Denny Johnston, March 12, 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m. I-Rish My Beer Goggles Were Green feat. Shane Murphy, March 17 Andrew Dice Clay, March 18 - 19,

Friday, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m.

Misc. Beatnik Studios Rachel Miller’s Painting Workshop, March 15, 6:30 p.m. Red Night Poetry w/ Danyon Powell, Mary Mackey, Crawdad Nelsn, hosted by Genelle Chaconas, March 16, 8 p.m. Fête de la francophonie - French Heritage Festival, March 20, 1 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. Foothill Skate Inn Sac City Rollers Present: Shamrock Slam, March 11, 7 p.m. Fox & Goose Pub Quiz, Tuesdays, 7 p.m. I Street (between 16th & 17th) Midtown Bazaar, Saturday’s, 10 a.m. Luna’s Cafe Joe Montoya’s Poetry Unplugged, Thursdays, 8 p.m. Sierra-at-Tahoe Mountain Resort Snowboarder Magazine’s One-Hit Wonder, March 12 5th Annual Buckle-Up Big-Air, March 19 Shine Coffee Artists’ Reception for Steven Nowak, Andy Paras, March 12, 5 p.m. Strikes (Rocklin) The Celebrity Bowling League w/ Tyreke Evans, Urijah Faber, Demarcus Cousins and more, March 15, 8 p.m. University Union Ballroom, CSUS Kenya Safari Acrobats, March 8, 7:30 p.m. Bunky Echo-Hawk Live Art, March 15, 7 p.m.

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SubmergeMag.com

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

refined tastes

tWo shoWs! TUESday

aPr 5 TUESday

may 3 Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over 8:00pm

North Mississippi AllstArs TUESday mar 8 Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 8:00pm wEdnESday truth & sAlvAge CoMpANy hoNeyMooN

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Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

Mini Reasons to Follow Mini Burger Truck Various Locations Sacramento area words & PHOTOS Adam Saake Would it be too pretentious if I quoted myself? Eh, fuck it. In a past “Refined Tastes” column, I pointed out that we write an awful lot about burgers. And, “It’s not that we favor burgers or establishments that serve them, it’s that Sacramento continues to turn out press-worthy product.” That continues to be true, and if we’re a burger town, then I am perfectly all right with that. In this issue’s column, we tracked down the Mini Burger Truck, Sacramento’s newest and exciting purveyors of patty. They do it from a truck and they do it well. Fasten your seat belts, this one’s on the go. If you’re lucky, then the truck comes to you. But if you seek the truck, it’s best to “follow” its trail of tweets. Mini Burger Truck, whose handle on Twitter is plainly that (@MiniBurgerTruck), took the concept of live tweeting their varying locations that other food trucks and carts in cities like Los Angeles were having success with and has been attracting steady followers. Food cart success story Kogi, a Korean BBQ to-go business based out of Los Angeles, alerts Twitter followers to their scheduled locations. There are different carts that occupy different spaces and often the cart sells out. With Kogi’s over 82,000 Twitter followers, it’s no surprise. Mini Burger Truck, with a growing 800-plus followers, has already attracted a real-life following of state workers, UCD Med Center employees and downtown lunch-breakers, to name a few. It’s a no-brainer if you’re hungry; a gourmet burger truck with sweet potato tater tots and seasonal specials is a far cry from the standard roach coaches. So, why all the fuss about Twitter? “We can’t stay in any one place for more than 30 minutes, and we can’t sell after dark,” says Mini Burger Truck owner and founder Davin Vculek. This truck is constantly relocating throughout the day and doesn’t—let me rephrase that—can’t stay put for very long. The City of Sacramento has strict rules governing what the trucks and carts can and can’t do. Vculek says they “want to come downtown five days a week,” per people’s request, but parking is an issue, too. If it’s in your neck of the woods, then you’re golden. But for Twitter followers of the Mini Burger Truck, it’s about the hunt. “I follow them on Twitter and try to stay in the loop with what’s going on with food,” said food truck enthusiast Naida Enriquez. “I’ve been trying to find a convenient time.” I chatted with Enriquez, who was in front of me in line. There were a good eight people in front of her and another 10 waiting for their food.

