Submerge Magazine: Issue 81 (March 21 - April 4, 2011)

Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas

march 21 – April 4, 2011

#81

Zu h L O ife r d Le in s ar s y

free

dan gav ce in d a nce no forloss wo rds Jua n M a Roc cL Ho k Thea use is n art ist

g

Mich ae Le PatCom le is a ienc pte Vir e tue

.

cee lo th

vs 5 re ting o t in v und ing s ega s s

N o w o p e N ! O A k l A n d 4 2 0 E vA l u At i O n 2633 TeleGraph ave, #109

420

(510) 832-5000

Sacramento

Evaluations

don’t be fooled by impostors offering price cut recommendations over Skype!

N Now ope S! ay oN SuNd 12-5pm

Voted #1 doctor’s office in all of Sacramento

45

$

Renewals fRom any doctoR

*with this ad

55

$

new Patients

*with this ad

We Will Match Any Competitor’s Price

*must present competitors ad. Restrictions apply

BewaRe of Scam!

Doctors offices offering recomendations for over 1 year long are fake! One year is the longest term a recommendation is valid! Come see a real doctor at Sac420Evals!

Know his face! Know his name!

Visit our website to book your appointment online 24/7 No 6 Months BS • Good for 1 Year

Walk-ins Welcome all Day everyDay

Mon-Sat 12-7pm • Sun 12-5pm

2100 watt aVe uNit 190 • SacRameNto, ca 95825 916.480.9000 • Sacramentocannabiscard.com 2

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

contents

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

12

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

Submerge Magazine

2308 J Street, Suite F Sacramento, Calif. 95816

916.441.3803 info@submergemag.com

distribution

printed on recycled paper

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

SubmergeMag.com

10 12 16 18 20 23 24 25 26

Contributing photographers

Josselin Basaldu josselin@submergemag.com

Contributing editor

03 04 06 07 08

81 2011 march 21 april 4

Dive in The Stream CapitAl Capture Local Drift

The Optimistic Pessimist Submerge your senses Juan Maclean Zuhg Michaele LeCompte Dance Gavin Dance calendar refined tastes

nopalitos southwestern cafe

the grindhouse The lincoln lawyer

Live<<Rewind Red Bull Soundclash

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!

front cover of zuhg by wes davis back cover of dance gavin dance by phill Mamula

dive in an epic issue, no really Melissa welliver melissa@submergemag.com The word “epic” is slightly overused these days. And we here at Submerge like to be extremely selective with its use.

Truth be told all of our stories in this issue are exceptional, but two things in particular are, dare I say, epic: Dance Gavin Dance’s Downtown Battle Mountain II, which came out March 8 on Rise Records and a recent event a couple of us at Submerge were lucky enough to attend called Red Bull Soundclash: Cee Lo Green vs. The Ting Tings.

Sacramento’s very own Dance Gavin Dance has definitely had their share of drama (and member changes), but one thing that remains consistent is the records they produce are always solid. Eric Lodge, Jonny Craig and Jon Mess, who we interviewed (see page 18), returned to the band to do a sequel to Downtown Battle Mountain. When you have so many talented individuals and combine them, amazing things are bound to happen. Craig and Mess’ vocals along with Will Swan’s technical guitar parts without question have turned out to be epic once again. I’d highly suggest picking up this album at your local record shop (or of course you can get it on iTunes). The band is out now on a 27-day Downtown Battle Mountain U.S. Tour that started March 10, and you can see DGD in Sacramento at Ace of Spades on April 8, which happens to be their second to last date on this particular tour.

I’ve seen my fair share of shows/concerts. The one I witnessed about a week ago, Red Bull Soundclash: Cee Lo Green vs. The Ting Tings, was one of the most brilliant I’ve seen to date. The concept of Soundclash is to take two major artists, put them on separate stages across from one another and have them perform everything from their own songs, to renditions of a particular cover song, to playing each other’s songs and more.

This went above and beyond your average concert. It felt very engaging. Thus, the experience turned out to be epic. This was the first time I’d ever heard of this particular Red Bull event, but I was informed that it happens every year around spring break.

So next year keep your eyes and ears on Soundclash and trust me, it will be worth the trip to get there. Please read our full review of this years unique collaboration between Cee Lo Green and The Ting Tings on page 25.

One of the hardest working bands in Sacramento, ZuhG, has a new album coming out this April called Free Love. We’ve wanted to give them a cover for a while now! Their new album is very refreshing and reminds me of part Phish, part Galactic but with a Dave Matthews Band twist. Sacramento has its fair share of rock groups as well as singer-songwriters, so to have this sort of jam-band that incorporates so much funk, jazz and even hiphop is a pleasant alternative for your local listening pleasure. In our interview with Bryan Nichols on page 12, we discuss his ZuhG Life store in the Westfield Downtown Plaza, how they came upon the word ZuhG and some pretty crazy tour stories.

If you live in the Sacramento area and are a fan of electronic music, you’ll be stoked to hear there is a yet another new dance night in town called Lights Down Low. This will be a monthly night at Mix Downtown brought to you by resident DJs Shaun Slaugther, Adam J and Alx-T. The debut is on April 7 and will feature a DJ set by Juan MacLean. What a great way to start off this new night! It get’s better...we were able to set up an interview with MacLean, and in our feature, which can be found on page 10, he discusses vinyl vs. laptops for DJ sets, dance music and American culture. He also talks about his first mix album released in 2010 called DJ-Kicks.

In our final feature we have an interview with modernist painter and Sacramento City College instructor Michaele LeCompte. Her exhibit Migration of Form is currently being shown at Jay Jay Gallery until April 23. I’m intrigued by her use of vivid colors and abstracted forms. I think you will be too. On page 16 you can view some of her work as well as read our Q&A with this gifted artist.

Also in issue 81 you’ll find our regular columns to be as entertaining as ever. Plus, we’ve got a review of the new movie The Lincoln Lawyer and a restaurant review of Nopalitos Southwestern Café.

Enjoy issue 81, Melissa-Dubs

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

3

NATIONAL

The stream

DISCUSSING THE SPIRITUAL QUESTIONS RAISED BY THE COEN BROTHERS FILMS

WWW.SACSTATEUNIQUE.COM

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE

NOONER

POMEGRANATE

WED, MAR 30 @ 12P Free, indie / alternative concert

University Union Redwood Room<<

ROLLER DERBY

SALSA DANCING

SAC CITY ROLLERS SALSA LOCA THU, APR 28 @ 6:30P

THUR, APR 21 @ 730P

Free, women’s flat-track roller derby University Union Ballroom<<

Free, salsa dance lessons plus live performance by Conjunto Alegre University Union Ballroom<<

COMEDY

ANT

THUR, APR 14 @ 7:30P

Free, comedian from Last Comic Standing & host of VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club

Rapper Nate Dogg passed away in his Long Beach, Calif., home on the evening of March 15.

Nate Dogg’s lawyer confirmed that his death was the result of complications from multiple strokes. He was 41 years old. Nate Dogg made his first mainstream appearance on Dr. Dre’s 2001 album Chronic but may be best known for the song “Regulate,” which he wrote with Warren G. As expected, many people from the hip-hop community are paying tribute to the late rapper.

Eminem told E! Online that “Nate’s voice in music will never be replaced. He helped create the blueprint for West Coast hip-hop, and I was one of the lucky people who had the privilege to work with him and the honor to have him as a friend.”

The two collaborated on “‘Till I Collapse” in 2002 and “Shake That” in 2005.

Brad Fuhrman

Lil Wayne was released from prison on Nov. 4 after serving eight months in New York’s Rikers Island jail and is now set to release his new album Tha Carter IV just six months later. Wayne told MTV News: “Tha Carter IV is done. It can come out tomorrow ‘cause I’m so finished.” The latest installment of Tha Carter will feature guest performances by Nicki Minaj, Kanye West and T-Pain. Lil Wayne is currently on his I Am Music II tour with Nicki Minaj, rapper Rick Ross, and Travis Barker doing a DJ/drummer set with Mixmaster Mike. The tour makes a stop in Sacramento April 26 at Arco Arena... a-hem, Power Balance Pavilion.

University Union Ballroom<<

COMPETITION

BATTLE OF THE BANDS

THUR, MAY 5 @ 7P

Free, competition showcasing 10 local bands For more info on participating, please visit www.SacStateUNIQUE.com/BOTB

University Union Ballroom<<

ur online o t u o check s! for event r a d n m cale mento.co

ra shinesac

ic opennm ight

every tuesdgahyt ni

live sircy mu v e e saturdayt

nigh

1400 e street • sacramento • (916) 551-1400 4

R.I.P. Nate Dogg

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

According to a fansite, Incubus-online-view. com, Incubus has finished recording their new album. A message from the band’s manager was posted on the website, “Well it’s finally happened.

Album No. 6 is in the can. Or should I say in the envelope… Like previous records it is nothing like its predecessors. Quintessential Incubus, but like no Incubus record before it.” Of course, he must mean album number seven, but that’s beside the point. This will be the band’s first album since taking a hiatus after 2006’s Light Grenades, which sold over 800,000 copies in the United States.

Ryan Adams will be working with producer Glyn Johns on his upcoming album. Johns has produced everyone from The Who and Rolling Stones to Bob Dylan. At a show in January 2009, Adams told fans it would be his last show with his band The Cardinals and hasn’t toured since.

He did, however, manage to release two records last year. Adams’ label PAX AM released Cardinals III/IV with The Cardinals and a heavy metal album titled Orion, pressed exclusively on vinyl. He’ll end his two-year touring hiatus with a dozen dates this summer in Europe and hopefully will hit the United States before too long.

And in other news… Dave Grohl is now included in the 17 of us who don’t like Glee, blasting the creator, Ryan Murphy: “And then the guy who created Glee is so offended that we’re not, like, begging to be on his fucking show. Fuck that guy for thinking anybody and everybody should want to do Glee.” Grohl and the Foo Fighters join Slash and Kings of Leon for not allowing Glee to whore out their music.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

REGIONAL

RECORD STORE DAY RETURNS!

Music buffs mark your calendars! Record Store Day is on April 16. The Sacramento region is well represented when it comes to independent record stores with Dimple, The Beat, Rare Records and Phono Select Records all keeping the dream alive.

Phono Select (located at 2312 K Street) will host a giant all-day celebration on April 16 featuring a record swap, live music, DJs, a garage sale, exclusive RSD 2011 releases, raffle prizes and tons of fun. If you want to sell your records or get in on the garage sale, call the shop at (916) 400-3164 or shoot an e-mail to rsd2011@phonoselect.com.

Speaking of K Street, a new clothing boutique is opening up soon called Legacy Boutique just about a block down from Phono Select (at 2418 K Street, right next to Tres Hermanas).

Owner Debbie Milanova is no stranger to the fashion biz, having worked for the last five years alongside Sacramento fashion-staple Mary Kawano at Krazy Mary’s Boutique. “She really helped me to learn what it was truly like to run a small business,” Milanova shared with Submerge.

“I learned it all, from in-store buying appointments, to out of town tradeshows. Mary really made sure we all got the opportunity to do everything.”

Milanova made it clear that Kawano had always been aware of her intentions to eventually open up her own shop.

“Mary and I are absolutely cool,” she assured.

“She is really more of an inspiration because I respect her so much. She knows so much about the business. My style is completely different than hers and everyone will be able to see based on the exclusive clothing lines I chose.”

Legacy will carry new and vintage clothing and accessories for men and women and the list of brands Milanova supplied Submerge with is long and impressive. Some standout men’s brands include Aviator (cotton tees from your favorite classic novels), Freshjive, Local Celebrity, Chaser L.A. (throwback band tees from Nirvana to Little Richard), American Apparel, Le Tigre and many more. On the women’s side brands like 10 Corso Como, L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani, Style Stalker, Gentle Fawn, Kat Von-D and many more will be available as well as locally designed jewelry. Legacy Boutique will celebrate it’s grand opening on Friday, April 1 from 4 to 9 p.m. where customers will be given 20 percent off their first purchase. There will also be an after-party celebration at The Golden Bear at 10 p.m.

SubmergeMag.com

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

545 Downtown Plaza #2035 Sacramento (916) 930-1990 Local rock favorites Prieta are hard at work on a new album, much to the delight of everyone at Submerge. They’re approaching this one differently than their previous efforts in that their current practice space is actually Ira Skinner’s Alley Avenue Recording Studios, so as the band finishes new material they will be recording it, mastering it and releasing it a couple tracks at a time. The first two songs completed were “The Company You Keep,” and “Lifted Away,” which were both mastered by Joe Johnston at Pus Cavern Studios and released this past Saturday at the band’s gig at Luigi’s Fungarden. “It is in a lot of ways kind of a different direction for us,” guitarist Mat Woods recently shared with Submerge. “We’ve just been writing tons of new material and incorporating more keys and laptops and electronic elements and whatnot.” To keep up with the band and to find out about their upcoming gigs, find them on Facebook.

