Submerge Magazine: Issue 77 (January 24 - February 7, 2011)

Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas

January 24 – February 7, 2011

#77

Sister Crayon Poetic Justice

Evolve into Yoga Inside Sacramento’s Yoga Studios

Typhoon Here Comes the Storm

Rush Training Center New Home for

Action Sports

free plus: A lot like Birds live • blue valentine • alley Katz • Sac In Bright Colors

EvEry day 9am - 9pm

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Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

contents

10

77

2011 january 24 -Feburary 7

03 Dive in 04 The Stream your senses 07 Submerge Optimistic Pessimist 08 The Capture 09 Capitol into Yoga 10 Evolve 13 refined tastes 16 Sister Crayon Training Center 18 Rush 20 typhoon 21 calendar 25 the grindhouse 25 Live<<Rewind shallow 26 the end Colorful fashions

18

20

16 cofounder/ Editor in Chief/Art Director

Melissa Welliver melissa@submergemag.com cofounder/ Advertising Director

Jonathan Carabba jonathan@submergemag.com Advertising sales

Josselin Basaldu josselin@submergemag.com senior editor

James Barone Contributing editor

Mandy Johnston

Alley Katz

Blue Valentine

A Lot Like Birds, Not to Reason Why, Early States, The Dreaded Diamond, Cryptics

Contributing Writers

Joseph Atkins, 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

Submerge Magazine

2308 J Street, Suite F Sacramento, Calif. 95816

916.441.3803 info@submergemag.com

Contributing photographer

Samantha Saturday distribution

Blake Gillespie, Monica McStotts

printed on recycled paper

www.submergemag.com

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

Visit www.submergemag.com to view more material you can’t have. Submerge is both owned and published by Submerge Network. All opinions expressed throughout Submerge are those of the author and do not necessarily mean we all share those opinions.

Feel free to take a copy or two for free, but please don’t remove our papers or throw them away. Submerge welcomes letters of all kinds, whether they are full of love or hate.

We want to know what is on your mind, so feel free to contact us via snail mail at 2308 J Street, Suite F Sacramento, Calif.

95816. Or you can e-mail us at info@submergemag.com. Your opinion matters to us, believe it or not, so please feel free to speak your mind and we just might listen. Thanks for reading Submerge!

dive in get physical Melissa welliver melissa@submergemag.com It’s a little more than half way through January so it’s likely that you either a) never started your 2011 “get healthier” resolution (ahem…like me), b) you have but are about to quit, or c) you’re trucking along strong and by now might even be looking for new things to add into your new routine. Regardless of where you’re at, we have two stories in this issue that will motivate you to hopefully try a different type of workout.

I’m a huge fan of yoga! I love the way it helps you become more flexible. It really works those muscles and builds your strength, but most of all I love the way that it can help you relax and lets you become a more focused individual. What’s most important about yoga is that anyone can do it. And frankly, I think everyone should give it a go.

This is a piece I’ve wanted to do for a couple years so I’m really glad we finally honed it down just in time for you to make yoga your last minute 2011 resolution.

Our writer, Josselin Basaldu, attended several studios in the Sacramento area to help break down what’s out there. Please check out our feature starting on page 10.

I’d like to say an extra special thank you to the ladies of Midtown’s Asha Yoga for allowing us to come in and take a few photos of some basic posses that are used throughout the layout and on the back cover.

Also in this issue we have a feature on Rancho Cordova’s Rush Training Center. It’s a great new place for people of any age, from beginners to the advanced, to come out and get familiar with some new skateboard, snowboard, wakeboard and BMX skills. With a variety of lessons and programs available, movie premiers, art shows, contests, etc., be sure to check this place out. Check out page 18 to learn more about this action sports training facility and its co-founder Brian Owens.

One of our area’s most beloved and on-the-brink-of-blowing-up bands, Sister Crayon (front cover), are releasing their debut full-length Bellows this coming February. Please read our interview on page 16 with Terra Lopez and Nicholas Suhr as they discuss the photo shoot for the album’s cover with Eliot Lee Hazel, recording at The Hangar with engineer Scott McShane and how Bellows became a full-length rather than a fivesong EP. Portland’s 11-piece indie rock collective Typhoon are not to be missed when they play Luigi’s Fungarden on Jan. 28. We recently had the chance to talk with Kyle Morton who’s the frontman and chief songwriter of the band. Our feature on page 20 touches on the underlying competition in the city of Portland and how their short hiatus made them realize that they wanted to continue making music. We here at Submerge are really glad they decided to give it another go, because their upcoming EP A New Kind of House is so good, it sounds like it might end up on this year’s top 20 list. Yeah, it’s that good.

Also in this issue you’ll find a few reviews. There’s a new bar in Sacramento called Alley Katz that is located at 2019 O Street and we have a run down of the joint on page 13. The movie Blue Valentine starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams is currently playing at the Crest Theatre and at Century Stadium 14. You can find our review of this film on page 25. We also have a show review from this past Friday featuring A Lot Like Birds, Early States, The Dreaded Diamond and a couple other bands on page 25.

Enjoy issue #77, Melissa-Dubs

Both cover photos by Melissa Welliver

Follow us on Twitter! @SubmergeMag

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

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Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

NATIONAL

The stream will ferrell and john c. Reilly: rap stars?

Cake released their sixth studio album, and first in over six years, on Jan. 11. Showroom of Compassion surprisingly debuted as the No. 1 selling album in the country, ending Taylor Swift’s streak atop the charts and beating out Bruno Mars and Kanye West. The new album actually sold 2,000 copies less than their previous album, Pressure Chief, which debuted at No. 17 on the Billboard Top 200 in 2004. Somewhat unfortunately, Showroom of Compassion is the lowest selling No. 1 album of all time. I guess you can’t have your Cake and eat it to, but congrats to Sacramento’s own!

Will Ferrell and John C Reilly teamed up for the movie The Step Brothers in 2008 and are now set to get together to record a Step Brothers rap album. Adam McKay, who directed the movie, confirmed on his Twitter, “I wasn’t kidding about Step Bros rap album. And we just found out we have a crazy big time producer. Mos Def, you up for a guest flow?” In the movie, Reilly and Farrell team up as “Huff ‘N Doback” performing “Boats N’ Hoes” in their best Lonely Island impersonation.

Bruce Springsteen will be a guest on the new Dropkick Murphys album. The Boss will guest with Dropkick frontman Ken Casey on a cover of the 1913 song “Peg O’ My Heart,” according to NME.com. The song has been recorded many times over the years, but may be best known as the theme from 1986 BBC TV series The Singing Detective. Both Springsteen and the band are from New Jersey. Casey said of the duet, “It links two generations. We’re spanning a lot of years of music here, yet our songs share similar themes, stories and values.” The new album also features NOFX frontman Fat Mike. Going Out in Style will be released Feb. 28 and is Dropkick’s seventh studio album.

Brad Fuhrman

Speaking on the Howard Stern Radio Show, Steven Tyler claims he not only auditioned to replace Robert Plant in Led Zeppelin but even turned down the opportunity to join and write an album with guitarist Jimmy Page. Tyler told Page, “No. I’m in Aerosmith. He’s in the biggest band in the world, and I’m in a band like that. I have such an allegiance to my band, and I love it so much.”