She kept checking her phone, anxiously watching her lunch break waste away in line. “I don’t think I’ll have enough time,” she said with a filled-out order form and small yellow golf pencil in hand. As someone who stays “in the loop” with what’s happening with food, she’s no stranger to food trucks. She filled a short stay in Austin, Texas, sampling the plethora of food trucks and carts that troll the city. She was excited to hear about the Mini Burger Truck in Sacramento. Those same trucks and carts who have found open arms and success in other cities are exactly what inspired Vculek to start the Mini Burger Truck. Originally from Redding, Calif., Vculek went to culinary school in Portland, Ore., before landing a job as a corporate chef for Food Network star Guy Fieri. The food truck was something that was always on his mind. “I thought mini burgers would be an awesome concept for a food truck,” he tells Submerge. “They’re easy to eat on the go.” Vculek says that business has been good so far and they are definitely meeting their projections, aside from the city’s obstacles. “It’s sad that during a time when so many jobs are leaving California, the city is making it so difficult for us to work,” says Vculek. Long waits for food to come up have caused some complaints among customers, an issue that eventually forced Enriquez to abandon her place in line to return to work. “People have been complaining about the wait,” says Vculek. “We don’t use steam trays, which is what a lot of the other guys use, which is fine. It’s just not how we do things. We make everything fresh.” “The Ninja” was calling my name long before I finally found the truck in the Kiwanis Family House parking lot that is adjacent to the UCD Med Center and the Employment Development Department. With a name like “The Ninja,” how could I resist? A black Angus beef patty sits underneath crisp and refreshing Asian slaw, pea shoots, jalapeño for a nice little kick (Ninja, get it?), lotus chip for crunch and is topped off with some Sriracha aioli ($3). You actually feel healthy eating these little assassins because of the lightness of the slaw. It was a perfect marriage of salad and beef and if the truck wasn’t shutting down shop, I would have gone back for another. Free-range chicken breast and South Dakota bison burgers are on the menu too, and customers can choose between a brioche or wheat bun. Grab some Kennebec potato fries ($2) or sweet potato tater tots ($2) and you’re golden. Follow the Mini Burger Truck on Twitter to find out where it will be next. Trust me, it’s worth tracking down and certainly worth the wait. After all, haven’t we waited for a food truck in this city long enough? Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

live<< rewind

The grindhouse

Best Coast

Deus Ex Machina The Adjustment Bureau Universal Pictures

Words James Barone Is there a greater power steering this crazy ship called life? If there is, most times it seems like He/She is asleep at the wheel, or at the very least well above the legal limit. And if destiny does rule all, then what about free choice? Did I order that Big Mac because I chose to do so, or was my desire to nosh on said treat at 2 a.m. just a cruel machination of Fate? Common questions of life and humankind’s place in the world are tackled in the George Nolfi film The Adjustment Bureau, based on a short story by science fiction master Philip K. Dick. The audience is thrust into a New York State Senate race with Matt Damon playing David Norris, a sort of maverick (for lack of a better term) democrat congressman from Brooklyn. He’s young, brash and shoots from the hip, but for real and not in the bullshit way politicians usually do. At 24, he became the youngest congressman in U.S. history, and now he stands ready to fight the good fight in the Senate. However, his bravado works against him, and when a New York City tabloid runs a picture from an old prank he pulled in college, Norris’ double-digit lead takes a nosedive on Election Night. He ends up getting trounced. But, all is not lost for young Norris. As he readies his conciliatory speech in a men’s room at a fancy New York City hotel, he encounters Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt), a beautiful and impulsive dancer who captures Norris’ heart as if she was fated to do so. What seems like a simple love story becomes more complicated, however, as a clandestine agency seems to be tracking Norris’ every move. When one of the agents makes a critical misstep, Norris steals a peek behind a curtain “he wasn’t supposed to know existed.” The agency works for a Chairman—what humans understand as God or SubmergeMag.com