Find Us On FacebOOk. search "art 4 art sake tattOO"

Walk-ins Welcome • appointments available mention thiS aD for theSe great DealS!

20% off your next

tattoo

bring a friend & get

buy one

50% piercing, one off get piercings 50%off on sunday’s

Cafe V e ga n k e ry & Ba eVery Saturday All-Ages • 7pm

on Wednesday’s

live music

2315 K Street Midtown Sacramento 916.706.3302 sugarplumvegan.com Ace of Spades’ next local band showcase called Soundcheck (put on in collaboration with SacShows) is on Saturday, April 2, and will feature a super-impressive line-up of local talent including A Lot Like Birds (which features ex-Dance Gavin Dance frontman Kurt Travis), Green Audio, Twenty Days With Julian and Ember Beside Us. A Lot Like Birds is rumored to be playing a set of entirely new material now that Travis has joined and Submerge is excited to hear it! The past couple Soundchecks have drawn well over 500 people into Ace of Spades… Not bad for all local lineups, not bad at all!

Tues: 10am-4pm Wed & Thurs: 10am-8pm Fri & Sat: 10am-9pm Bottomless Brunch Sun: 10am-4pm

Distillery 2107 L Street • Sacramento • (916) 443-8815 Fri, MarCH 25 Pets, The Polymers, Jet Black Popes Telemetry $6 10pm SaT, MarCH 26 Fight Inside, The Stalking Distance, Rivals, Plasma Cannon $6 10pm Fri, april 1 Sexrat, This Luxury, Jeffery Valentine $6 10pm

SaT, april 2 KB & The Slingtones, Cattle Ness & The Revenge, Jenny Lyn & Her Real Gone Daddies $8 10pm Fri, april 8 Blackeyed Dempseys, Tater Famine $7 10pm

Karaoke Every Sun-Thurs 9pm Free Issue 81 •

SaT, april 9 Drastic Actions, GET SHOT!, Kill Devil, The Number 13 $7 10pm Fri, april 15 Be Bold Brave Robot, The Inversions, Pilots Dare Me to Die $5 10pm SaT, april 16 Walking Dead, The Left Hand, Dead Panic, The Nerv (SF) $7 10pm

COMiNG SOON!

april 22: Acoustic Friday: Hans Eberbach, Carly DuHaine, Gerard Fragamino, Kellie Hoover $5 10pm april 23: Jason & The Punknecks (TN), The Cheatin’ Hearts, Dry County Drinkers, Matt Gage Band $6 10pm april 29:The Golden Cadillacs, Infamous Swanks, Whiskey & Stitches $7 10pm april 30: White Minorities, Blownload, Skinhammer $6 10pm

Open For Lunch & Dinner March 21 – April 4, 2011 5

Haircuts

color

extensions Facials Massage wax

DEEDA

SignAturE Spring HAir: Soft & BolD

Capital Capture Local Drift Josselin Basaldu capitalcapture@submergemag.com

By Vanessa Couburn, Deeda Artistic Director

W

e wanted to create a unified seasonal expression, as a salon. our “Spring trend Collection” is inspired from spring fashion. using the soft texture of florals and bold lines of stripes we have created our collection of signature spring hairstyles. using those same concepts from spring fashion, each of our looks has the same contrast: soft and bold; intentionally used together. our three strong looks consist of a men’s haircut with short, sharply faded sides blending into a soft textured top, a color concept of soft blonde infused with bold color and a new variation on a classic style: the double-knotted ponytail.

With the change of seasons also comes the change of trends. As stylists, we believe in being the informer to the client, giving them something they can feel good about, look good with and that’s wearable.

Since Sacramento proved itself on par with national spring trends during fashion week, it seemed apropos to highlight the drift of local trends.

Once the oppression of spring showers eases up and the sun shines warm, Sacramento streets are sure to be flooded with fashion galore.

Such trends as messy side buns, chain accessories, woven locks (braids-a-plenty), beauty brights (hair color, eye make-up and lips) and long dresses and skirts are sure to spring up as seasonal Sacramento fashion and style trends.

Chain Bracelet {Lounge On 20} Megan Gann

1734 34th St • Sacramento • 916.456.0600 • thedeeda.com

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

Braids {Lounge On 20} Renee Kelley

Longdress/skirt {Emerging Designer Showcase} Melody Stone

Submergemag.com

6

Bright Makeup {Emerging Designer Showcase} Johanna Renkvist

Bun/Spring Hair {Lounge On 20} Sarah Barkawi Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

The Optimistic Pessimist

88

Acoustically Designed

Private Music Rehearsal Studios From

220 Square Feet To 500 Square Feet

Eat Eat Eat Eat Bocephus Chigger bocephus@submergemag.com I love food. I should weigh 500 pounds.

I’ve never met a cuisine I couldn’t enjoy in some way, shape or form. I sometimes do an involuntary little food dance in my seat.

It sort of looks like a dog wagging its tail accompanied by some lip smacking. This dance worried my ex, as she thought it meant I could someday need the assistance of a forklift to get out of bed. While I am nowhere near that point, I do find it hard to turn down food.

Food is the window into the soul of a people. You will not learn more from reading about or visiting a country than you will from eating its food. Food offers insight on regional climate and what types of plants and animals rule the land. It can fill you in on religious beliefs. It can help an outsider find the cracks in a seemingly homogeneous population. It’s full of nuance, color and most importantly, flavor.

If you are familiar with flavors and ingredients, food can encapsulate the history of a country. The use of this spice or of that herb will show you who conquered who.

Even after people are beaten into submission, their food will often work its way into the conqueror’s heart. It is that powerful.

With such a culinary dynasty at stake, local cuisine needs a defender. Thank God/ Allah/Yahweh/Buddha/Vishnu/Xenu for the chef. A good chef is in the details. He knows what’s in season and how to use it in an unexpected yet undeniably delicious way.

He slices, dices and juliennes his way into our hearts and minds. He owns a deep fryer and has a vast knowledge of cheeses. For most chefs, it’s a pretty thankless job and a catch-22 at best. The better you do, the more you work and the more you have to deal with idiot customers who have no idea what good food is.

Now when I say good food, I’m not restricting myself to “four-star” dining. A $2 hot dog can be amazing if it’s done right (or if it’s 2 o’clock in the morning and I just drank my body weight in vodka). Asian cuisines are unparalleled for their freshness. When it is cold and raining or when you are sick, a

SubmergeMag.com

bowl of pho or tom ka gai will hit the spot.

Italians (at least in the south) have mastered the combination of tomatoes and cheese. It may seem simple, but pizza is an art form.

The French have a rich velvety sauce for everything. Curry and naan make me want to abandon my worldly possessions and move to India. Just writing this paragraph is making my mouth water and my stomach rumble with anticipation.

Speaking of mouth watering, there is one particular food that gets me every time: bacon.

Underneath that mass of usually pink flesh known as swine lies a slice of heaven. Regular, thick-cut, peppered, maple, glazed, slab… it matters not; just crisp it up and enjoy. And enjoy you shall, as bacon goes with pretty much everything (sorry Muslims and Jews!).

There are the obvious breakfast concoctions, and many of us have enjoyed a rare baconwrapped filet mignon, but did you know it even tastes good with chocolate?

Bacon on everything is a pretty great rule, but we shouldn’t sleep on bacon’s breakfast homie, the humble yet versatile egg. Huevos rancheros, egg drop soup, eggs Benedict, eggs in tuna salad…the list goes on. When you have something that is already tasty, but want to take it to that next level of near godliness, put an egg on it. A hamburger is something else entirely when you top it with an egg cooked to sunny side up perfection. I recently ate something in Portland, Ore., that was even more egg-mazing than that. It’s called a Reggie Deluxe and it consists of a piece of fried chicken, topped with thick cut bacon, cheddar cheese, a fried egg and sausage gravy.

This heart-destroying mound of steaming goodness is then bookended by a thick, warm, hand-made, buttery biscuit. I nearly died that day, my friends, but what a way to go!

We eat to survive, but there is so much more to it than that. I would argue that food, as much as if not more so than music, art and politics, defines who we are. It connects us when everything else tries hard to drag us apart. They say we are what we eat; truer words have never been spoken. Bon Appetit!

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

(916) 381-4500 sactostudios.com

Friday

March Early States 25th

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

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

$5 8 p.m.

7

Your Senses SEE HEAR TASTE Touch

Taste

Unlimited Weekday Mimosas at Capitol Garage What is everybody’s favorite thing about Sunday morning brunch? The unlimited mimosas, duh. Now at Capitol Garage (1500 K Street) every day is the weekend because they’re offering unlimited mimosas Monday through Friday for only $6.95 with a breakfast purchase of $10 or more. The offer is good from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. so if you find yourself with a midweek day off of work, you are a) lucky as hell and b) totally in luck because you can take advantage of this great deal. For more information about Capitol Garage and to view their menus and daily specials, visit Capitolgarage.com.

Hear

Rock for Japan at Fire Escape

No doubt you are aware of the hellish situation in Japan brought on by the 9.0 earthquake that hit on March 11 and the subsequent tsunami and nuclear crisis.

Being so far away and seeing fellow humans suffer can lead to helpless feelings, but in reality it’s easy to help, even from thousands of miles away.

If you simply text message “RedCross” to 90999, you’ll automatically donate $10 to Red Cross. It’s that easy and every little bit helps. Or, if you’re in Sacramento and happen to also be a fan of good live music, you can hit up a number of benefit shows that are starting to pop up on local calendars including one on April

1 at Fire Escape Bar and Grill in Citrus Heights. There will be a total of 10 bands playing all sorts of music, everything from acoustic to punk to metal, and 100 percent of the proceeds from the $10 cover charge will go to Direct Relief International’s Japan Relief and Recovery Fund. Just a few of the performing artists will be Alex of the band KillDevil, Shawn from the band A Single Second, Yes, Sir!, Razorblade Monalisa, Silence of the Grim, Twitch Angry and many more. Show starts at 8 p.m. and it’s 21-and-over only. For more info, go to Rockforjapan.com.

Touch

International Pillow Fight Day!

Have you ever wanted to be a part of something “bigger than yourself?” Well, here’s your chance.

Sure it’s not the Peace Corps or the military or anything like that, but on April 2 at 3 p.m. in Fremont Park (15th & Q streets) a giant group of Sacramentans will attempt to break the world record for largest pillow fight! To break the record they’re going to need nearly 4,000 people to show up and at press time, just over 800 people had clicked “attending” on the organizer’s official Facebook event page, indicating that there’s still some major promotion and word of mouth hype needed. Not to fret, even if the record isn’t broken, it’s sure to be a riot just to watch and/or be a part of this massive pillow fight. The event is totally free and open to all ages but organizers ask that you bring soft pillows only as well as a trash bag or two to help clean up afterward.

For more information visit the official website, Pillowfightday.com, or search “official Sacramento pillow fight day” on Facebook to find the event’s page. Round one, fight!

See

Cathleen Falsani, Author of The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers On Tuesday, March 29 at the University Union Ballroom at Sacramento State, award-winning religion writer Cathleen Falsani will be on hand to discuss the spiritual questions raised by the Coen Brothers’ films The Big Lebowski and True Grit. At 12 p.m. Falsani will give a lecture, followed by a screening of the cult classic The Big Lebowski at 1 p.m. Then later at 7 p.m.

Falsani will give a special introduction to the 2010 blockbuster remake True Grit, which will screen at 7:30 p.m. All events are free and open to everyone.

The Press Club

Need to advertise?

Call Submerge at (916) 441-3803 or email us at info@submergemag.com

mon 3/21 9p $5 tues 3/22 9p $4 Wed 3/23 9p $3 tHurs 3/24 9p $5 mon 3/28 9p $3

Bastards of Young, Killdevil, red CitY radio give em Hell, darK CountrY (portland), tHe BrotHers nunez Hump W/dJ WHores savi0r, tHe HorrorsCopes, dJ alKi tHe soliCitors, sans soBrietY, tHe Hot BreaK

EVERY FRIDAY - 9p $5

DJ RUE

8

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

2030 P Street • Sacramento

916-444-7914 • Open at 10am Every Day

booking: pressclubbooking@gmail.com

tues 3/29 9p $4 Wed 3/30 9p $3 tHurs 3/31 9p $5 or

JAZZ TUESDAY w/

mon 4/4 9p $5

BreaKing glass, tHe angrY orts (portland), little BlaCK Bats

free w/ giants gear

EVERY SATURDAY - 9p $5

DJ LARRY

raCe!!!, tHe arCHiteCts rendezvous W/Cool Beans & friends

OPENING DAY PARTY w/ tHe Jade amenitY, tHe inversions, dJ alKi

EVERY SUNDAY - 9p $5

ThE FLOwER VATO & DJ hAILEY’S SUNDAY NIGhT SOUL PARTY

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

The Lowest Installed Price In Town! Every Time! All The Time!