His allegiance is so strong that he went on to join American Idol and hasn’t spoken to Joe Perry since Perry criticized his decision to join the show, according to NME.com.

Panic! At the Disco is trying to make it back on the grid after guitarist Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker left the band in July 2009. The band will release Vices and Virtues on March 29 in hopes that the “emo” wave hasn’t already passed. The band’s third album has been produced by Butch Walker and Goldfinger frontman-turned-producer John Feldmann. They will release the first single “The Ballad of Mona Lisa” on Feb. 1.

And in other news…after trying to channel her inner Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian thankfully says “There’s no album in the works or anything—just one song we did for the show.”

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

REGIONAL

$16 st

Rough House and Record Club Set to Rock Friday Nights at Townhouse Jonathan Carabba

In case you haven’t heard, after six years strong, one of Sacramento’s most beloved dance nights, FUCK Fridays at Townhouse, is no more. Well, sort of.

The Rough House and Record Club are replacing it. This new “split night” if you will, features resident DJs Shaun Slaughter, Adam J and Taylor Cho downstairs (Rough House) and Roger Carpio upstairs (Record Club). To get to the bottom of this whole FUCK Fridays becoming two-nights-in-one thing, we hit up Mr. Slaughter himself. “After Jon [Droll] left, I felt weird doing FUCK without him,” he said. “Even before he left, the night had gone pretty far away from its original concept in 2005. After winning the SAMMIE we kind of thought that was a great time to make some changes.” Slaughter mentioned “The Rough House” was a name they’d been kicking around for a while as a team and that their sets were becoming “more bass-heavy and more rough and sometimes a little more houseoriented.” He added, “We started coloring more and more outside the lines of the whole FUCK ideology and sound. ‘Rough’ seemed to embody that change.”

When asked if there are any main differences between FUCK and The Rough House, Slaughter had this to say: “FUCK, to me, had become a little too safe. We became more and more concerned about appeasing the Friday night crowd…and less concerned about sticking to breaking new, left-of-center dance floor oriented stuff. I mean I’m all for giving it to the people here and there for sure, but when you find yourself digging for the same jams week after week, you have a problem on your hands.” He went on to point out that his crew (and the crowd) were relying too heavily on themed evenings, which he said are always a blast, but they tend to “detract from the music.” Slaughter says that with The Rough House, they want to focus on some of the more bass-oriented house and techno and bringing in “interesting, left-of-center stuff again.” Another huge difference, he said, was bringing in DJ Adam J as a resident, something Slaughter had wanted to do for quite a while. “The dude is a solid DJ and knows how to work a crowd over. He forces me in directions I don’t usually go and vice versa.”

One last (and very important) difference is that upstairs is fully Roger Carpio’s Record Club, where he’ll be spinning indie rock, pop and alternative classics “with a side of soul,” according to a recent flyer. Keep in the loop on special guests and other updates at Theroughhouse.tumblr.com or find The Rough House’s Facebook page.

SubmergeMag.com

Send regional news tips to info@submergemag.com

Exciting new project alert: Mike Caswell, frontman for Sacramentobased indie/ experimental band K Será, has teamed up with Johnny Franck of the national act Attack! Attack! to form The March Ahead. Caswell told Submerge recently that they’ve booked studio time in mid-March with Joey Sturgis, who is arguably best known for his work on multiple The Devil Wears Prada records. Keep up to date on that project by following them on Twitter: @ themarchahead.

2408 21st st.• sac •(916) 457-1120

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

Speaking of K Será, they’re heading down to Los Angeles later this month to record new music of their own with producer/engineer Mark Kiczula, who worked on the Linkin Park/Jay Z split and has done records for Good Charlotte, Dashboard Confessional and so many other huge artists. Caswell and crew are killing it! See K Será live on Feb. 5 at Club Retro.

Apparently Sacramento’s drum king Zach Hill hurt his foot at a recent rehearsal and subsequently will not be playing with Nervous Cop on the Deerhoof tour (which hits Harlow’s on Thursday, Jan. 27). Locals G. Green have replaced Nervous Cop for the Harlow’s date.

Natomas-based MC/ songwriter C Plus has a lot of noteworthy things happening. Just recently a new video of his premiered online for the song “Stay Up” off the 2010 mixtape All on Me. The video was shot and directed by Erick Lee of Bosse Media and that dude has a clean style; he’s a true natural. C Plus’ upcoming full-length, All C.I.T.Y. is rumored to be in the mastering stages which means it should be done late February or early March. But you know how most hip-hop releases go, don’t be surprised if it gets pushed back. Regardless, it’ll surely be worth the wait. Catch C Plus live on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at HUMP at Press Club. Check out the video for “Stay Up” at 12ftdwende.com.

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Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

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

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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.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas Audio Express — Sacramento Submerge — 1/24/2011

SEE

Your Senses

Screening of Scrappers plus a Q&A with co-director Ben Kolak

SEE HEAR TASTE Touch

Recently named one of the top 10 documentaries of 2010 by none other than Roger Ebert, Scrappers follows two Chicago families who make ends meet using brains, brawn and battered pickup trucks. Set in Chicago’s maze of alleys, this eyeopening documentary was shot in a verite style (combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups and the use of the camera to provoke subjects) and is an entertaining portrait of Oscar and Otis, two metal scavengers who support their families doing dirty work, scavenging alleys 14-plus hours a day just to get by. The film questions popular notions of poverty, race relations and recycling and examines dreams of personal self-sufficiency and urban sustainability. On Sunday, Jan. 30 the film will screen at Guild Theater (2828 35th Street) at 7 p.m. and afterwards co-director/co-producer Ben Kolak will be on hand for a Q&A session. Admission is just $5; hit up Moviesonabigscreen.com for more information.

HEAR

The Brodys Closing Down G St. Pub Davis mainstay the G St. Pub is shutting its doors for good. What a bummer. At least it will go out with a bang. The Brodys are going to be the last band ever to gig there on Saturday, Feb. 12. Quite fitting, because according to the band’s Facebook event page for the show, The Brodys have played G St. Pub more than 60 times! “We are very sad to see it go,” the page says. “But the upside is they can’t lose their liquor license so we might just play all night.” Honeyspot will open, show starts at 9 p.m. G St. Pub is located at 228 G Street in Davis.

touch

Step up those skills with Freestyle Fridays at Sugar Bowl Sugar Bowl Resort is offering free two-hour group freestyle lessons on Fridays (as long as you have a valid lift ticket). Whether you’re just getting into park riding and need a little guidance or you’re an advanced rider trying to nail that switch 180-to-nosepress on the downbox, they’ve got you covered with three different levels of lessons: Intro to Freestyle, Intermediate Freestyle and Advanced Freestyle. The lessons will cover everything from basic straight airs, to spins, to 50/50s and board slides on boxes and rails and more. Lessons leave at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. every Friday from the Mt. Judah Mountain Sports Learning Center. Ages 13–69 are welcome and helmets are mandatory (if you’re trying new tricks without a brain bucket, you need to get your head checked). For more information, visit Sugarbowl.com.