one of its many incarnations—and makes sure His plans are followed through. Now that Norris knows this, he can go about his life, but he can never tell anyone or he’ll have his mind erased— oh yeah, and this plan doesn’t include Sellas, so he better put it back in his pants. Norris just can’t shake that mysterious woman from his mind, however. What follows is a sort of sci-fi/fantasy-tinged romance as our two lovers try to overcome the many obstacles fate puts in their way to be with one another. It’s really a sweet story at its heart, but The Adjustment Bureau seems to suffer from an identity crisis. The Adjustment Bureau does a great job setting the scene. Cameos from New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and The Daily Show host Jon Stewart create a solid, real world foundation for what becomes an otherworldly story. A smart move, considering Nolfi and company are asking a lot in the way of suspending your disbelief. Using doors, the agents can seemingly fold space and travel very quickly. They can also manipulate people’s reasoning and alter the course of events if they deviate too far from the plan. This is all well and good, but the script seems to linger too much on explaining these tricks of the trade (without really explaining them) and cataloging the agents’ limitations, which only dilutes the plot’s central focus, the serendipitous romance between Norris and Sellas. When Blunt and Damon are charged with intimate scenes, they flourish, but much like their stop and start courtship, the film often interrupts this budding relationship with more vaguely worded exposition about plans and agent strategizing. What we have here is a sort of Frankenstein’s monster that harks back to films like the romantic comedy Serendipity, quirky sci-fi romance Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the philosophy-drenched action film The Matrix. But The Adjustment Bureau isn’t as successful as any of those mentioned. It is, however, a light-hearted film that’s perhaps trying too hard to make a point. You can’t really blame it for trying.

Wavves

lighting up Noise Pop Best Coast, Wavves, Hunx and His Punx, Royal Baths Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011 The Regency Ballroom • San Francisco Words amy Serna • Photos samantha saturday Hot off the “Summer is Forever” tour, pot-smoking indie rockers Best Coast and Wavves headlined a sold-out ballroom last week for the Noise Pop Festival in San Francisco. The Regency Ballroom is usually a classy venue that is fully decorated with elegant chandeliers and shiny hardwood floors. But on the last Saturday in February, it was quickly turned into a foggy, sweaty, deafening atmosphere, fully equipped with rowdy fans and pot-smoking aliens. But before the headliners took over the stage, the show began with a mellow start. Openers and San Francisco locals Royal Baths showed off their eerie guitar riffs that echoed around the fogpolluted ballroom, causing a few occasional rock nods from members of the audience. Soon after, Hunx and His Punx got the Noise Pop party started with their bubbly, body-moving beats. Perhaps it was because the punk band gave off similar vibes to watching the Rocky Horror Picture Show and listening to The Ramones at the same time. Or maybe it was the way the eccentric frontman of the group, Seth Bogart, would strut across the stage and flirt with the audience in his skin-tight leopard-print leggings. “It really smells like weed backstage. I’m not joking,” Bogart said after he asked the crowd if they were ready for the night’s headlining bands. When it was time for Wavves to take the stage, the venue was suddenly turned into a raging beach party when band members Nathan Williams and Stephen Pope threw out inflatable beach balls and green aliens. Ironically enough, moments before Williams incited the sea of audience members into a rock frenzy, he warned the crowd to not hurt an already injured audience member and told everyone to “take a chill pill.” From every corner of the ballroom people could be seen jumping, moshing or yelling the lyrics right back to the band. During the set, Williams took notice of a white sheet that was floating in the sea of people. It read in black messy writing, “Bluntz after show,” and was decorated with colorful cartoons of green aliens and a blue dinosaur smoking joints. Before they broke into the song “So Bored,” bassist Stephen Pope grabbed the fan-made sheet

and tied it around Williams’ neck over his black Misfits tee, just as a superhero would wear a cape. Wavves decided to end their punk spree with their hit “Post Acid” that turned the crowd into jumping animals. To end the final note of the song, Williams launched his guitar straight toward the drum set and casually walked off stage. Afterward, Best Coast walked out to make their second return to Noise Pop, but this time as a headlining band and in front of hundreds more faces. The band started off playing the first few tunes with careless ease until they had trouble starting off one of their new songs. “I smoked too much weed today,” said frontwoman Bethany Cosentino with a smile and her guitar at hand. So the band decided to skip the song altogether and soon realized that the other members, (bassist) Bobb Bruno and (dummer) Ali Koehler, had different set lists all together. But that didn’t slow the indie rockers from continuing their summer-loving set. Best Coast pleased the crowd and played through most of their songs that are on their debut album, Crazy for You. Even though the fans were packed indoors like sardines, it felt as if they were taken to the sandy beach to rock out. When Cosentino broke into the song “Boyfriend,” a young man in the audience was caught lip-synching every word of the song, almost in a trance while he watched the headliners perform within feet of him. We all know summer can’t last forever. But Best Coast and Wavves brought the warm, carefree feelings of summer just for those few hours during Noise Pop.