Fully installed new product from a local authorized dealer

SAVE $$$ AT OUR

ONE MILLION INSTALLATION NEW 2011!

AUX IN

99

Your Choice

$

99

Bump A Lot Of Bass!

Put the RCA preout to work! Big 11-digit display, red and blue illumination.

BARGAINS EVERY DAY AT EVERY LOCATION!

READY

Now Available!

AUX IN

NEW 2011!

Bluetooth Adapter

AUX IN

With A2DP* Streaming

That’s Right! Bluetooth Ready!

Budget price 200-watt deck has 24-bit D/A converter, RCA preout, and a whole lot more!

A Real Low Price!

* At additional cost.

One of the most sophisticated decks on the market! Dual-zone audio video with 6.1” touch-screen.

OFF SAVE $200! MSRP

NEW 2011!

READY

799

6.5” Coax Pair

99 Two 12” Comp

Subs In A Box! Arden Way 2003 Arden Way 916-920-4262

SubmergeMag.com

* When you buy both and LET US INSTALL it all at half off our regular posted rate.

Point West Plaza

Ethan Way

329

$

19

Arden Way

219

Top 15 Large Chains In The USA!

HOURS Mon. - Sat. 9 AM - 7 PM Sunday Noon - 5 PM

99

29

$

• Nine bands • Spectre 1 and VG-2 immune

FREE LAYAWAY

49

$

99

99

Car Alarm You Can Afford

Laser And Radar Protection!

NEW 2011!

300 Watt $ Mono Amp!

6x9 2-Ways

99

LUI SAYS

SAVE $ 50!*

99

SPEAKER SPECIALS!

99 $

$

59

$

If someone you know has had a stereo disaster, here’s the cure! This 200-watt AM/FM/CD has a high-volt RCA preout!

Navi With Built-In Bluetooth

• Starter kill • Anti-hijack

99

$

Keyless entry and trunk pop at additional install cost

99

Unless otherwise limited, prices are good through Tuesday following publication date. $1 INSTALLATION IS PER COMPONENT, for CD players and alarms priced over $9999, purchased from Audio Express installed in factoryready locations. Custom work at added cost. Kits, antennas and cables additional. Additional charges for shop supplies and environmental disposal. Illustrations similar. Video pictures may be simulated. Not responsible for typographic errors. "Mfg list” refers to published suggested retail price. Price match applies to new, non-promotional items from authorized sellers; excludes “shopping cart” or other hidden specials. © 2011, Audio Express.

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011 Audio Express — Sacramento Submerge — 3/21/2011

9

Techno-Analog april •giftS 16 & 30 •art RosaRy ry & WoRKsHoPs •jewel call to sign up today

accessOries •artiSanal

•d ec o r & te x ti le s •p ri n tS •g ra ph ic t' S

6.1213 916.44 entoen•tue cram Sa • 2 - saturday ite ay sd Su et re we St bet Open 905 23 12-7pm

me o s e w

a

s show alert

wed mar 23 21+ 9 pm

The Bank DJ seT By Boss Magic •

all ages 8pm

21+ 9 pm

10

art vs science

sat Franz nicolay david dondero FuneraLs mar 26 roMan JusTin Farren tues apr 12

Words James Barone

80 % of merchandise is made locally

rd

ConCerts 4 Charity presents

Juan MacLean Adds a Very Human Touch to Electronic Music

!!! ( chk chk chk ) who cares griMey DJs

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

Townhouse Lounge 1517 21sT sT sacraMenTo

BeaTnik sTuDios

2124 17Th sT sacraMenTo

Townhouse Lounge

“Y

ou know what’s weird is a name came up on my phone. You must be calling from a landline,” said Juan MacLean from his tour bus. When Submerge contacted him for our interview, we did in fact call from a landline. It was a quirky way to start the interview, but set the tone for speaking with a man whose career in music is flavored with contradictions, and we mean that in a good way.

MacLean, or The Juan MacLean or just John MacLean, began his career in music as a founding member of the ‘90s dance punk band Six Finger Satellites, which was signed to the influential indie label Sub Pop. After he parted ways with his band, MacLean eventually reinvented himself as a solo electronica artist. With help from LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, MacLean has released a few recordings under The Juan MacLean moniker for another influential indie label, Murphy’s DFA Records. MacLean’s most recent album of original material, The Future Will Come, was released in 2009 and features another LCD alum, Nancy Whang, on vocals.

When he’s not performing his own music, MacLean can also be found touring the world as a DJ. When we caught up with MacLean, he was on the road with Simian Mobile Disco and had just performed dates in Canada. In 2010, he released his first mix album, DJ-Kicks, a collection of modern house music. MacLean said that the process for cultivating tracks for the mix wasn’t as arduous as creating his own music, a process he described as “torture,” but it certainly had its challenges.

“I did spend a lot of time thinking about it, which might not seem like working,” he explained. “Because of the Internet, you can really start chasing your tail, because at some point you realize that you’re never going to have tracks that people can’t just get within 30 seconds, because everything is out there and everyone knows everything. So playing this game of having the most obscure tracks is pretty much pointless at this stage of the game.”

Instead of trying to find tracks off the beaten path, he took a different approach to putting together DJ-Kicks. He didn’t attempt to wow listeners with rare songs, but rather allowed the craft of actually making the mix take center stage.

“My answer to that was first of all to use all vinyl and mix it in the classic way,” MacLean said. “Making a mix live with vinyl—I think it always does impart this human feel to it…”

It’s this inherent humanity that MacLean feels is missing from modern music. Interesting, considering he has made a name for himself in the world of dance and electronica—two traditionally mechanical genres. He explained that the little imperfections and “constantly correcting the mix in the middle of the mix” creates “a more friendly, human feel to the actual mixing.” He likened the experience to listening to old Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin albums, “where everything sounds kind of off.” As for the auto-tuned, pitch-corrected and quantized music of today, MacLean added, “They don’t sound like human beings anymore.”

In the following interview, MacLean also shared his opinions on the difference between the dance music cultures in the States and overseas.

1517 21sT sT sacraMenTo

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

“Especially in American culture, doing much of anything while music is playing would be considered really gay or something. We live in a very homophobic society, no matter how open-minded people in the indie rock world think they are, when it comes to indicators like that, I think it’s still a really homophobic batch of people.”

– Juan MacLean Just because the crowd is the most receptive?

At gay nights, nobody cares about being cool, about being cool in front of other people.

It’s just totally removed. It tends to be just people having fun.

How is the tour with Simian Mobile Disco going?

Yeah, it’s actually been really good. Even in places like Denver on a Monday night it’s been insane.

Is Denver just not a happening town?

Yeah, it’s usually really bad for all of us. It’s just one of those places for dance music, it’s just really bad. It was crazy. It was packed. I think they were on a lot of drugs.

That helps, I guess.

It does.

You’re on the road a lot. You must have a pretty good idea of what kind of crowd you’re going to get from place to place, but do you get surprises like that night in Denver often?

For sure. It’s mainly in the United States where there are the most wild cards, because most other places in the world, dance music culture is a little more ingrained and established. You really know what you’re getting when you get there—in a good way.

In the United States, it’s a battle. It’s just a relatively new thing here.

So it’s just not as ingrained in the culture here as it is in Europe?

Well, there are a few different elements to it. In the United States, traditionally, people who are into live music—rock or indie rock— are not interested in seeing dance music or a DJ in any way. The two things are incredibly divided. I think it’s fair for DFA to take credit for being a big part of bringing indie rock audiences to the dance music world.

Now there is a lot of crossover, and it’s not

SubmergeMag.com

unusual to see rock music and dance music at the same time, or see a band one night and a DJ the next night. In Europe, that’s just the way it’s always been. They don’t understand that kind of fragmentation— being restricted to one thing.

It’s funny because I grew up listening to alternative rock in the ‘90s, and you see clips of live shows back then and people are just jumping up and down and getting into the music, and then when it began to segue into indie rock, the crowds got very still and stagnant. They don’t move at all. You think that’s part of the reason why it’s hard to get the indie kids to come out and dance?

I spent the ‘90s playing in an indie rock band signed to Sub Pop. I just got used to playing a sold out show and looking out and seeing a room full of people with their arms folded.

It was also a very male-dominated thing.

The audiences were like 80 percent male.

Especially in American culture, doing much of anything while music is playing would be considered really gay or something. We live in a very homophobic society, no matter how open-minded people in the indie rock world think they are, when it comes to indicators like that, I think it’s still a really homophobic batch of people. Dance music seems to be a bit more female-driven, in a practical way.

If you’re trying to get a room full of people who aren’t dancing yet, girls are always going to be the first ones to dance, because guys aren’t going to be the first ones out there dancing. I think it’s because they’re afraid of being perceived as gay—unless it’s at a gay night, which are always my favorite gigs to do in the United States.

I was reading one of the reviews of your live shows from your current tour and the writer was quick to point out that you use mostly vinyl on stage. I thought it was interesting, because the laptop is the instrument of choice among DJs now.

I think people are starting to take notice again, especially in the United States.

They’re just not used to seeing people use vinyl. I think when you see someone up there, even if you’re not doing much and just hanging out and listening, which is fine, to watch someone mixing vinyl or to watch someone looking for the next record play, and putting it on and getting the mix right, it just makes the DJ… For one thing, you have to move. You have to move around a lot, you have to always be doing something.

It’s even more interesting just to look at than someone looking at a laptop screen.

I think there’s a psychological thing now, when they see someone looking at a laptop screen, that image is what they associate with the world of work or down time looking at Facebook or something. I think there’s a psychological process that is off-putting to people, and that’s not even to disparage

people DJing with laptops. I have friends who are amazing using a laptop. I’m not. I just can’t do it. But there are also a lot of people who are abusing how easy it is to DJ with a laptop. I think that’s where the trouble comes in.

Does that bum you out a little bit? I guess it could be relative, but I know photographers who really like digital cameras, but they’re bummed that they make it easy for anyone to think they’re a photographer.

It is very analogous to a bunch of fields.

Also graphic design—everyone thinks they’re a graphic designer now just because they have Photoshop and Illustrator. It’s actually been a big conversation on this tour with Simian Mobile Disco, because in America, it’s much more prevalent than it is elsewhere in the world. I think you can say the same thing in any of these fields, which is now we have an abundance of people who are not so good or mediocre at doing all of these things, but it does make it even easier for those who are professionals and have put a lot of time and effort into honing their crafts and have real talent, it makes it easier for them to stand out when people see it.

For the DJ-Kicks collection, you made a collection of modern house music. Dubstep has become really popular in dance clubs recently. Was this mix sort of a statement that house is still alive and well?

Well, from the beginning for me, it’s always been an influence. It’s comparable where for James Murphy in LCD Soundsystem, he’s always really been into disco, but LCD Soundsystem songs often don’t sound very disco. It was just always something I was into, especially early Chicago house tracks— some of them were things that I’ve ripped off for years and years. When it came time to do a mix, it was just the most logical thing for me.

You said these are things that you’ve been ripping off for years, is this your way of paying it back?

Yeah, in a way. This is where I’ve been coming from forever, and also I think in the hipster world, people have been into disco for so long, for me, it got really old and tiring. I thought if there was some way to expose people to what came after disco, then maybe that would be a good thing.

Juan MacLean will perform a DJ set at Mix Downtown in Sacramento on April 7. This will be opening night of a new monthly party Lights Down Low, featuring resident DJs Shaun Slaughter, Adam J and Alx-T. To RSVP for free admission (before 11 p.m.) go to Ldlsac.tumblr.com.

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

11

ZuhG for Life

A New Album, A New Leaf Words Joe Atkins • Photo wes davis

Tell me about the ZuhG Life store, how did that come about?

It’s a local music store basically. All one wall is CDs, and we’ve got local band T-shirts as well. I was booking live shows for the mall, and I needed to get paid in advance for a road trip to Oregon. When I went to get paid they brought me up to this empty store. I thought they were going to fire me, but they asked, “Hey you want to open some kind of music store?” And we just did it. The stores helped us get a lot of recognition. We’re on the news and stuff.

Sometimes people think we’re called ZuhG Life, I’ve seen it on flyers. That’s funny.

Did you have any retail experience? How was that transition into owning your own shop?

I don’t really have any experience. I worked at Surf & Skate, and I hated it. I had to follow the customers around the store. The owner was all on me about it. Even when it was obvious that people just wanted to look around.

ZuhG has to be one of weirdest names I’ve ever heard for a band. How’d you decide on that?

ZuhG means to be unlike others, and to do something different. I think it’s German. I found it in a Rolling Stone ad. I turned it in for a homework assignment. I asked my teacher, after we’d been playing, “Hey I named my band that, do you think I could get that ad back?” But he said it was a really good example and he wanted to keep it. At the time I was like cool, I’ll just pick up another Rolling Stone, but I never did. I’ve never seen it since. My friend has searched countless dictionaries, and she’s never found the word.