Taste

VegFest 2011 Veggie lovers rejoice! On Jan. 29 from noon to 4 p.m. a celebration of raw, vegan and vegetarian cuisines is going down at the Artisan Building, located at 1901 Del Paso Boulevard. There will be more than 20 vendors and free tastings; plus, you can learn delicious recipes and even see Michael Marks, “Your Produce Guy,” give a demonstration and Q&A at 1 p.m. Best thing about this event? It’s free.

Rider: Mike Biggs Photo: Josh Fricke

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

7

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The Optimistic Pessimist Help Me Help You Bocephus Chigger bocephus@submergemag.com We take each other for granted. Many of us pretend that we don’t need anyone else to carry on with our lives. This idea that we are truly self-sufficient is absurd. I watched a video the other day about a man who decided to see how hard it would be to make a toaster from scratch. He mined the metals necessary to cast the functioning parts and even made his own plastic cover to encase the toaster.

In the end, he managed to build a toaster that worked for about five minutes before its component parts melted. The whole thing seemed so complicated and this was just a toaster. It got me thinking about the things we actually need to survive.

As human beings, we have a natural inclination to seek shelter from the elements.

To protect ourselves, we typically live in homes, apartments or for the lucky few, trailers. But could you build any of those things? Sure some of you are handy enough to nail some boards together, but could you also make the nails or screws to hold it all together? Do you know how to make glue beyond the water-and-flour variety? How about tools? A hammer might be easy enough, but could you also make a screwdriver? Sorry, not the vodka-and-orange juice kind.

Well, if houses are out, we will all live in tents. Most modern tents are made of nylon, a synthetic fabric. I don’t know about you, but I have no idea how to make nylon. My understanding is that nylon is formed when scientists/magicians dump a shit-ton of toxic chemicals in a large vat in a well-ventilated room until… bam: nylon! I’m guessing there are probably a few more steps, but I doubt many of us would make it past figuring out what chemicals we need and where to find them.

Our common lack of understanding toward materials raises another important issue, and one I’m sure is pressing for many of my female readers out there, what will we wear?

Some of you out there can sew two pieces of fabric together, or at least attach a button, but do you actually know how to weave a piece of cloth?

A lot of what we wear is made of cotton.

Have you ever picked cotton? I haven’t, but I’m guessing it is a real pain in the ass if our early love of slavery is any sign at all. Have you ever seen raw cotton? It’s closer to the balls you use to rub things on your skin with (no, not those balls) than it is a T-shirt or jeans. How that puff of cotton becomes clothes, I have no idea.

At least we still have animals. We could use their skins to make clothes or even to build tents, couldn’t we? I guess it depends on your level of comfort toward rotting flesh. To preserve animal skins, they need to be turned into leather, and I’m pretty sure that takes more than just shaving the hair off. Besides, there are literally deeper issues here, like what the fuck are we gonna eat?

Ted Nugent can’t feed everyone, so I guess we will have to learn to hunt, which means we will need weapons. I’ll call a mulligan on this one since even if a nuclear bomb goes off, we will probably still have guns lying around everywhere. So you strap up and mow down a herd of cattle for supper, what’s next?

Butchering. You say you like steak, but what part of the cow does it come from?

The easiest animals to prepare are probably fish and chicken. Both have their downsides: gutting a fish is disgusting, and who knows how to pluck a chicken’s feathers anymore?

Fish are obviously easier to prepare, but the chicken has the added advantage of having leftover feathers to make clothes with.

So where does all of this leave us? I consider myself mechanically minded and fairly handy, but the outlook, even in my case, does not look so good. If we were truly on our own, many of us would be sitting under rotting cow hides in our chicken suits, trying our hardest to not die from Salmonella. So, the next time you think you can do it all on your own, or that we can do without certain people, picture that scene in your mind, and remember that if we ever hope to survive, we are going to need each other.

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Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Sunny-time Souvenirs Color to beat the Winter Haze

Josselin Basaldu

Sierra Jennings

{Photos taken outside Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op}

Tyler Newell

Submergemag.com

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DEEDA MEAN WHAT?

By Angelina Seva

Everyone always asks where the name “DEEDA” comes from, and what it means. The name DEEDA doesn’t naturally lead people to think of a full-service salon and boutique. So here is how the story goes...

Naming a salon can be a daunting task. There’s the obvious hair pun name like “Top Knot,” or the choice of naming it after yourself (Seva Salon?). But those options didn’t quite fit. I wanted a name that would help create a salon atmosphere that was original, fun, not defining and inclusive. We were two weeks away from the grand opening and I need inspiration.

Naturally, I turned to the coolest and most unpretentious person I knew: my 5-year-old niece. I asked her what made her happy, and she started down her list including Dora The Explorer and the color pink. Then she added a story about her uncle, my brother Dave, whom she nicknamed “Deeda.” And that was it! DEEDA! It’s original, fun, undefinable and, on top of all that, a family name.

Three years later, this is what DEEDA means: A cool, familyowned, full-service salon with urban flare, determined by the staff inside. A staff that is educated, and passionate about what they do, who they do it for and where they do it.

With fashion by Cuffs, products by Bumble and bumble and Dermalogica, and the most talented stylists Sacramento has to offer, DEEDA is a dream - A fun culture that doesn’t sacrifice quality, customer service or style.

Hope you can come check us out! Enjoy a good haircut, a cold beer and a relaxed environment!

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

Jesse Manhart

Samantha Baker Recently, sunny, carefree weather in Sacramento brought people out of hibernation. The wonderful break in the foggy, winter haze meant people shed the normal grey, black and beige of winter wear.

Bright pops of color in hats, jackets, shoes, earrings, cardigans and tops allowed people to mirror the optimism of the sun.

FREESTYLE CLOTHING EXCHANGE

Brightly colored fashion accents add perk and pep in your step; especially on the coldest, ugliest winter days—surely more are yet to come before spring.

Colorful fashions are a great way to hold onto those sunny days and tide us over until our beloved Sacramento sun is in season.

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

9

Evolve with Yoga

Basic yoga options in Sacramento to help create lasting positive change.

Evolution, not resolution.

Words josselin Basaldu | photos josselin basaldu & melissa welliver

D

uring a dynamic yogi class at Asha Yoga in Midtown, just before the turn of the year, instructor Anna Cheechov imparted some perspective.

While enjoying an acrobatic pose—with the facilitation of the sturdy wall—Cheechov challenged participants to consider the New Year as an opportunity to evolve their personal yoga practice, rather than set resolutions.

Yoga is a well-known word, and a seemingly wellknown physical exercise, as the many yoga boutiques and studios that have popped up in central Sacramento over the last few years would attest. It’s not uncommon to see men and women of various ages walking around Midtown with a brightly colored yoga mat rolled up into a satchel or under an arm.

Those familiar with the general practice of yoga may sigh and say, “It’s not that hard,” while casually twisted into one of those pretzel-looking poses that require strength, flexibility and balance. But what about the masses? To many, many ladies and lads (especially), the practice of yoga is unfamiliar and interesting, inciting curiosity and an aversion to doing it for the first time.