Royal Baths

Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

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Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

Made of Win

Anyone who has ever taken LSD can tell you that reality is a fragile thing. The one time I did it, I watched the grass crawl over the walkway of my friend’s house, and I thought to myself, “This is how the world will end.” Then we watched Space Ghost Coast to Coast and got a pizza and everything was cool. But you know, what is reality really? When I look at the letter B, do I see the same thing you do? What about the color green? We all know the sky is blue, but what is blue? Dude. You’ll just drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what really is real and what isn’t. Instead, be like Charlie Sheen and just be the master of your own reality, no matter how irrational it may seem to everyone else. I tried my best to stay away from the Sheen Express this week, but it was impossible. He was everywhere. It was like a Sheen-meme-splosion on the Internet, and dude was giving interviews to everyone—Piers Morgan, 20/20, those trolls at Access Hollywood. I did my best to weather the storm, but it was useless. You can’t stand in front of a tornado and pretend it doesn’t exist. You either get out of its way or get sucked through the funnel. I opted for the latter. I got sucked hard into the 20/20 interview. I just saw clips of the others, but it seemed like the same thing. What I enjoyed about Sheen’s 20/20 interview was that it was editorialized in such a manner that it laid out for me—in extremely simple terms—what I was supposed to think of the situation. Their verdict: Charlie Sheen is a fucking psycho. And they’re more than likely right about that. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take something positive away from his existence. Let’s strip away all the fantastical elements of his life. He’s the highest paid actor in television history, he lives in a mansion dubbed “Sober Valley Lodge” with his goddesses (porn star Bree Olson (nee Rachel Oberlin) and model Natalie Kenly) and he’s imbued with tiger’s blood and Adonis DNA. What you have left is still a man that the vast majority of us are completely unable to relate to. The sheer volume of drugs, alcohol

James Barone jb@submergemag.com and whoring he has done over the course of his lifetime has killed lesser men, yet he survives—nay, thrives. Though he may spout off crazy shit like, “Clearly I have defeated this earthworm with my words, imagine what I could have done with my fire-breathing fists… I am a warlock,” as if he were a dude who just rolled into town on the Greyhound after a three-week meth binge, Sheen clearly isn’t destitute. He is, as he suggests, winning. It’s hard to argue with him. Sure, his escapades may have gotten Two and a Half Men canned (for the rest of the season anyway), which I imagine put a lot of normal folk out of work, but when Lindsay Lohan got all bonkers on goofballs or whatever the fuck cocktail of chemicals she was ingesting, she shot her career in the face; when Britney Spears shaved her head and flipped a lid in the most epic way imaginable, just about everyone lost whatever respect they had for her. Charlie Sheen does a bunch of coke and chokes out a porn star in a hotel room across the hall from where his ex-wife and kids are sleeping, and a lot of people praise him as a hero or pop culture icon. Hey, I didn’t make that part up. It’s reality. But what do I know? All of this is probably some well-orchestrated stunt. William Shatner seems to think so. In an interview with Michael Medved on his syndicated radio program, Capt. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise said that despite what 20/20 wanted us to believe, Sheen isn’t crazy at all. Though Shatner acquiesced that Sheen used unconventional means, to the captain, the maligned actor has been “perfectly in the moment.” “He’s not crazy—to my mind—he’s just jagged and putting the interviewers on,” Shatner concluded. Words to the wise. But don’t stress yourself out about it. Like I said, you can drive yourself crazy over what’s real and what isn’t. Just relax. It’s not like, say, there were politicians in office at this very moment who are trying to strip workers of their rights, inching us perilously toward a class war or anything. Dude, wait, what? Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

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1832 TribuTe road SuiTe e • SacraMenTo Issue 80 • March 7 – March 21, 2011

Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas

march 7 – 21, 2011

#80

7x7 Enjoy

Ways to

St. Patrick’s Day

walking

spanish

Marnie Stern Fret Board Fixation Mini Burger Truck Catch It

If You Can!

the Best things in life are free

+Best Coast

Smokes Out Noise Pop The Peculiar Fate of Matt Damon’s

The Adjustment Bureau

free

travie m ccoy How to Succeed