S

ince 2007 ZuhG has been representing Sacramento with its groove-funk style and earth-centric liberal aesthetic. They play a bit of blues, a bit of jazz and a bit of psychedelic rock. They mix hip-hop and saxophones, flutes and Rastafarian herbal idolatry. Yet, despite the multiple influences and wide range of instrumentation, ZuhG is able to sound crisp and precise. The songs on the bands upcoming CD Free Love are well produced, the bass lays in the pocket with the drums, it shifts in and out of blues guitar movements and references other standards like “Footprints.” On a musical level the group invokes a wide variety of influences, all courtesy of the guitar work of JR Halliday and Bryan Nichols, the drum work of Matt Klee, the beatbox-flow of Charlie Wheeler, and saxophone melodies from Jake Gleason. Bianca Wright holds down the luscious background vocals. All of these performers create movements that build, ebb and hit in syncopation under the optimistic experiential vocals and lyrics of Nichols.

Through multiple incarnations, ZuhG has pushed forward and with a backbone of Nichols and Klee, they’ve found a level of success, a degree of professionalism—dare we call it such—that enables the members to identify themselves firstly as musicians, secondly as anything else.

Curiously enough the group collectively (with a few friends) operates ZuhG Life, a store inside of Downtown Plaza where everything sells on consignment, and the music culture of Sacramento holds some 1,000 square feet of retail space in a largely corporate environment. Submerge was able to catch up with Nichols and discuss the upcoming album, the storefront, the popular pastime of parking-lot camping, optimism and the ever fashionable burrito windshield.

12

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you on stage?

I caught on fire at Northstar ski resort. They always have these little propane heaters on stage. The back of my shirt caught on the little flame, and I started patting myself out when I realized I was on fire. Then JR comes over and tries to pat me down.

We’re playing at the foot of this ice skating rink and everyone is watching by now. JR couldn’t put me out either, so I threw my guitar down and literally stopped-droppedand-rolled right in the middle of the stage.

It went out. The whole back of my shirt was gone. I have one little scar. It was bad at first but it healed fine.

Did you finish the set?

Yeah, we played three more songs. I think more people checked us out that day than ever.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

“ZuhG means to be unlike others, and to do something different. I think it’s German. I found it in a Rolling Stone ad.”

– Bryan Nichols, ZuhG That’s flaming! You got any other cool road stories?

We don’t ever get hotels because that would be all our gig money. Every night on the road we try to find some friends or get someone to let us sleep at their house.

Sometimes we don’t get so lucky. Once in Ventura we played a shitty show, no one was there, so we just slept in the parking lot. There was this big rundown bus in the parking lot so we just pulled our cars next to it. Random [Abilideze] was with us. He was pissed that night. Six people were sleeping in the van, which is ridiculous because it only sleeps three comfortably.

Dudes were sleeping in the front seat of the van. I have a little tent and I posted it up right on the concrete. Jake, our sax player, was sleeping on a cot right outside.

Our roadie was sleeping in the trailer. That was fun.

You hear about bands that hate each other when they’re in the van, but when they get on stage they have amazing shows. Does that describe ZuhG, or do you get along all the time?

We bitch at each other for sure. There’s definitely some hissy fits out there. Usually whoever is pissed will just play with a ton of energy on stage that night. One time after a show in Oregon at like 3 in the morning, we stopped at a Taco Bell, and we didn’t hear our drunk bass player say he wanted a taco, so he walked out of the van.

He went and sat on a curb in the parking lot. When we got up to the window we ordered him a taco and a burrito, because we forgot. I went over to our bass player.

I said, “Here’s a burrito, sorry we forgot.”

He grabbed the burrito and walked over to the van and threw it hella hard at the windshield. There was a whole fight in the parking lot. The Taco Bell people started calling the cops. It was hilarious. Stuff like that happens every once in a while.

Do you have any thoughts on the recent tsunami in Japan?

I was thinking of throwing a big benefit show at the ZuhG Life store to raise some money we could send over there. I want to do something to help.

SubmergeMag.com

If you turned into a human-instrument mutant because of Japanese radiation that had made it over to Sacramento via the Pacific winds, what instrument would you prefer to be combined with?

My right arm would be a melodica, my left arm would be the neck of a guitar, my upper torso would be the body of a guitar, my right leg would be a high hat, my left leg would be a rain stick. That way if I did a handstand I could work that noise out. My head would be a djembe, and all my fingers would be kazoos! This would be a cool painting; one rad man band.

Support Submerge advertisers We work our asses off here at Submerge to put out a FREE paper every other week. The truth is this simply would not be possible without the support of our wonderful advertisers. Please visit them and tell ‘em Submerge sent you.

How often does ZuhG go skinny dipping together?

Ha! Never. I don’t want to see these guys naked. We do bathe in the ocean and rivers often when we’re on the road, but not naked.

Why are you such an optimist in such trying times?

In our song “New Shoes (Hippy Feet),” the hook of the first part of the song is “I’m feeling so good, I’m alive today/I’m feeling so good, and I can’t complain.” Living the ZuhG Life makes me happy, might as well be positive and peaceful. Life’s too short to be so serious. There’s no point in being pissed off all the time or pessimistic. I get stressed out every once in a while with everything that’s going on, but I love everything I’m doing, so it works out.

You sing a lot about the environment, wouldn’t it be better for the earth if ZuhG hitchhiked when you all went on the road?

Our mechanic friend, Ryan Casey, is looking for a diesel for us that we can covert to run off veggie oil. Then we’ll be green and smell like French fries all the time, but it’ll be worth it.

Theodor Adorno hated Jazz because he said the fans and musicians who thought it deviated from more traditional song structures failed to realize that it always maintained a relative steady beat, and therefore they were pretty much just hipsters—in so many words. Why do you hate jazz so much?

I love Jazz! What’s a hipster? People always say that about people but I don’t get it. Am I one?

Stylish Vegan Gifts & Accessories

never felt better

{vegan shop}

23151/2 k street

sacramento above the sugar plum vegan cafe

nfbveganshop.com

We’ve got products vegan groceries pet products gifts•jewelry can , wallets•belts with the added screen printed Ts bonus of being hh oamt se •abc co eonkt ss sweet treats

everyone enjoy

cruelty-free saturday, April 2 · 7pm

Patio of sugar Plum Cafe

Anime For AnimAls Benefit Show For Japan Disaster Relief

ZuhG’s CD release show will take place at Beatnick Studios on April 9. The band will also play an Earth Day show on April 13 at Sierra College in Rocklin.

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

13

F R i DAy

April 1

1417 R STReeT SACRAMeNTO Donnis • Black carDs • XV • BaD raBBits

SAT u R DAy

April 2

raider dave Who ride Quette daddie avery & FreSha the reaLiStS

ten aFter tWo ScarLett o’hara the Plot in You Without an anSWer

WeDNeSDAy

April 6

F R i DAy

April 8

F R i DAy

March 25

SAT u R DAy

T u e S DAy

March 22

Second to LaSt

March 26

Richard Thompson Electric Trio aLex neLSon acouStic trio

WeDNeSDAy

March 23

SAT u R DAy

April 3

T H u R S DAy

March 24

it starts with alaska

WeDNeSDAy

All Shows All Ages 14

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

March 30

the damned thingS hourcaSt

coLor the Sound thiS Luxury

T u e S DAy

April 5

SAT u R DAy

April 9

giVe eM hell • ffg taking not stealing

SuNDAy

April 10

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

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

the neW humanS

WeDNeSDAy

F R i DAy

April 13

April 22

FRiDAy

April 29 SAT u R DAy

May 14

F R i DAy

April 15

sierra skYline

SAT u R DAy

TueSDAy

April 23

May 3

M O N DAy

May 23 F R i DAy

Mike Pinto the holDuP Pacific DuB

SAT u R DAy

April 16

April 17

May 6

rePresa • Princess Die

SuNDAy

April 24

damage over time

SuNDAy

ximena the neW humanS

WeDNeSDAy

April 27

SAT u R DAy

May 7

WeDNeSDAy

July 13

FOOD & DRiNkS SeRveD DAiLy///HAPPy HOuR MON-THuRS 4-7PM///ReveRSe HAPPy HOuR FRi-SAT 11PM-1AM SubmergeMag.com

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

15

Aerial, 2011

Cream, 2007

Falling Into Place

Degrees of Gray, 2010

Michaele LeCompte’s Migration of Form is the sum of a lifetime of collecting Words Blake Gillespie

T

he things and people we acquire in life are inherited into our being whether we choose to address it or not. Michaele LeCompte chose to embrace her inheritances and her past through her Migration of Form exhibit, now showing at JayJay Gallery.

LeCompte, a Sacramento City College art instructor and modernist painter, honed her geometric style through years of pursuing various interests and acquiring creative friends along the way. Eventually she obtained the suitable influence required to produce her latest exhibit. Whether it was a friend’s poem, handme-down paints or her own past works, she had the intuition to make sense of their significance.

“The most important quality for me as a painter is my subconscious,” she said. “As soon as I make that mark, I think I’m going in one direction, but the painting starts to speak to me and assert itself. It wants to go in a direction I want to fight like crazy. Eventually I have to investigate where I am supposed to go with the painting.”

As an instructor of 26 years she preaches patience in art and her exhibit is living proof. “A favorite image of mine that I share with my students is this artist named Wolfly,” she said. “He was incarcerated in a mental institution and at some point his therapist saw he had talent. From floor to ceiling in his room he had stacks and stacks of work. I always held that in my mind. When you’ve done that many paintings, then maybe something happens. The idea of being patient with yourself is something I always stress.

“There are lots of young artists doing great work already; some of us just have that luck and the gift. They get carried away on a high energy, but for most of us it’s a slower journey.”

Her exhibit is a vibrant depiction of her collected works, spanning decades, collaged into new discoveries and the transformation of poetry into geometric figures. The glaringly obvious first question was how she found the courage to take the scissors to her past work.

Mediatation on More, 2007

16

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

So how did you bring yourself to do it?

Everything you do doesn’t come out the way you think it will or does not hold up to your standards over time. I had a collection of things I felt someday would be a good collage piece.

Just this year I had been working on these large paintings and I wanted to have something I could start, put down and walk away from, then come back to.

Was there a specific era you decided was worth using for the collage or is this collected throughout your life?

Some of these pieces have art that goes back all the way to 1975, so there’s little stories in them for me.

Looking at these collages, clearly you’ve never had one style. So how did you arrive at the modern geometric forms style that is present in your larger pieces accompanying the collages?

In 2007 I moved into a new studio that didn’t have water. For a very practical reason it made me switch back to oils after many years of acrylics. Plus, I had a friend who had given me a large number of her oil paints…

I didn’t want to use any brush marks. I started using the pallet knife only and that’s how I started the series. My friend Susan is a painter and I asked her how she starts her paintings. She said she starts in the upper left corner and goes to the bottom left corner. It made me laugh so much that I figured if she could do it this way, so could I. I’ve never been interested in making taped lines. The edge of the pallet knife clogs up and you have to decide if it’s something you can live with or not. Someone was watching me once who was not an artist and he said, “Oh, it’s like you’re frosting a cake,” which is exactly right.

“I’m not trying for that. I’m not illustrating a poem.

There’s a relationship and thread that goes through the work over a long period of time, much the way a poet would rewrite a poem or rework a poem over time.”

– Michaele LeCompte SubmergeMag.com

So this is like an artistic time line, in a way?

You can look at it that way. What I aspire to is having my paintings feel like the visual equivalent of what a poem might be. All the parts work, there’s nothing extra. It’s kind of lean and yet it moves you. You get a satisfying, hand-made quality out of these paintings.

Has the overlap of poetry and art always been present in your work?

I’m not making literal connections; I’m not trying for that. I’m not illustrating a poem.

There’s a relationship and thread that goes through the work over a long period of time, much the way a poet would rewrite a poem or rework a poem over time.

I got that feeling from your collages.

Immediately the words “editing” and “meta” came to mind, which I normally would not associate with art as much as I do with literature.

I’m so bent on working with surfaces that I’ll paint over an old canvas and then you have to deal with the scars that come through from its previous life. I love throwing things together that conflict or press on each other.

Michaele LeCompte’s Migration of Form is showing at the JayJay Gallery now through April 23, 2011. The gallery is located at 5520 Elvas Avenue, Sacramento.

For more info, call (916) 453-2999.

Submergemag.com

Was it difficult to get over the nostalgia for a completed piece from earlier in your life?

Nothing stays the same. What I liked back then does not have anything to do with what I like now, or there will be bits and pieces. So actually it felt like a great weight off my shoulders. To make something from something else that was not working for me and to turn it into something I like better was a neat process. Who knows in 10 more years maybe these will get chopped again.