Much like the way a virgin might view their first sexual

experience, yoga virgins want to give it a go but might feel self conscious or worry about doing it correctly.

Luckily with yoga, it’s all about you. The only person you have to worry about pleasing in yoga is yourself. The instructor will not care if you’re not keeping up perfectly, the other students won’t care what you wear or what you look like (although they might care what you smell like, if it’s not a good smell). Plus, the lights are usually off at least half of each class. Since you won’t be able to see, just do what feels right.

Especially for yoga beginners, or those interested in their first experience, it’s important to know about the different types of yoga and what’s available in Sacramento.

There are tons of fitness benefits of yoga, but it’s much more than a mere physical practice. Meditation and spirituality are crucial to achieving all yoga’s great benefits, which include increased flexibility, strength, improved respiration and posture, stress relief, increased concentration, uplifted general mood, cardiac benefits and improving various medical conditions, as stated on WebMD. According to the second edition of Yoga for Dummies (no offense, seemed like a great reference for the basics), yoga cannot be explained simply, “like a skyscraper with many floors and numerous rooms at each level.”

Yoga has been handed down for thousands of years from teacher to students through practice. Movement postures were created to prepare the body to be still for long periods of meditation, says Lori McCormick, owner of Fusion Yoga.

Of the 30-plus locations in Sacramento to practice yoga, many offer a variety of yoga classes. Some can be easily classified as a certain type of yoga, but many are hybrids to appeal to the student. At Submerge, we realize that a yoga beginner may be overwhelmed, scared and confused as to where to start.

Sarah Langford / Asha Yoga

Maybe you tried yoga at your gym—because it didn’t cost extra—and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Yoga studios and boutiques are a very different experience.

The studio environment serves well for personal reflection and participants are there and focused on their own individual practice of yoga. In other words, don’t worry about being checked out, someone staring at your butt crack, being sized-up, going at a slow pace or needing to stop.

To give you all a bit of confidence and set you up with the proper information, I practiced yoga at a bundle of Sacramento studios. I put my toes to the front of the mat and tried hot, loud, sticky, stinky, early, late, lunchtime, fast-paced, chanting and “napping”; and much of it for the first time myself.

All the classes I chose to take were at a beginning level and rather conveniently located. It would have been great to do all the various classes offered at every studio, but then this would be more like a book.

Yoga is a practice that is both physical and metaphysical and is extremely personal and subject to individual taste. We all have physical impediments and certain types of yoga can feel more comfortable depending on your body and naturally comfortable physical activity. Once you read up on what’s available and might be right for you, you’ll be set to go and begin your yoga evolution for 2011 and beyond.

Cori Martinez / Asha Yoga

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2310 Fair Oaks Blvd. • (916) 922-9642 • fusionyogasac.com

10

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

East Sacramento discover balance, strength and inner peace

3610 McKinley Blvd.

(916) 443-6535

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Asha Yoga

1050 20th Street, Space 110 (MARRS Building) (916) 443-6535, Ashayoga.com Dynamic Yogi, All Levels Part Flow, part poses, this class is classically defined as Vinyasa flow, which focuses on movement and breathing according to Yogafit.com, but with some added fun and whimsy.

Being an all-levels class, the vinyasa flow was fairly easy to follow, moderately paced and called for simple poses. The instructor, Anna Cheechov, spoke in the warmest way and encouraged students to perform poses in ways that felt most comfortable.

Because the instructor demonstrated at the front of class while verbally directing, it was easy to look up and check out the pose and clear up any confusion. Great for visual learners.

Some great rock classics played at a moderate volume at various times during class. Just before the relaxation time at the end of class, some gymnastic-like poses were done, with the help of the wall. The acrobatics were a fun way to attempt physically challenging poses and achieving concentration. Throughout the flow, Cheechov instructed a “Lion’s Breath” while actively resting in downward dog, before starting the next round of flowing movements. “Lion’s Breath” is when you breathe out deeply, constricting the throat, sticking out the tongue long and making an “aaahhhhhhhhhh” roar. It’s so fun and relieving, give it a try (nobody will know).

The class size was small during the lunch hour, metered parking was available and noon classes during the week are only $8. Changing facilities, cubbies, blankets, support block and props are available. Plus, a super cute yoga boutique is the portal into the modern and pristine studio space, with dark curtains for privacy from passersby at the MARRS building.

This class is great for anyone looking for a mild lunchtime practice, some physical challenge, improving balance and having a bit of fun.

Definitely a great beginning class.

try one week for

Deep: Art and Yoga

2030 H Street (Corner of 21st and H streets) (916) 470-9959, Deepartandyoga.com Kundalini yoga is an experience that is as unique as the name implies. Although very expressive with constant chanting and singing, it also pushes physical boundaries.

Deep is a lovely rectangular space with great natural light and bright art on the walls. A great setting to “awaken and expand the internal awareness” and “invoke an experience of calmness, happiness and freedom of spirit,” as the class is explained on Deepartandyoga.com.

Simple poses in small sequences become challenging with prolonged repetition and while chanting/singing “Saahhh… Taahhh…

Naahhh… Mah,” matching each sound with one movement.

Chanting while moving about is tough stuff. If you were ever curious how a pop artist feels when singing while performing choreography, you might get an idea in this class.

The instructor, Stacy Hayden, was a commanding instructor with a mass of dark hair, sparkly eyes and an undefeatable smile.

When instructing movements that became physically challenging, Hayden indirectly explained why she had permasmile. Smiling big helps you cope with physical discomfort to help complete poses.

To encourage students, Hayden offered some inspiration, directing attention to the back of the class where a mother was performing the arduous standing and leg lifting sequence, while chanting and holding her baby.

Among the props provided, the mini sheepskin rugs were luxurious compared to wood floors and gave the experience a rustic Himalayan mountain feel. Although not currently available at Deep, faux sheepskin rugs can be found and allow your practice to be animal-friendly.

This class is great for people of any age, looking for a creative physical and spiritual challenge. A good attitude and an open mind are the best tools for this class. There is ample street parking and medium class sizes are nice.

$20

special

Kundalini Yoga

type of body, build, shape, #4)Any weight, frame, or age can do yoga.

See Itsallyoga.com for the full list of 13 things we believe about yoga!

2405 21st Street Sacramento, CA 95818 916.501.4692 • Itsallyoga.com

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Zuda Yoga

1515 19th Street, Suite 104 (916) 441-1267, Zudayoga.com Power Vinyasa Basics, Level 1 When considering yoga in Sacramento, Zuda Yoga always comes to mind. It’s big and has a cool logo, but is that what makes a good yoga studio? It’s not, but those things help a studio create a great community/group experience, hone their course offerings and pricing.

The Power Vinyasa Flow basic class with Jessica Micheletti is a great place to start with a simple and approachable vinyasa flow yoga practice. The class is generally pretty full, which can be bad, but actually works to a student’s advantage. The windows become fogged from all of the students’ breathing, which limits outside visibility in. The instructor is generally walking around to assist, but having many other students there means that you can just take a peek around to see how to do a pose if you’ve missed a step.

This vinyasa flow implements simple and very approachable poses but is correctly paced to be almost aerobic. You’ll leave feeling like you’ve just completed a dance class—warmed up, worked out and stretched out. You’ll get a kick in the abs, too, with a brief set of crunches working your abs, lower back, leg and inner thigh muscles with the help of a strategically placed compressed foam support block.

There are normally about 25–30 people in class, but there’s enough capacity for 65 people. Because of the aerobic activity and body heat, class gets a bit sticky and sweaty, which is why the studio is sanitized after each class. Other students are incredibly friendly, as is the staff.

Metered street parking can be a problem, but there are a few free spots within a few blocks.

SubmergeMag.com

LESA JOHNSTON 1819 K Street Sacramento, CA 95811 DRE# 01882313

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

My goal is to find

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011 my clients their

dream home.

11

Arden Hot Yoga

4397 Arden Way (916) 482-5652, Ardenhotyoga.com Intro Bikram: Hot Yoga Intro Bikram yoga seems pretty intimidating. The idea of performing physically exhausting exercise while in a tropical jungle-like climate seems like an awful sort of weight-loss torture. In fact, with the correct preparation and information, Bikram yoga can be rather enjoyable with many benefits.

At Arden Hot Yoga (previously Yoga Loka Fit), owner/instructor Jacqueline Roussos created a beginning level class designed to assist the transition into the Bikram yoga practice. She had a pretty awful experience when she first tried Bikram yoga and wanted to offer a class to put students on, rather than off, hot yoga. Such a class is not traditional and generally not offered.

“Hot Yoga Intro…Not as Hot and Long” is a surprisingly great class, running an hour instead of 90 minutes and only about 101 degrees at 37 percent humidity. It still sounds fairly uncomfortable, but with towels and water, it’s rather spa-like.

There are 26 set poses in Bikram yoga, specifically orchestrated to warm the body up to protect it in more challenging poses. Poses seem to be more athletic than flexibilitybased. This is a great class for those with an athletic or dance background and great for men!

Once you become comfortable, you can give the 90-minute, 105–108 degree at 40 percent humidity normal class a try.

It’s important to drink water before and during class and to not eat for two hours before. You’ll want to bring a large towel and a hand towel. Mats and towels are available to rent.

This special introductory class is available Monday and Wednesday at noon and on Sunday at 11 a.m., parking is no problem and you’ll be right next to Whole Foods to grab a coconut water for re-hydration after class.

Fusion Yoga

Yoga Seed

1400 E Street, Suite B (916) 978-1367, Theyogaseed.org Rise & Shine

Yoga Alignment & Core Strengthening

Yoga Seed Collective is one of the only nonprofit yoga studios in Sacramento. Yoga by donation is such a modern and contemporary concept. Yoga Seed Collective is our community’s version of Yoga to the People in New York City and proof that Sacramento is more hip than we give it credit for.

Although offering a variety of classes welcoming the community into a beautiful window-fronted space, Yoga Seed Collective offers a 7 a.m. vinyasa flow class Wednesday through Friday. It’s called Rise and Shine and it’s meant to get the day started off correctly with getting an energetic kick in class and venturing next door to Shine Coffee Shop for a cup of tea or coffee.

Currently, amazing, boldly colored paintings hang at Yoga Seed by artist Rachel J. Miller. A similar installation recently hung at Deep. Miller attends class at Yoga Seed Collective, but also teaches at Yoga Shala.

On Thursday mornings, Rise and Shine is instructed by Kelly Timmons who recently began instructing at Yoga Seed.

The jams get going during this flow class; an uplifting soundtrack that may possibly be entitled “Yoga Life.”

The flow is challenging, but not too advanced for a beginner. However since the class is fairly small and the instructor is walking around, it’s hard to get your bearings back if you get lost or misunderstand a pose.

Kelly walks around to physically assist students achieve positions, but she welcomes students to turn down assistance and verbalize preferring not to be touched.

Mats are available for use and street parking is available (watch out for garbage days for no parking).

Fusion Yoga has been open since December 2010 and offers various yoga for the mind and body. Fusion is lovely with three differently sized studios. There’s an intensely colored red studio, an earthy studio and a calming studio for prenatal yoga.

Owner/instructor Lori McCormick’s yoga emphasizes including and enjoying the psychological aspect of yoga. She encourages self-curiosity, yoga as “the journey inside, opposed to being able to perfect a pose.”

In a darkened room, men and women of all ages practiced various poses and meditation to align (physically and psychologically) and strengthen the core. As this class may sound extremely spiritual, it is only so in retrospect. While in class, the poses and environment make students feel very present and in-the-moment.

Many poses are very simple, although categorized as a moderate to challenging class. This is a great class for someone who is a novice at yoga or has been out of practice for a few years.

There are no mirrors in the studios at Fusion to help student be present. McCormick explained that mirrors can put pressure on people to compare to others and put them in survival mode.

A long period of meditation completes the class, aligning the mind and body. “Meditation is not the absence of thought, but the compression of one thought and the absorption of that thought,” McCormick said. Which leads to the spiritual part, the Chakra.

But before that, you’ll get some nice stretching and abdominal work in with some pilates-like movements.

It’s All Yoga

2405 21st Street (916) 501-4692, Itsallyoga.com All Yoga 1–2 / Restorative For those with many ailments, injuries, are too in-tune with their bodies or are hypochondriacs or are always looking for ways to make themselves feel good and healthy, gentler yoga is a great path to rehabilitation and relief. Restorative yoga at It’s All Yoga is a class for those looking to find the gentle and healing way to perform yoga.

In a small, super boutique-type space, students become in-tune and target areas of tension with the use of blankets, cushions, pads, straps and lavenderscented eye pillows. While gently and slowly moving through kind poses, instructor Alicia Patrice offers that students can stay in a certain pose as long as they like, especially if they find it “particularly delicious,” which many are.

Extended meditation called for essentially building a little yoga-padding barricade to find the most comfortable way to lay and practice “yoga nap.”

The class is extremely effective in reaching a great state of relaxation. It’s a great class for a beginner, especially those looking for psychological solace. You will sleep like a dream after taking this evening class.

Street parking is available, and the block is well-lit.

12

2310 Fair Oaks Boulevard, Suite C2 (next to La Casa) (916) 922-YOGA, Fusionyogasac.com

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

Kaitlin Mundle / Asha Yoga

K

eep in mind that with any habit, practice or physical activity, repetition and consistency are required to continue. Anyone who practices yoga will tell you that you will be sore, or perhaps uncomfortable with your first few classes, but that you’ll get used to it.

So now get out there in our community and begin your yoga evolution.

But remember to treat yourself well and give yourself time to acclimate.

It’s like Cheechov said: “As we approach New Year’s and we start making all of our resolutions, just remember that one of the best approaches to change is starting exactly where you are. If you are at step three, start it at step three working your way to step four… Be compassionate with ourselves.

Habits always take a long time to form. It’s not something we can do automatically, it’s not something that we can make this grand resolution and just change.”