The piece Degrees of Gray was inspired by the late Quinton Duval’s poem “Oltremarino.” What was it about the poem that spoke to you?

Well, in his poem Quinton uses a quote from another poet, I think it was Robert Hughes, so it’s like we’re all in this line—artists and writers.

We have connections and crossovers. But this painting was done so recently after Quinton had died and with the gray pallete, the neutral pallete it was just a perfect thing when I read that poem.

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

17

Behind the Music

Dance Gavin Dance moves past another bout of offstage controversy and releases epic new album Words James Barone • photos phill Mamula

C

onsidering everything Dance Gavin Dance has been through (or has put itself through, depending upon how you look at it), Downtown Battle Mountain II is a fitting title for the band’s latest album.

Released March 8, it sees the band pick up where it left off after its arguably most successful effort, 2007’s Downtown Battle Mountain. Five of the band’s original members—guitarist Will Swan and drummer Matt Mingus welcomed back bassist Eric Lodge and powerhouse vocal duo Jon Mess and Jonny Craig in 2010—reunited to enter the studio late last year. Despite their years apart, DGD’s put forth similarly remarkable results as they had in the past, in more ways than one.

“Writing started in the fall of last year around September,” says vocalist Jon Mess from San Antonio, Texas, a day prior to the band’s scheduled performances at the 2011 South by Southwest Music Festival. “Prior to that, Will had already started writing new songs. All of November and December was the recording. Tracked drums, bass and guitar through all of November and some of December, and most of December was vocals. I was there for almost a month recording, so was Jonny.”

It may sound like things came together rather quickly. Mess didn’t rejoin the band until summer 2010. His arrival was quickly followed by a tour and soon after the recording process for Downtown Battle Mountain II began.

However, for Mess, it seemed much more laid-back as compared to when the band hit the studio for Downtown Battle Mountain, which was recorded in just two weeks.

“On this one [the sequel], we had two months,” Mess explains. “Last time we were in this shitty hotel, and it was freezing cold. I think I was a little sick then, too. This time we were in this house, and we had all this time.

It was a lot more relaxed and there wasn’t as much time pressure—at least for me. Jonny came off a tour with Emarosa, so he came in a little later, but it was way more relaxed than prior experiences.”

Life in DGD post-recording has been anything but laid-back. Controversy sprang up once again surrounding Craig’s substance abuse. This time around, he allegedly defrauded his fans by offering to sell his Mac Book to his Twitter followers. When checks were sent, and no laptops were received, the band was once again forced to play damage control. Craig was sent into a sevenday detox program, which he just recently emerged from. Mess spoke with Submerge about DGD’s seemingly perpetual state of turmoil and Downtown Battle Mountain II, which, despite the all the backstage hullabaloo, is perhaps the brightest post-hardcore gem the band has produced to date.

18

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

I caught your recent Fuel TV performance. How did that go for you?

I was sick when we did it, so I wasn’t too happy with it. It was in Los Angeles. It was right before our first show. That was interesting. We had a studio audience there cheering and stuff. It was fun, I guess. I tried to have fun even though I was sick.

Was that a different experience for you guys?

Yeah. I’d never done that before. That was awkward. We had to do the songs multiple times and they came in with different angles. Afterwards they were shooting a comedy special with a bunch of people from VH1’s Best Week Ever— those different panelist shows where they have different comedians talking about stuff. A bunch of those people were there doing some little skits, and they asked DGD to be the backing band and play a little jazz riff. I don’t know where people can see that. It might be on Fuel. We’ll probably announce that when we find out.

You just came up with something off the cuff?

Yeah, they wanted us to play some kind of jazz, walking bass line—little flow thing that the comedians could do their little skit over. The guys came up with something pretty quick, and it ended up sounding pretty cool.

On the new album, did you and Jonny collaborate on lyrics or did you mostly write separately?

We talked about some themes, but it was mostly separate.

A very small percentage of the lyrics go together. It was more of a scattered thing. That’s been our style since the beginning.

What sort of themes did you discuss? What were you personally trying to express on this record?

I like to write about all sorts of different things—snippets, fragments of ideas or dreams I have, various little stories. I kind of break them apart and put them together in different songs. One line might relate to another song later, so it’s not a cohesive body of material per song, more fragments of things that range from talking about food to being mad

about something. Broad topics—nothing real specific. I don’t want to pigeonhole into having any limitations on what I want to write about it.

You and Jonny have radically different vocal styles, is that also the case lyrically, and is it difficult to get them to mesh from song to song? Is that something you work on closely together?

I think as long as the delivery is good, and you’re hitting the right notes and it’s flowing well, then the lyrical content doesn’t have to mesh in that sort of sense. First we go for the musicality—something that’s melodic or rhythmic or exciting in terms of phrasing and rhyming rather than we need to have these lyrics go together or we need a concept.

That comes second.

There definitely seems to be a lot of hip-hop influence in your delivery this time around. You have this growling sort of rap cadence going on in a lot of the songs. Is that something you’ve been working on a lot on this record?

Yeah that’s definitely intended. I like all my parts to rhyme, and when I write them, I think of them as sort of a rap, like if you could rap that part, it would still fit. I’m not into so much the long, drawn-out, heavy screams over the entire thing. I’m more interested in trying to make it not necessarily as complicated as possible, but as unique and interesting that I can think of. It does come across it sounding like a rap because it pretty much is. It’s just a screamed voice rapping.

The record has gotten some good responses so far. Are you happy with the reviews or do you not bother reading those?

Yeah, I read the reviews. The one thing with some reviews is that people who write reviews are English majors, or they’re into writing and they’re not musicians themselves, so they sometimes clutter up the review with colorful verbiage or whatnot instead of actually giving content or criticizing or talking about different parts of the album. For the most part, it’s been good reviews, and I’ve liked what the people have said. Every review has something that I’ll read and I won’t understand how they perceive that about the album, but to Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

.00 $ N I E V MO AL! 149 I C E PLAY LOUD 24/7!

SP *

*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.

each his own. I did watch this Youtube video of someone who hated the album, and his reasoning behind it, it was so funny because it was the antithesis of what Dance Gavin Dance is. The reasons he disliked everything was because, well, you really just don’t like what our band is about, not the album itself.

Jonny just got out of detox. How is everything going with that?

It’s going really well, actually, and I’m saying this as someone who’s not necessarily positive about the situation. He’s being really honest and real about it for once. It’s actually a little surprising to me. We’ll see how it keeps going. So far so good.

South by Southwest is basically a big party. Is that something you’re worried about as far as Jonny is concerned?

He’s doing Narcotics Anonymous. He’ll drink. He’s not getting wasted or anything, but if people are expecting him to not drink, I don’t think that’s what he’s doing currently. I’m assuming after this tour he could go into an actual 30-day program, which would be nice, instead of just a seven-day detox, because that’s not going to do it, obviously.

Yeah, Austin’s going to be a huge party, but we’ve got our manager, label guy, all the people who are looking out for him are going to be there. I’m not saying we’re going to babysit him like a little kid, but at the same time we kind of are.

I read the interview you did with Alternative Press, and you later apologized to your old singer Kurt Travis and Jonny on Twitter for some of the comments you made. Given what you said that you’re not always the most positive about the situation, was it difficult for you to rejoin the band and get back into that frame of mind?

First off, that interview was a phone interview, and he relayed what I said in a sort of manner that wasn’t necessarily what I was saying. He SubmergeMag.com

asked me why Kurt got kicked out, and there was no real reason. I listed a bunch of reasons and he [the interviewer] picked the one about cigarettes…

I said that Will and Matt said that, and then Will and Matt were like, “That’s not necessarily what we said. You spoke for us.” And I was like, “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to speak for you.” Me and Kurt are good friends, so I felt like saying, “Hey man, it came across incorrectly.” It made it look like I was divulging a story that wasn’t my business.

In regards to coming back, I was skeptical.

Since I left the band, I reconnected with Jonny.

We were skeptical of how the album would go down. We were just thinking, hopefully we’ll get the album recorded and see what happens from there. It wasn’t really a high-risk situation for me, because I could just do the record and if something went wrong, I could just go back to what I was doing before. There wasn’t really a lot to lose.

You mentioned the interviewer misconstrued what you said. Do you think that happens a lot regarding this band?

I think to an extent, yeah, and I think there are things that I said that I might not exactly feel, but I just said them at the time. I think that happens to everyone. It’s half and half. Some things get misconstrued, but that happens. Sometimes we feel optimistic about the situation, sometimes we feel pessimistic. If we were interviewed one day, there might be different responses. I’m not saying we’re bipolar or anything, just normal changes Dance Gavin Dance’s Downtown of emotions that Battle Mountain II is available now people have. through Rise Records. The band is also currently on a U.S. tour with I Wrestled a Bear Once, In Fear and Faith and others. The tour will bring DGD and company to Ace of Spades in Sacramento on April 8.

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

19

March 21– april 4

submergemag.com/calendar

m usic

C a l e nd a r

3.21 3.22 3.23 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 Speed of Sound in Seawater, 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.

On The Y Evangelist, Phalgeron, Cursed Droogs, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Press Club Bastards of Young, Killdevil, Red City Radio, 9 p.m.

Tropicana Zion I, Grouch, Blu, The Shotgun Wedding Quintet, DJ Nocturnal, El Conductor, 8 p.m.

Tuesday

Wednesday

Ace of Spades Senses Fail, The Ghost Inside, Man Overboard, Transit, Second to Last, 6 p.m.

Capitol Garage Open Jazz Session, 9 p.m.

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

Harlow’s Paul Thorn, 7:30 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Acoustic Open Mic w/ Sandra Delores and Friends, 7 p.m.

Luigi’s Fun Garden Horses, Hunting Hat, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s Jonathan Warren and the Billy Goats, Dirt Nap Band, 8 p.m.

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

Press Club Give Em Hell, Dark Country (Portland), The Brothers Nunez, 9 p.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Quinn Hedges, 5:30 p.m.; Dippin’ Sauce, 9 p.m.

Ace of Spades Richard Thompson Electric Trio, Alex Nelson Acoustic Trio, 7 p.m.

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

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

District 30 TGIW w/ Aaron Smith (of Shwayze), DJ Nate D, 9 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Blownload, Nilshiphter, Öbszön Geschopf (France), Cystem Cex, 6 p.m.

Fox & Goose Steve McLane, 8 p.m.

Harlow’s Marsha Ambrosius, Melanie Fiona, 10 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Karaoke, 7 p.m.

Marilyn’s Jackie Greene Band, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Chachi, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Instagon, Delayed Sleep, 8:30 p.m.

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

Power Balance Pavilion Lady Gaga, Scissor Sisters, 8 p.m.

use a qr scanner on your smart phone to view calendar online Powerhouse Pub A.D.D., Element of Soul, Ninja Slaughter House, 9 p.m.

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

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

Torch Club Acoustic Open Mic, 5:30 p.m.; Mind X, 9 p.m.

Townhouse Art vs Science, Thee Bank, 9 p.m.

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

3.24 thursday

Ace of Spades Asking Alexandria, Emmure, Chiodos, Miss May I, Evergreen Terrace, Lower Than Atlantis, 5 p.m.

The Blue Lamp Jackie Greene, 8 p.m.

Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m.

Club Retro 25 Kitchen, Ninabis, Life, Street Urchins, 6 p.m.

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

District 30 I Love House w/ DJ Dan, 9 p.m.

Wide VARIEtY ur “F o r a ll yo

s” n at e n ee d co m pa ss io

OF CLONES, EDIBLES, SEEDS, CONCENTraTES

Delta of Venus New Heirlooms (Album Release Party), Kelli Schaefer (Album Release Party), Harlowe & the Great North Woods, The Envelope Peasant, 7:30 p.m.

Distillery Pets, The Polymers, Jet Black Popes, Telemetry, 10 p.m.

District 30 DJ David Carvalho, 9 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Bloody F Mess, For All I’ve Done, The Hollowbodys, Whiskey & Stitches, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose The Secret Lives of Squirrels, Jake Gleason, 9 p.m.

Golden Bear DJ Crook, 10 p.m.

Harlow’s The Soundtrack of Our Lives, 9 p.m.

Luigi’s Fun Garden A Single Second, Early States, Not Your Style, 8:30 p.m.

Marilyn’s Minus Halo Benefit Concert, 8 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Zoo Human Project, AJ Johnson, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Walking Spanish (CD Release), Prieta, 9 p.m.

On The Y Blood Etchings, Nilsphifter, Divination of the Damned, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Aquanett, 10 p.m.

The Refuge La Noche Oskura, Simple Creation, Braata, Eazy Dub, 7 p.m.

Sol Collective Del the Funky Homosapien, A Plus, Bukue One, DJ set by Domino, Kodac Visualz, DJ Crush Delight, 8 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen The Luyas, Appetite, 9 p.m.