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Where Everyone Knows Your Name Alley Katz

2019 O Street • Sacramento words & PHOTOS Anthony Giannotti

I love Midtown. It’s the only place in the Sacramento area I can live. Other than the occasional drugged-out homeless person shouting craziness in the street, and the ever-annoying monthly Second Saturday Art Walk inundation, I have no real complaints about Midtown. However, I do wish we had a better range of bars. There seems to be an abundance of dive bars and clubs.

Don’t get me wrong: I love these bars. I’ve been guzzling down my hard earned pay in them for years. But there isn’t really any middle ground between the places where I feel like I’m going to get hepatitis and the places that charge $7 for a crappy Budweiser. We need a decent, fairly clean and quiet place to grab a quick beer (or nine) with friends. Midtown is in desperate need of the Cheers experience, a place where everyone knows your name. I thought this void in the Midtown bar scene would never be filled until I stumbled upon the brand new beer bar, Alley Katz.

Now keep in mind when I first came across this hop lover’s paradise it had been open three days, my second visit was within 10 days, and by the time this goes to press they will have been open a whopping three weeks. It is very hard to judge such a fledgling business. Everyone from ownership to staff are getting used to a new routine, and every jack-wagon that has ever written an article for a local paper is trying to score free drinks.

When I first approached the seemingly heavy, gothic style doors to Alley Katz I didn’t know what to expect. After all, the only signage on the outside of the large red-brick building was a red back-lit steel cutout of a cat. As the surprisingly light doors flung open, I was pleasantly greeted by a nice sized room—big booths to my left, two pool tables in the far corner, high-top tables in front of me, a very spacious bar and a friendly helpful barkeep/owner, Geronimo.

My first thought as I bellied up to the bar was, “Damn that’s a lot different beers.” Geronimo informed me they had 14 beers on tap and 90 different types overall, with the hopes of having 28 on tap and over 150 in the coolers by SubmergeMag.com

Sacramento Beer Week (Feb. 26–March 6). Since I am the highest degree of beer snob, I had seen most of the beers in the cooler and on tap before.

I did spot something I hadn’t seen before: Rogue Brewery Double Mocha Porter. It was a mouthful of chocolaty, hop-y, malted goodness.

Geronimo explained to me why they have no hard alcohol, “Since we are in a neighborhood, we have a provisional beer and wine license for the first six months. We are trying to keep it low-key.

We don’t want to cause any problems. We built this bar for the neighborhood, the community.”

He isn’t blowing smoke either; you can tell by his tone and mannerisms he is one of those rare genuine people. He actually spends time every month volunteering at the Boys & Girls Club.

For my second beer, I sampled the Alley Katz Honey Blonde. It’s the house beer made by Firestone Brewing. The sweet summertime beer has a nice soft finish to it and would be a perfect lawn-mowing beer.

[I’d previously been ignoring the music but about this time I started to take note of what the jukebox was playing. The next three artists were: Creed, Toby Keith and Bruno Mars. Now, I am not blaming the management for this. The other patrons could be equally at fault, but nonetheless it was annoying.]

As I tried to block out the jukebox, Geronimo handed me a menu and said that they would soon be serving hot gourmet sandwiches. The menu consists of anything from pastrami and Swiss on a sourdough roll to a tri-tip and Monterey Jack on a French roll and a slightly lighter turkey and avocado on a croissant. It sounds good, and hopefully the quality of the sandwiches will be as high as the rest of the bar.

I noticed that there were several large flat screen televisions in the place, and they all seemed to be playing different sports games.

When I asked Geronimo about this he said, “I love sports, I got the NBA, NFL, NHL league passes as well as all the ESPN channels. If there’s a sports event you want to watch, just let us know and we’ll put it on for you.”

Watching the other customers enjoy all the different beers and the entire bar, I really think Geronimo has a good thing going here. It has a great neighborhood feel. As the place filled up and the door continually swung open I half expected the other patrons to stop what they were doing and shout, “NORM!”

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Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

13

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Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

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Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

15

Picture Perfect

Sister Crayon Steps It Up Further on Debut LP

Words Blake Gillespie • photos melissa welliver

I

t was a gray and windy afternoon on the beaches of Malibu. A tidal wave warning was in effect, but there local band Sister Crayon stood, fully-clothed, sharp shoreline rock at their ankles, as photographer Eliot Lee Hazel barked orders to capture the frozen chaos of crashing white caps for the band’s debut album art.

Lead singer Terra Lopez slipped during one shot, cutting her leg, but Hazel ran his shoot like a drill sergeant. “He just said, ‘Get up.

Don’t smile. Don’t look at me,’” Lopez said. “Well, he’s a sweetheart, nice guy, you can sit down and talk to him, but when he’s taking photos he is so intense.”

As absurd as it feels to the members of Sister Crayon, Lopez and drummer Nicholas Suhr spoke of the shoot as one of their most memorable music experiences—even though it had little to do with music. Along with Hazel’s artwork, the band has a highdef music video done by celebrity photographer Robert Ascroft.

Browsing both photographers’ websites, perusing the tastefully gratuitous images of Devendra Banhart, Usher, Mariah Carey,

Edward Sharpe and Brad Pitt, Sister Crayon will be the first to tell you how privileged, yet out of place they feel. Are these the last remaining minor moments of Sister Crayon before they receive Coachella bookings and Japan tour offers?

In the next few weeks, the band is playing humbler venues like Townhouse for the Sacramento Electronic Music Festival and Luigi’s Fungarden for the Bellow album release party. So our indie darlings have yet to grow too big for our sleepy city. Lopez looks like a siren Viking vixen in the video for “(In) Reverse,” but when I met with her and Suhr at Mondo Bizarro (formerly Butch & Nellie’s) for an interview, she was back in her Midtown garb, a second-hand green army jacket and jeans—the Lindsay Weir of Freaks and Geeks look.

She’s still the same shy songwriter, fronting a gloomy pop act that seeks inspiration in the lonesome despair of poets like Jean Genet and Fernando Pessoa.

The Bellow sessions scattered across the span of a year and a half. The newly realized lineup of Sister Crayon crammed in 18-hour

shifts at The Hangar with engineer Scott McShane, who described the process as “tense” and a “guerilla recording style.” McShane produced the first Sister Crayon EP, Enter Into Holy (Or)ders, and the band never entertained the thought of working with anyone else.

“Recording already is a really intimate thing. We bond so well with him. He gets what we’re trying to do, even before we understand it,” Lopez said.

“He’s able to throw out ideas that’s not in an insulting way. It’s just full-on experimenting and you know that it’s for the best. He pushes us to succeed,” Suhr added.

The tension came from the hourglass pressure of paying for studio time and the unfamiliarity of having a new drummer join two weeks prior, writing his parts on the fly. Suhr was not a complete stranger, knowing Lopez from her stint in The Evening Episode, but he and Lopez talked of the anxieties surrounding a debut full length.

“We were zombies. We’d spend 18 hours in the studio and you can hear it in the record,” she said.

Originally, Bellows was intended to be a five-song EP, written

by Lopez and synth-keyboardist Dani Fernandez, with “I’m Still the Same Person” being the only pre-released song to make the album.

But once the band wrapped recording those five songs, creativity was running high and five more songs were written collectively.

“Scott kept telling us there was a lot of tension on the record,” Suhr

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Rock 1417 R STREET • SACRAMENTO 2AMCLUBSAC.COM • 21+

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Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

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iNSidE ACE OF SpAdES Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

said. “If you know what was going on at the time it makes sense.

There was a lot of time spent coming to an agreement on things, but whenever we’re writing together there’s no awkwardness. It was easy to go into the next five songs with an open mindset.”

Indeed, the settling in is brazen and culminates with a spacious piano ballad called “Ixchel, The Lady Rainbow,” in which Lopez’s visceral croon soars over a piece written by former member Genaro Ulloa. “Ixchel” was the last song the band recorded, a one-take recording done well past the midnight hour. “We did it live tracking,” Lopez said. “He was in the other room and I was in the main room singing. We could see each other through a little window, but that was it. It was the first take and it was incredible. I know it sounds corny, but there were tears in everyone’s eyes. We were all exhausted. Even Scott had tears in his eyes.”

Suhr added, “It’s one of those songs. Every other song on the record we did multiple takes because we felt we could do better. At

the end of that song, everyone was just like what the fuck. It’s one of those songs where if it didn’t sound like that, with the imperfections left in, it wouldn’t have worked.”

The gloomy pop instrumentation informed by the troubled words of dead poets is an appropriate setting for an album titled Bellow, but Suhr said a lot of the mood is owed to McShane’s guidance. “I heard the five songs written before I joined, but the mood had changed through Scott’s ears.” Lopez said his touch is most prevalent on “Here We Never Die and “(In) Reverse” as he took the band’s ideas and focused them into a cohesive sound.

In addition to McShane, the Sister Crayon sound, most notably the lyrics, is in homage to the writings of Fernando Pessoa, a 20th Century poet and literary critic. Lopez only admitted her obsession with Pessoa’s work. She has a Pessoa tattoo and her Pug’s name is Ophelia, after Pessoa’s secret crush to whom he never confessed his love. “It’s the despair,” she said. “It sounds dramatic, but he

was such a lonely individual. He was very mysterious and obviously people are drawn to that.

“I think that is a huge part of Bellow. ‘Here We Never Die’ is my talking to a lover in that way. The despair and sadness that he wrote is so sad that I can’t even finish one of his books. I have to read a sentence a day sometimes because it’s so much. It just floors me. I have no option when it comes to his presence in my music.”

As intense as Sister Crayon is sonically and visually portrayed, Hazel’s insistency that the band stop smiling as the chilly Pacific waves capsized on their heads speaks of the band’s unbridled joy in its work. As arresting as “Ixchel, The Lady Rainbow” is, Bellow closes with “Souls of Gold,” a cheery campfire sing-a-long with a blasting brass section and woozy synths. “We’re always such a serious band and a lot of our songs are really dark,” Lopez said. “I do like that the album ends on a lighter note than what it could have been.”

“I think that is a huge part of Bellow. ‘Here We Never Die’ is my talking to a lover in that way. The despair and sadness that he wrote is so sad that I can’t even finish one of his books. I have to read a sentence a day sometimes because it’s so much. It just floors me. I have no option when it comes to his presence in my music.”

– Sister Crayon’s Terra Lopez on poet Fernando Pessoa

See Sister Crayon live as part of the Sacramento Electronic Music Festival on Jan. 27 at The Townhouse. They will also perform at the release party for their new album Bellows at Luigi’s Fungarden on Feb. 19.

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sacramento (916) 258-Blue (2583)

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

17

For the Masses

Rush Training Center aims to make action sports accessible to anyone and everyone Words Jonathan Carabba • photos Rich Baum

T

o say that Brian Owens, co-founder of Rush Training Center in Rancho Cordova, is an action sports enthusiast would be a wicked understatement. After years spent on the East Coast working in marketing for a Fortune 500 company (AOL/Time Warner), Owens set his sights back on the West Coast—specifically the Sacramento region. He hoped to return and land a job in the snowboarding industry, an industry that he “absolutely loved.” Things didn’t quite work out the way he planned, though. “Much to my dismay, I got back out here to find that nobody wanted anything to do with somebody coming out of the high-tech industry,” Owens recently shared with Submerge. “Regardless of the fact that I’d been working with a company that was pioneering an industry for nine years.”

So what did he do? He took the next logical step for a board-sport lover, of course. “I had saved up some dollars, so I went and bought my own little skate shop.”

Over the course of almost seven years, Owens grew his shop in Folsom, called California Board Life, into three locations that carried

18

skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, surfing and other action sports equipment. From there, Owens got really tight with the city of Folsom after they approached him and asked for his help. “They approached me and said, ‘Hey, you’re a local skate shop guy, we’re going to be opening a skate park. We’ve got approval, do you have any interest in helping?’ I was like, ‘Heck yeah!’” Not only did Owens assist in the planning and development of the $3.2 million skate park, he also spearheaded a skate lessons program that at its peak had 1,400 kids per year coming through.

“It all happened because I saw this need for lessons,” Owens said, “I saw this need for the complete beginner kids to have direction. They’re trying to figure out these sports with little to no direction, that’s the biggest problem I saw.”

Because the Nor-Cal Board Lessons program that Owens started was doing so well and because the programs were so “rich in life lessons,” as he put it, other cities like Fair Oaks, El Dorado Hills, Roseville and Rancho Cordova hopped onboard and enlisted Owens’ expertise.

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

As soon as the economy started tanking, Owens realized that two of his shops’ leases were coming to an end, so he took the opportunity to get out while he could. Enter Rush Training Center, an action sports facility located in Rancho Cordova that Owens and his business partner, Doug Disney, recently opened. “The idea spawned almost 15 years ago,” Owens said of the training facility, which boasts a mahogany bowl that has a 9-foot over-vert section; a mini half pipe; a street section for skate and BMX that has interchangeable progressive rails, boxes and obstacles; two indoor snow training lanes that are made of a “synthetic snow carpeting” that Owens and Disney had manufactured specifically for them in China; and last but not least, a giant

20-by-20-foot foam pit accessible via a 14-by-7foot competition-grade trampoline (which is used for snow, skate and wakeboard “air awareness” training) and via a launch ramp (perfect for BMXers to practice back flips and other advanced tricks without harsh consequences). “I want this place to be treated as a true training center,” Owens said of the facility, pointing out that Rush isn’t simply a skate park. “We’re working in the direction where people will show up 85 percent of the time for a piece of programming, so that includes a lesson, a clinic, a video premier, some sort of event.”

Owens and his team of friendly, well qualified instructors/mentors offer a slew of programs, everything from beginner skate and snowboard

“Not only do we hope to bring lots of people into these sports as beginners.

We honestly hope to progress the sports, to take these sports to another level.”

– Brian Owens, co-founder of Rush Training Center Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

lessons, to “Old Guy” skate sessions (for those 21-and-over), to father/son sessions, to the “Ultimate Boarders Camp,” which Owens thinks best encompasses Rush Training Center in that participants learn a little about skateboarding, snowboarding and wakeboarding through multiday classes that eventually end up in the group taking field trips to participate in one or more of the sports.