Studio 21 (Rocklin) Jacob Thomas (CD Release), The Reel, My Beautiful Surrender, Telemetry, 6:30 p.m.

Dive Bar Duel Thursdays w/ Jason and Nathan, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Poetic Justis, 8 p.m.

Golden Bear Shaun Slaughter, 10 p.m.

Liquid Nightclub DJ Eddie Edul, 9 p.m.

Luigi’s Fun Garden Buster Blue, Julie the Bruce, 8:30 p.m.

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

Powerhouse Pub Dave Russell, 9:30 p.m.

Press Club Savior, The Horrorscopes, DJ Alki, 9 p.m.

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

Vega’s Blues Jam, 7 p.m.

3.25 Friday

300 Room The Wad, No Beatings from Holly, Advent Statim, 8 p.m.

Ace of Spades Andre Nickatina, Raider Dave, Who Ride, Quette Daddle, Avery & Fresha, The Realists, 7:30 p.m.

Beatnik Studios Will Titus, Jon Conley, Soft Science, The Happy Medium, The Onlymen, 9 p.m.

Blue Cue Live Band Karaoke, 9 p.m.

The Blue Lamp Sonic Shift, Cesura, March Into Paris, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk Jeff Watson (from Night Ranger), Set in Stone, The Jerry Jennings Band, 7 p.m.

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

Center for the Arts Jeffrey Halford and the Healers, 8 p.m.

OVEr 35 STraINS TO CHOOSE FROM!

happy hOur all day FRiday

fREE jOINt $15 mIN DONaTION

new patients $15 gramS

Join us for our

1 celeBrAtion

Y ear a nniversarY

aCROSSTHEbOaRd with coupon, gooD any tiMe

Saturday, April 16th

special offer 4 gram 1/8th’s 9 gram 1/4oz

Hourly raffles • Giveaways • HuGe Deals Customer appreCiation Gifts

with coupon

LIKE uS ON fAcEbOOK tO StAY uP-tO-DAtE ON EVENt INfORMAtION At fAcEbOOK.cOM/SAc1SOLutION

By

Analytical Laboratories www.cwanalytical.com

20

With valid doctors recommendation

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

0 s8 es

corner oF madison & auburn

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK: MON - SAt 10AM-7PM / SuN 11AM-6PM

One sOlutiOn

sin

lab tested Strains

5207 Madison Ave. Unit H • SAcrAMento • (916) 550-5392

bu

HigH QUAlity Medicine

Au bu rn

bl vd

*Mix & Matching available *See collective for DetailS

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

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

Torch Club Jimmy Pailer & Lew Fratis, 5 p.m.; Shane Dwight, 9 p.m.

Townhouse Rough House Get Physical Workout Party w/ Richie Panic, White Girl Lust, DJs Shaun Slaughter, Adam J, Taylor Cho; Record Club w/ Roger Carpio, 9 p.m.

ZuhG Life Store Jake Sax, ZuhG acoustic, Sovern, Random Abiladeze, 4 p.m.

3.26 Saturday

Ace of Spades The Ready Set, Allstar Weekend, The Downtown Fiction, We Are The In Crowd, You, Me, And Everyone We Know, 6 p.m.

The Blue Lamp City of Vain, Longway, Trackside Poets, Alex Dorame 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk The Motels, Larisa Bryski, 7 p.m.

Center for the Arts Robben Ford Trio, Jonathan McEuen, 8 p.m.

Club Retro Critical Limit, Extirpate, Necrosin, Exylum, Perception, 6 p.m.

Delta of Venus Laserfunk w/ DJ Dogtones, 8:30 p.m.

Distillery Fight Inside, The Stalking Distance, Rivals, Plasma Cannon, 10 p.m.

District 30 The Rock-It Scientists, 9 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Chernobog, Our Endless Obsession, Averia, Siphon Soul, 9 p.m.

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

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

Harlow’s Foreverland (Michael Jackson tribute), 10 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Two Tone Steiny, 4 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe David Houston & The Strings, Christopher Fairman, The String Thing, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s Mark Karan, Jerimiah Puddleduck, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Mike Moss, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Miss Lonely Hearts, The Easy Leaves, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Red Meat, Nickel Slots, 9 p.m.

The Park Ultra Lounge DJ Scene, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Love Fool, 10 p.m.

Press Club Top 40 Dance w/ DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen The Seedy Seeds, Sgt Dunbar & The Hobo Banned, Poor Things, 8:30 p.m.

The Stag Get Shot, The Left Hand, 9 p.m.

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

Torch Club Johnny Guitar Knox, 5 p.m.; Lara Price, 9 p.m.

UC Davis: Jackson Hall St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra , 8 p.m.

ZuhG Life Store 3 Legged Dawg, Jake Sax, Ukulele Jake, 1 p.m.

3.27 Sunday

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

The Boardwalk Lionheart, Legend, Monsters, The Great Commission, The Greenery, 6:30 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/ Karm Way, South of Sunshine, Trench, 6 p.m.

Harlow’s Jake Shimabakuro, 7:30 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Four Barrel, 3 p.m.

Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Bradley Riot and the Blackhands, Aggressive Opposition, Filthy Luke, 8:30 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Chris Cain, 3 p.m.

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

Swabbies Barndance w/ The Cheatin’ Hearts, Bob Woods Band, Dry County Drinkers, The Fortunate Few, Cold Blue Rebels, 12 p.m.

Tacos and Beer (Davis) Funk Throw Down w/ Seamoose, Adient Zoo, 9:30 p.m.

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

UC Davis: Studio Theatre Young Artists Competition Winners, 2 p.m.

3.28 Monday

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

Harlow’s Ari Hest, Jeremy Briggs, 7 p.m.

Liquid Nightclub DJs Ron Reeser, Rustique, 9 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Hammond/Garcia/ Agraan Trio and Casey Lipka/ Alicyn Yaffee Duet, 7:30 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Yogoman Burning Band, Long Shot Sound System, 8:30 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Press Club The Solicitors, Sans Sobriety, The Hot Break, 9 p.m.

3.29 Tuesday

The Boardwalk Suicide Silence, I Declare War, Devistated, Five Characters in Search of an Exit, Beyond All Ends, The Scarlet Crusade, 7 p.m.

Capitol Garage Open Jazz Session, 9 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

Harlow’s Dan Bern (in the Momo Lounge), 7:30 p.m.; Zach Deputy, 8:30 p.m.

Marilyn’s Wires & Wood, 8 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Ivan and Alyosha, 8:30 p.m.

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

Press Club Jazz Tuesday w/ RACE!!!, The Architects, 9.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

3.30 Wednesday

Ace of Spades Our Last Night, Attila, Arsonists Get All The Girls, A Bullet For Pretty Boy, Armor For The Broken, Across The Sun, It Starts With Alaska, 5 p.m.

The Boardwalk She Wants Revenge, The Californian, 7 p.m.

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

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

District 30 TGIW w/ The Cataracs, DJ Nate D, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Two Leaf Clover, 8 p.m.

Harlow’s Dead Prez, ARAB, Tribe Of Levi, 9 p.m.

Marilyn’s South City Lights, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Myler and Starr, The Jade Amenity, This, 8:30 p.m.

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

Powerhouse Pub Kill the Precedent, Lonely Kings, Dogfood, 9 p.m.

Press Club Rendezvous w/ Cool Beans & friends, 9 p.m.

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

Torch Club Acoustic Open Mic, 5:30 p.m.; The Nibblers, 9 p.m.

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

University Union Redwood Room, CSUS Pomegranate, 12 p.m.

3.31 Thursday

The Blue Lamp Slurzday, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk Tommy & the High Pilots, The Hot Break, The Absolutes, 7 p.m.

Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m.

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

Dive Bar Duel Thursdays w/ Jason and Greg, 9 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Evangelist, Escapement, M.D.L., Phalgeron, Through the Threshold, 6 p.m.

Fox & Goose Dallas Horse Thieves, Bottom Dwellers, 8 p.m.

Golden Bear Shaun Slaughter, 10 p.m.

Liquid Nightclub DJ Eddie Edul, 9 p.m.

Luigi’s Fun Garden The West Nile Ramblers, Nick Jaina, 8:30 p.m.

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

Mix Kill the Noise, Mike Diamond, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Stick History, Dreaded Diamond, Devin Burnside, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Christobel & the Jons, The Free Badge Serenaders, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub 7 Days Gone, 9:30 p.m.

Press Club The Jade Amenity, The Inversions, DJ Alki, 9 p.m.

Shady Lady Anthony Barber Shop's Mustache Bash w/ The Nickel Slots, The Secretions (rare acoustic country set), 9 p.m.

904 15th Street 443.2797

Between I & J • Downtown Sacramento

March/april TUES

22

WED

23

THURS

24 FRI

25 SaT

Blues JaM 4PM sHadia & fRiends 8PM Hans eBeRBacH 5:30PM leW fRatistRio 9PM acoustic oPen Mic 5:30PM tHe niBBleRs 9PM X tRio 5PM

27

TUES

29

WED

30

THURS

31 FRI

happy hour mon-fri 3-6pm:

HaRPeR9PM

SaT

$2 wELLS & domEStic drAftS sun-thurs open-close : $2 tALL cAn pBr

SubmergeMag.com

HaRleyWHiteJR.

featuRing aaRon King 9PM JiMMyPaileR&leWfRatis5PM

JoHnny guitaR KnoX 5PM

myspace.com/fireescapeBar

sat mar 26•9pm 21+ chernoBog, our endless oBsession, averia, siphon soul

JoHnny guitaR KnoX 5PM

SUn

find us on faceBooK! search ”the fire escape Bar”

Bloody f mess (il), for all i’ve done, the hollowBodys (or), whisKey & stitches

sHane dWigHt 9PM

laRaPRice 9PM

1

SUN maR 27 • 6pm ALL AGES Battle of the Bands w/ Karm way, south of sunshine,trench thR maR 31• 6pm ALL AGES evangelist (wa), escapement, m.d.l., phalgeron (wa) , through the threshold

HaRleyWHiteJR.

featuRing aaRon King 9PM JiMMyPaileR&leWfRatis5PM

26

7431 madison ave * citrus heights

wed mar 23•6pm ALL AGES Blownload, nilshiphter, oBszön geschöpf (france), cystem cex fRi maR 25 • 9pm 21+

Quinn Hedges 5:30PM diPPin’sauce 9PM acoustic oPen Mic 5:30PM Mind X 9PM X tRio 5PM

LESA JOHNSTON

sat apr 2•9pm 21+ machine gun vendetta, melvin maKes machineguns, riot radio, defyant circle, zero for zero

1819 K Street Sacramento, CA 95811

SUN apR 3 • 6pm ALL AGES neptunes folly, n.f.h., Bypassing oBlivion, defying truth

DRE# 01882313

lesa.johnston@bhghome.com Office: (916) 491-1516 Mobile: (916) 743-3760

fri apr 1 • 8Pm • 21+ • $10 DONATION

rocK for Japan:

yes sir!, ventura, zoundhauz, alex of Killdevil, razorBlade mona lisa, shawn peter of a single second, silence of the grimm, twitch angry, mortal atrocity

Interest rates are at an all time low!

It’s the perfect time to buy!

My goal is to find my clients their dream home.

2

SUn

3

solsa

9PM aaRon King & fRiends 4PM

JoHnnyguitaRKnoX andtHesootHeRs 8PM

torchclub.net Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

21

Tacos and Beer (Davis) The Davis Feminist Film Festival presents: Beauty and the Beats w/ DJ Purr, Lady Mix-a-lot, DJ StraightNasty, 8 p.m.

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

Vega’s Blues Jam, 7 p.m.

4.01 FRIDAY

RESTaURaNT & NIghT clUB tuesDAY MAR 22 7:30PM $22

Paul

Thorn WeDnesDAY MAR 23 10PM $30

marsha Ambrosius

tuesDAY MAR 29 8:30PM

Zach

Deputy

tuesDAY MAR 29 7:30PM

Danin the Bern MoMo Lounge

(FLoetRy) with Melanie Fiona thuRsDAY MAR 30 10PM $20

fRiDAY MAR 25 9PM $17.50 ADV

The SoundTrack

of our LiveS sAtuRDAY MAR 26 9PM

foreverland MichaeL jackson tRiBute sunDAY MAR 27 7:30PM $35

JAke

DeaD Prez fRiDAY ApR 1 10PM

reminisce

‘90s hip hop & R&B paRty

sAtuRDAY ApR 2 6PM $20

MaRLene sai with

Kenneth MaKuaKane

sAtuRDAY ApR 2 10PM $10

Department

Shimabakuro of rock

MOnDAY MAR 28 7PM $12

ARI HEST JeReMY BRiGGS with

sunDAY ApR 3 10PM $15

preZiDent

Brown

COMinG sOOn Apr 5 The Chris Robinson Brotherhood Apr 7 David Wilcox Apr 8 Cash’d Out Apr 9 Makana Apr 10 Simplistic Big Band Apr 13 G Love & Special Sauce Apr 14 Digitour Apr 14 Orgone with the Nibblers Apr 17 Yonder Mountain String Band Apr 21 The Devil Makes Three Apr 22 Sizzling Sirens Apr 22 Tom Rigney Apr 28 Mindy Smith May 4 Serani May 5 Portugal. The Man May 7 House of Floyd May 7 Departure May 11 Agent Ribbons May 13 Rob Wynia of Floater May 13 Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers May 19 Trampled by Turtles May 20 & 21 Tainted Love May 26 Gyptian June 2 Young Dubliners June 2 Foster the People June 4 Old 97’s

pARties Of ALL siZes fOR ALL OCCAsiOns

email: reservations@harlows.com or Call 916.441.4693x19

BISTRO MENU

AVAiLABLe fROM 6-10pM

Call For Reservations Includes Cover Charge For Most Shows

Dress CoDe enforCeD (jeans are okay) • Call to reserve Dinner & Club tables

2708 J Street Sacramento • 916.441.4693 • www.harlows.com

22

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

300 Room Symbolick Jews, Ask Fredrick, No Beatings From Holly, Survivalite, 8 p.m.

Ace of Spades Travie McCoy, Donnis, Black Cards, XV, Bad Rabbits, 6 p.m.

Blue Cue Live Band Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

The Boardwalk Princess Die, Built

by Stereo, Tragic Culture, Sonic Shift, 7 p.m.

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

Colonial Theatre Robben Ford and the Ford Brothers Blues Band, Jonathan McEuen, 6 p.m.

Distillery Sexrat, This Luxury, Jeffery Valentine, 10 p.m.

District 30 DJ Dukes, 9 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Rock for Japan w/ Yes, Sir!, Ventura, Zoundhauz, Alex (of KillDevil), Razorblade Monalisa, Shawn Peter (of A Single Second), Silence of the Grimm, Twitch Angry, Mortal Atrocity, 8 p.m.

Golden Bear DJ Crook, 10 p.m.

Harlow’s Reminisce, 10 p.m.

Marilyn’s STD, Middlemen, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Jonny Rulon, Mind Gorilla, Dead Flamingoes, 8 p.m.

Old Ironsides Dry County Drinkers, The Cheatin’ Hearts, Truck Stop Darlin’, 9 p.m.

The Park Ultra Lounge DJ Crooked, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Mother Mayhem, 10 p.m.

Shine Adrian Bougeous, Ricky Berger, 8 p.m.

Sol Collective International HipHop Festival w/ Vomito Liriko, Raw-G, Ximbo, Skool 77, Kensho Kuma, DJ Leydis, 7:30 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen The California Honeydrops, 9 p.m.

Studio 21 (Rocklin) Set Theory, The Young Vintage, Axiom, 6 p.m.

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

Torch Club Jimmy Pailer & Lew Fratis, 5 p.m.; Harper, 9 p.m.

Townhouse Rough House w/ DJs Shaun Slaughter, Adam J, Taylor Cho; Record Club w/ Roger Carpio, 9 p.m.

UC Davis: Jackson Hall Branford Marsalis Quartet, Terence Blanchard Quintet, 8 p.m.

4.02 Saturday

Ace of Spades A Lot Like Birds, Green Audio, Twenty Days With Julian, Ember Beside Us, 5 p.m.

The Boardwalk Katastro, The B Foundation, Element Of Soul, Eazy Dub, 7 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Night Ranger, 8 p.m.

Distillery KB & the Slingtones, Cattle Ness & the Revenge, Jenny Lyn & Her Real Gone Daddies, 10 p.m.

District 30 DJ Don Lynch, 9 p.m.

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

Harlow’s Marlene Sai, Kenneth Makuakane, 6 p.m.; Department of Rock, 10 p.m.

Marilyn’s Zepparella, No Bozoz, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Joey Briggs (The Briggs), Brian Hanover (Hanover Saints), Bryan Mcpherson, Dino The Girl (Kepi Ghoulie Band), 7:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides The Lipstick Weekender Grand Opening w/ DJs Shaun Slaughter, Roger Carpio, 10 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Atomic Punks, 10 p.m.

Press Club Top 40 Dance w/ DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m.

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen Ferraby Lionheart, Henry Wolfe, Charlie Wadhams, 8:30 p.m.

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

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

UC Davis: Jackson Hall Takács Quartet, 8 p.m.

4.03 Sunday

Ace of Spades Awolnation, This Luxury, Color The Sound, 6 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.

Harlow’s Prezident Brown, 10 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Mere Mortals Band, 3 p.m.

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

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

4.04 monday

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

Liquid Nightclub DJs Ron Reeser, Rustique, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Press Club Breaking Glass, The Angry Orts (Portland), Little Black Bats, 9 p.m.

Comedy Crest Theatre Lisa Lampanelli, April 2, 7 p.m. & 10 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Mark G, Anderi Bailey, March 23, 8 p.m.

David Raibon, Steph Sanders, March 25 - 27, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m.

The Dirty Show hosted by The Smash Brothers Cory & Chad, March 30, 8 p.m.

Manny Maldonado, Adam Norwest, March 31 - April 3, Thursday & Sunday, 8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.

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

Naked Lounge Downtown Live Worlds Worst Doctors Comedy Improv, March 24, 8:30 p.m.

Punchline Comedy Club Carlos Mencia, March 23, 7 p.m.

Cockyasians Comedy Tour w/ Bradley Lum and Mark Zhang, March 24, 8 p.m.

Bobby Lee (from Mad TV), March 25 - March 27, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 8 p.m.

Kevin Brown (Dot Com from 30 Rock!), March 31 - April 2, Thursday, 8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.

Ngaio Bealum, Sandy Stec, Trenton Davis, April 3, 8 p.m.

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

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

Sacramento Comedy Spot March 23 & 30, Improv 1 Continuous, 7 p.m.; Harold Night, 9 p.m.

March 24 & 31, Improv 1 Continuous, 7 p.m.; Cage Match, 9 p.m.

March 25, In Your Facebook, 8 p.m.; Mortal Komedy w/ Jesse Fernandez, 9 p.m.

March 26, 3 on 3 Tournament, 8 p.m.; Anti Cooperation League, 9 p.m.

March 27, Open Mic Scramble, 7 p.m.

April 1, The Syndicate Sketch Comedy Show, 9 p.m.

April 2, 3 on 3 Tournament, 8 p.m.

Tommy T’s Tommy Davidson, March 25 - 27, Friday, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 p.m.

Misc.

Cal Expo (Buildings C and D) Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival, March 24 - 26 Capitol Garage Trivia & Movie Night, Mondays, 9:30 p.m.

Community Center Theatre Sacramento Ballet presents Icons and Innovators, March 24 - 27 Crest Theatre An Evening w/ Terry McMillan (author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back & Waiting to Exhale), March 24, 7:30 p.m.

Crocker Art Museum CORE Dance Collective’s premier of Silent Noise, March 24, 7 p.m.

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

The Guild Theatre Movies on a Big Screen presents: Mars, March 27, 7:30 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Joe Montoya’s Poetry Unplugged, Thursdays, 8 p.m.

North Natomas Library Public lecture by artist John Pugh, March 23, 6:30 p.m.

Raley Field Volunteerfest, March 27, 11 a.m.

Sacramento Area Peace Action Film screening: Morristown, March 22, 7 p.m.

Sacramento Outdoor Marketplace (2400 21st Street) Sacramento Craft & Flea Outdoor Marketplace, March 27, 8 a.m.

University Union Ballroom, CSUS Cathleen Falsani lecture, 12 p.m.; The Big Lebowski screening, 1 p.m.; Cathleen Falsani intro, 7 p.m.; True Grit screening, 7:30 p.m., March 29

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

refined tastes

Succulent Nopalitos Southwestern Café 5530 H Street, Sacramento words & PHOTOS Adam Saake Oh Cash only! You will be the death of me. Luckily Rose Hanke, owner of Nopalitos Southwestern Café along with husband David Hanke, is one of the nicest ladies you’ll ever meet. It’s almost always her smiling face that greets you and takes your order.

“I’ll just start you a little tab, and you can run to the bank after you’re done eating,” Rose says kindly. “I don’t want you to miss breakfast.”

Indicator number one that this is a neighborhood restaurant. People come back to this place over and over again for good reason.

The amount of regulars here are enough to keep two of these places open. Rose points out a gentleman in the corner.

“He’s a professor at Sacramento State and has been coming in every day for years,” Rose explains.

Nopalitos is situated on the corner of 56th and H streets in East Sacramento, tucked neatly into an L-shaped complex of other stores. A carved wooden sign with blue letters lets you know it’s there, but otherwise you might just drive by it. What awaits you when you do decide to stop in is some of the tastiest and most lovingly prepared Southwestern cuisine in town. Mixed into the breakfast menu is nopales (tender cactus), huevos rancheros, scrambled eggs with sweet corn and cheese and Southwestern style potatoes. The potatoes! Perfectly seasoned cubes with a slight spiciness, the crisp of the griddle and mixed in with red and yellow peppers and onions. A lot of the plates come with fresh corn tortillas, which work nicely for mopping up all the last bites or constructing your own little breakfast taco. All the classics are there too: French toast, pancakes, bacon and Nopalitos do those really well also. Plates worth returning to try (most of them), include the machaca plate consisting of seasoned shredded pork and chilies, scrambled with eggs or the Chile Colorado with chunks of braised beef served with two fried eggs. I’m a fan of anything with fresh corn, and the hot corn

SubmergeMag.com

meal mush, a breakfast cereal similar to Cream of Wheat, sounded delicious.

This is comfort food at its finest—food that is good for your soul. Often I feel like a nap after consuming the heavy servings from most Mexican food restaurants, but the portions here are perfect, and you feel good after eating it. Find a seat by the big front window, relax with a cup of coffee and enjoy your breakfast. This is what Nopalitos is all about.

Nopalitos will turn 19 next month and owners David and Rose have watched the menu grow over the years. What was once a one-sided menu that included both breakfast and lunch has now expanded and necessitated two separate menus.

The recipes were developed by David and were born in the couple’s kitchen. Before opening Nopalitos, David and Rose owned a bakery/pastry shop by UC Davis Medical Center called the Bunn Stop. They ended up selling the business but still had hopes of opening another restaurant and they gravitated toward what they knew and loved to eat.

“This was the kind of cooking we did at home,” says Rose. “So my husband said, ‘I’d rather do this kind of food.’”

The two have not only watched their menu grow but also the neighborhood that has so devoutly supported them over the years.

“I see kids who used to come in with their parents who are now all grown up and bring their friends in,” says Rose.

As we venture from restaurant to restaurant, trying different foods or seeking out new renditions of our favorites, we’re often faced with the concept of authenticity. It seems we’re always trying to recreate the food from our travels and the tastes of our memories. I’ve never eaten in, let alone been to, many of the Southwestern states where this cousin of Mexican cuisine was developed, so I can’t really tell you if this is authentic food. What I can tell you is that these are authentic people at Nopalitos who are cooking from their memories and their travels. You can feel it when you step inside, when you speak to Rose or David and most importantly Nopalitos serves lunch, too. Stop in for tamales, when you eat the quesadillas, burritos and food. Sounds like the many other taste-worthy real deal to me. plates. If you’re hungry for breakfast, get there early because they stop serving at 10:45 a.m.

Under N

L

e t a

New Management! New Cafe!

! s t a te m

SaMe Great Fun!

a -3:30 m p 1 nig& h sat 1 Fri

Grilled Cheese turkey Melt Quesadilla Chorizo & Egg Burrito Hot Wings Chicken Strips Chesseburger House Veggie Burger Turkey Club BLT Grilled Ham & Cheese Like us on FaceBook FoLLow us on twitter @mVpsportsgriLL

Voted Best sports Bar in sac

2110 L Street • Downtown Sacramento (916) 441-4151 •MVPSportsGrill.com Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

23

The grindhouse

To Catch a Predator The Lincoln Lawyer

Lakeshore Entertainment/ Lionsgate Words James Barone The American justice system isn’t perfect, but considering humanity's history of crime and punishment, it is at least a step up from trial by ordeal or the Salem Witch Trials (wait, those were American too). In any case, people aren’t perfect. The best you can hope for, in case you’re facing charges, is a fair shot at defending yourself. If you’re lucky, you’ll end up with a defense lawyer like Mick Haller, the character played by Matthew McConaughey in the new courtroom drama The Lincoln Lawyer.

Haller is a streetwise, savvy, sharp dressed man. He rides in the back of an older model Lincoln, driven by a similarly streetwise chauffer Earl (Laurence Mason). Haller is a fast talker, carries himself with Johnny Cochransized confidence and expects to be paid if you want him to play. He seems to care about his clients—as much as a lawyer should—but his main objective is to make his money and rack up favorable decisions, and he has no qualms about defending “scumbags,” as they’re referred to in the film, because, hey, that’s how the game is played. And if the prosecutors did their jobs as well as he did his, his clients, if they were indeed guilty, would get what they deserve. He lands a golden goose of a client in Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillipe), a thirty-something rich boy who’s accused of sexual assault and battery of a young prostitute, Reggie Campo (Margarita Levieva), who is brutally beaten during a night in which she had met Roulet at a bar. His mother and their family attorney will spare no expense in his defense, and Roulet insists that he’s innocent.

At first, it seems a slam-dunk for Haller.

Roulet has a clean rap sheet and comes from a wealthy and respected family. The “victim” in the case indulges in unsavory activities with unsavory individuals. Trumping up charges and possibly suing post-criminal case would be Campo’s key to the good life. It’s not outside

24

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

the realm of possibility that she did this to herself—somehow.

As it turns out, it’s not that easy (because if it was, there wouldn’t be much of a movie).

As new evidence comes to light, it appears that Roulet is not as squeaky clean or innocent as he’d have everyone believe. In fact, the truth is he’s more than likely a deranged psychopath.

Not quite American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman, but close.

The Lincoln Lawyer answers the did-he-ordidn’t-he question pretty early on in the film, so it isn’t so much a mystery. However, it’s never suspenseful enough to really be a thriller either.

Perhaps it’s more of a loosely knit examination of the American justice system. Director Brad Furman’s free-wheeling style is accompanied by glitchy camera work, that more often than not is distracting—bordering on nauseating—as opposed to clever or edgy. The sprawling pace is amicable, however, and easy to follow, but doesn’t do much in the way of creating tension or building toward the eventual courtroom climax, which is actually quite good.

Unfortunately, for all its smirking and sleekly silhouetted characters, The Lincoln Lawyer is rather bland. It has its moments, however. McConaughey seems at home in his role, given his off-camera persona. He occasionally flashes keen wit and oozes cool in as Haller; however, his transition from slick courtroom assassin to compassionate defender of justice seems a bit sudden. The best moments come from the supporting cast—a feat considering they’re pitted against the likes of McConaughey, William H. Macy and Marisa Tomei, of whom the latter two are sorely underutilized. Shea Whigham and Eric Etebari both provide nice comedic flourishes as witnesses in the film’s central case, while Levieva plays the role of embattled victim with warmth and sympathy.

The biggest problem with The Lincoln Lawyer is its villain. Phillipe’s one-note performance, perhaps, was to cast his Roulet in ambiguity, but only comes off flat. He’s neither nuanced enough to evoke pity nor downright devilish enough to make him someone you love to hate.

But you know, maybe I’m being too harsh. As McConaughey would likely say after a blunted day on the beach, “Whatever, dude.”

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

live<< rewind

\

ThUrSday

may 5 all agES Show!

Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 6:30pm

The SoundTrack of our LiveS Friday mar 25 Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:00pm The Ting Tings Garth Milan, Red Bull Photofiles

Cee Lo Green Marv Watson, Red Bull Photofiles

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble Red Bull Soundclash: Cee Lo Green vs. The Ting Tings saturday, March 12, 2011 MGM Resorts International lot, Las Vegas, Nev. Words Jonathan Carabba Red Bull is a company known for doing things big, nay, huge. Most events they throw are spectacles that leave people thinking, “WTF?” or “How is that possible?” Example: New Year No Limits where every year Red Bull athletes push the boundaries of their respective sports, smashing world records left and right, leaving jaws on the floor all around the world. Or how about Red Bull Media House’s groundbreaking and awe-inspiring snowboarding films in collaboration with Travis Rice? That’s It, That’s All, released in 2008, and the upcoming film The Art of Flight (September 2011) are arguably two of the best films ever produced in their genre. Point being, anything Red Bull touches turns out epic.

This past weekend on March 12, their Soundclash event held in Las Vegas featuring Grammy Award winner Cee Lo Green and indie pop stars The Ting Tings was no different.

Roughly 6,000 eager spring breakers crowded into the MGM Resorts International lot directly across from the Luxor (the giant pyramid looking building that shoots a beam of light up into space) to experience a concert unlike any they had ever seen. The set-up looked and felt more like a festival than a regular parking lot concert, with two giant stages facing each other on opposing ends of the lot, leaving the crowd and a giant DJ tower where host La La Anthony oversaw the event sandwiched in between.

Before the show started an informative video aired on all the giant screens around the venue that explained what we were about to see and hear. Then, it got underway. Round 1 was the “The Warm Up” where each act performed three original songs. Cee Lo performed “Lady Killer,” “Bright Lights” and the Gnarls Barkley hit “Crazy.”

The Ting Tings responded with “Keep Your Head,” “Hit Me Down Sonny” and “Shut Up and Let Me Go,” which you have no doubt heard. It was featured in 2008 in a famous Apple commercial.

Round 2 was “The Cover” which featured both acts covering the same song, The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” with their own personal twist on it. Cee Lo’s version was pretty a straightSubmergeMag.com

forward, rockin’ rendition of the classic song, but The Ting Ting’s version had more depth and dynamics to it, progressing into a high-energy finish.

Round 3, “The Takeover,” was probably the most innovative and impressive round of all musically speaking. The concept seems simple enough: one band starts a song, the other band takes it over seamlessly halfway through and finishes it, but in reality it is extremely difficult to get the timing and pitch just perfect when taking over another band’s song, especially from about 100 yards away on a separate stage entirely.

Each group started two songs; Cee Lo’s tracks were “Run” and “Smiley Faces,” (both technically Gnarls Barkley songs) and The Ting Tings songs were “Fruit Machine” and “Be the One.” This led to Round 4, which was called “The Clash” and highlighted the artists’ versatility by having them perform their songs in three different styles outside their comfort zone. The styles chosen were reggae, acoustic and rock/metal.

Finally, round 5 was “The Wildcard.” In this round, the bands were allowed to invite a special guest to perform with them on stage. The Ting Tings appropriately enlisted the help of an Elvis impersonator (this did take place in Vegas, after all) to help them with their hit single “That’s Not My Name,” a crowd favorite for sure. Cee Lo invited Khujo, T-Mo and Big Gipp to reunite Goodie Mob for a performance of “Get Rich to This.”

When round 5 ended the crowd somehow knew the show wasn’t done, Cee Lo hadn’t even performed his latest smash single “Fuck You,” which might go down as the past year’s most talked about, controversial song. After a few moments The Ting Tings joined Cee Lo on his stage and they busted into a collaborative version of the song, sending the crowd into a frantic singalong. Afterward DJ Mick Boogie kept the party going for a bit, large crowds stayed and danced, but after a while everyone headed to Studio 54 inside MGM for the official Soundclash after party featuring The Glitch Mob. Once again, Red Bull does it properly.

The chriS robinSon broTherhood

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

G. Love & SpeciaL Sauce beLLe briGade

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

orGone The nibbLerS

Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:30pm

TUESday

apr 5 wEdnESday

apr 13 ThUrSday

apr 14

exene cervenka [of x] SaTUrday kevin SecondS [of 7 SecondS] apr 16 blue lamp • 1400 alHambra blvd. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:00pm Yonder MounTain STrinG band SUnday apr 17 Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:00pm ThUrSday The deviL MakeS Three apr 21 Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:00pm The daMion buiLderS & The buTcherS ThUrSday SuoMi & The Minor propheTS blue lamp • 1400 alHambra blvd. • saCto • 21 & over • 8:30pm

apr 28

Mike WaTT + The MiSSinG Men SaTUrday apr 30 blue lamp • 1400 alHambra blvd. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:00pm TUESday deSSa / SiMS may 3

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

The chriS robinSon broTherhood Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 8:00pm roGer cLYne & The peaceMakerS (cd reLeaSe ShoW)

Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:30pm

houSeS

The one aM radio

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

TraMpLed

bY TurTLeS apache reLaY

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

foSTer The peopLe Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:00pm oLd 97’S Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:00pm deTroiT cobraS blue lamp • 1400 alHambra blvd. • saCto • 21 & over • 8:30pm Si*Se’ (froM nYc) Harlow’s • 2708 J st. • saCto • 21 & over • 9:00pm

abstract entertainment

TUESday

may 3 Friday

may 13 monday

may 16 ThUrSday

may 19 ThUrSday

jUn 2

SaTUrday

jUn 4

ThUrSday

jUn 9 SUnday

jUn 12

tiCkets available at: tHe beat (17tH & J st.), Dimple reCorDs, pHono-seleCt or online at: www.eventbrite.Com, www.tiCkets.Com • tiCkets for Harlow’s sHows aLSo avaiLabLe aT WWW.harLoWS.coM

WWW.abSTracTSacraMenTo.coM

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

25

the shallow end What Have You Done for Me Lately?

James Barone jb@submergemag.com Trivia: 9:30pm • Movie: 10pm Specials: $3 Drinks • $4 shots

April 27

6pm

come celebrate 5 years strong 10pm • $10 ($5 before 10:30)

rsVP early, 444-3633

fridAys

sundAys hosted by dj esef, featuring sPecial guest djs, bands & singjays

get down to the

chamPion 10pm • $5 sound reggae//dub//dancehall

resturant night club catering delivery

26

1500 K street

sacramento

(916) 444-3633

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

Kurt Cobain wrote in his suicide note, “I’m too much of an erratic, moody baby! I don’t have the passion anymore, and so remember, it’s better to burn out than to fade away. Peace, love, empathy.” Never mind (pun intended) that Sept. 24 will be the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s landmark album. Never mind that just typing that makes me feel old as fuck.

(Never mind that Nevermind is two words, not one.) I’m not writing this about music. For better or worse—many of you might say it’s the latter—Nirvana’s music and Kurt Cobain’s lyrics played a large part in my life. One of the last words he ever committed to paper, however, had a pretty large effect on me: Empathy.

On March 11, yet another in a seemingly steady stream of catastrophic disasters rocked residents of this here planet Earth. A 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Japan and the ensuing tsunami it created shook the world to its core. How could it not? It wasn’t only one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded, it also may have been the most well documented natural disaster in human history. Every day after it struck, it seemed as if there was a new video released on the news: a wall of water carrying cars, debris, homes, all narrated by the frightened few standing on higher ground, holding cameras and watching their whole world get swallowed into Mother Nature’s gaping maw. Perhaps that sentence was a bit overwrought, but sometimes things that are so unimaginable to behold are difficult to express without hyperbole.

If you watched in horror as the images of the devastation in Japan poured in, don’t be ashamed. You’re not feeling bad, because the media is telling you to. I know it’s hard to differentiate what you’re supposed to care about nowadays. You’re inundated with an overwhelming pile of shit that you’re supposed to be concerned with, like who Charlie Sheen is shacking up with, or what felonious behavior Lindsay Lohan is engaging in or what new dumbfuck statement just spewed forth from Sarah Palin’s mouth. It’s difficult, I know, but you don’t feel bad about what happened in Japan because that girl/guy you met at a bar that one time and friended you the next day on Facebook, and you accepted because you

thought why the fuck not, reposted some cheesy sentiment about how we should all send our thoughts to the Land of the Rising Sun as his/her status. You feel bad, as well you should, because you’re human. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

There’s no way you can know what it’s like to watch everything you’ve ever known get gobbled up by some unstoppable force.

That distinction belongs to a select few. But hopefully your years of education, socialization and the sense of common decency your friends and family bestowed upon you aids you in imagining what it would be like to watch your life disintegrate before your eyes.

That’s empathy, more or less. To employ an overused device, as it’s defined by Merriam-Webster, Empathy is, “the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it”; or, “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner; also the capacity for this.” No matter what Glenn Beck would have you believe, it’s not a dirty word. It doesn’t align you with Adolph Hitler. Comedian Lewis Black, in his scathing attack on Beck’s “Nazi Tourette’s” (look it up on YouTube if you haven't seen it) called it one of the most beautiful words in the English language. I’m inclined to agree.

Being able to feel something so deeply even though you’ve never experienced it is a wonderful thing. It may just help you to stop being such an asshole. I know, it’s difficult. I’m a selfish person. But don’t worry about what this tsunami means for your bank account or your stock portfolio, because I see a lot of that on the news—what this massive loss of human life means for the stock market. It’s crazy how quickly a price can be placed on such a tragedy. It’s nothing new. It happened with 9/11, Katrina and the recent popular uprisings in the Arab world. You know, sometimes, it’s not all about you.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 81 • March 21 – April 4, 2011

27

Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas

march 21 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; april 4, 2011

#81

Dance Gavin Dance

free

No Loss for Words

artist

Michaele cee lo vs ting tings LeCompte the 5 rounds

Patience is a Virtue

in vegas

Juan ZuhG Less acLean Life M Ordinary Rock This House