“Not only do we hope to bring lots of people into these sports as beginners,” Owens said. “We honestly hope to progress the sports, to take these sports to another level.” He pointed out

that if all goes to plan, he’ll eventually open another location regionally (as well as possibly franchise in other states) and that “Sacramento could start pumping out pros.” He went on to say, “I looked at Denver, I looked at Salt Lake City and I looked at Sacramento. This is the geographic Mecca of action sports enthusiasts. If you go an hour-and-a-half one way, you’re surfing in real good conditions. The Bay Area is one of the top spots in the world for skateboarding, and with snowboarding, we’re right down the hill. This is where I wanted my dream to be.”

Rush Training Center, a true first of its kind, appeals to all ages and all ability levels. Check out Rush-tc.com for more information and to view their program schedules. On Feb. 26, Rush will host an art/music/skate/snow/ BMX event, so be sure to mark your calendars for that as well.

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

19

Mass Plus Velocity

Typhoon continues to build momentum after a yearlong hiatus Words James Barone

B

ands have a hard enough time staying together with just a regular roster of three to five members. Heck, even The White Stripes have been on a lengthy break, and there are only two of them. Taking that into consideration, you could imagine the difficulty of keeping a band solvent when it’s anywhere from seven to 15 members strong. That’s a lot of moving parts (perhaps even a lot of egos), and it certainly has given Portland, Ore.’s Typhoon some difficulty. However, after a hiatus that lasted about a year, Typhoon has been as strong and prolific as it has ever been.

“It got to be too much,” said Typhoon’s frontman and chief songwriter Kyle Morton. “There were a lot of people in the band before too, but I think we had a harder time managing interpersonal relations and managing pressure, and even figuring out if we wanted to do this, and I think the answer was yes after a year of not doing it.”

“Yes” is a bit of an understatement. True to its name, Typhoon has been churning the waters of its creativity in the past two years.

Last year saw the band release Hunger and Thirst, an album highly lauded in its hometown of Portland and beyond. Oregon Public Broadcasting called Hunger and Thirst “arguably Portland’s best musical export of 2010.” High praise considering the amount of quality bands the City of Roses has been producing in recent years.

Morton said he was appreciative of the band’s accolades, especially standing out in such a crowded crop of bands.

“Portland has this M.O. for being super friendly, and most of the bands we play with up here are very nice and very good, but there’s this kind of competition underlying everything,” he said. “It feels good. We put a lot into that record. It was a labor of love for myself and Paul [Laxer, co-producer] who recorded it for us, because I would get home from work, and we would start recording from 6 to midnight every day, seven days a week for a few months.”

However, Morton said he also doesn’t want to get caught up in what others are saying about his band.

20

“I try not to ever read any blogs anymore, because it makes you go crazy after a while,” he explained, stating that the praise, while gratifying, could also lead to heightened self-consciousness.

“I’m hoping I can turn that into an advantage and maybe the self-consciousness can make for better songs,” Morton quipped. “I hope it’s not crippling, but it’s hard to say at this point.”

The praise hasn’t hobbled Morton’s creativity yet. While recording Hunger and Thirst, he and the band were also working on new material. The band came up with a handful of new songs that make up A New Kind of House, a stellar collection of soaring orchestral pop music. In fact, the EP, which started out as just a couple of B-sides, almost grew into another full-length album, but Morton and the band “decided to cut it where it was and not take on too much.”

More settled in from their hiatus, Morton said that A New Kind of Thirst “feels like us playing together as a band. I feel like it’s all there, whereas the last record, it was more like a little bit of strings here and a little bit of this there.” Typhoon’s ease of transition from Hunger and Thirst to A New Kind of House could also stem from the carryover of subject matter from LP to EP. “I think of it as a sequel and a prequel,” Morton said. “On the album, there’s a song called “Claws Part 2,” and [the new EP] has “Claws Part 1.” It’s a song that we wrote a long time ago but underwent an overhaul this past year. To me, it has a cinematic

tie. Everything else were songs that we started writing in the same house that we recorded Hunger and Thirst, and it just sort of feels like an extension of that album. There are actually a lot of lyrics that repeat on the EP that were on the album.”

Morton said A New Kind of House deals with the tie between home—or houses—and memory. He also went on to say that themes such as these could become fixtures in his songwriting for some time.

“I don’t know what else I’d write about,” he said. “I have these themes or an idea that I’m probably going to keep trying to get it right; until I feel like we do that, I think we’ll keep at it.”

Other than sticking to consistent themes, Morton doesn’t have a set plan when it comes to his songwriting. In fact, the process has become more collaborative as the group has solidified into a core unit, which now consists of 11 members (“Eleven has been our magic number lately,” he said).

“With the writing, we haven’t gotten it down to a science yet, but maybe it shouldn’t be a science,” Morton explained.

A New Kind of House will be released on March 8 through Tender Loving Empire. In the meantime, the band will be on the road promoting the EP; however, Morton is already itching to get back into the studio.

“I feel like right now we’re being prolific, and I want to do that for as long as we can,” he said. “I don’t want to waste it.”

“I have these themes or an idea that I’m probably going to keep trying to get it right; until I feel like we do that, I think we’ll keep at it.” – Kyle Morton, Typhoon

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

If you missed Typhoon when they played Davis on Jan. 22, fear not. The band will make a stop in Sacramento on Jan. 28 at Luigi’s Fungarden. Ages and Ages, Appetite and Brainstorm will also perform. The all-ages show starts at 7:30 p.m. and will cost $8.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

904 15th Street 443.2797

Jan. 24–feb. 7

Between I & J • Downtown Sacramento

submergemag.com/calendar

m usic

1.24 Monday

Delta of Venus Ava Mendoza, The Black Swans, 7:30 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Tumbledown (feat. Mike Herrera of MXPX), Gun Down, Mike the Pike (of Neutralboy), Filthy Luke, The Hybrid Creeps, 6 p.m.

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

G St Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Harlow’s Hugo, 8 p.m.

The Hub Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos), The Blank Reference, So Stressed, 8 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Nahum Zdybel Trio, Tyson Graf, 7 p.m.

Old Ironsides Strapped for Cash w/ Nuance, 8 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Press Club Crazy Harris Band, Rendezvous With Cool Beans, 9 p.m.

Townhouse Wallpaper, The Dance Party, K. Flay, Shaun Slaughter, Jon Droll, 8 p.m.

1.25 Tuesday

Capitol Garage Open Jazz Session, 9 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

G St Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

The Hub Tape Deck Mountain, 8 p.m.

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

Ca l en da r Marilyn’s Wires and Wood feat.

Le Hot Club de Carmichael, 9 p.m.

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

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

Press Club 80’s Night w/ Billy Lane, 9 p.m.

Shady Lady The Flower Vato, 10 p.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Alex Nelson, 5:30 p.m.; Lew Fratis Trio, 9 p.m.

1.26 Wednesday

Bisla’s Open Mic, 9 p.m.

Blackwater Cafe Open Mic, 7 p.m.

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

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

Harlow’s Midnite, 10 p.m.

The Hub Jacob Smigel, 8 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Karaoke, 7 p.m.

Luigi’s Fun Garden The Black Swans, Laura Gibson, Leonard Mynx, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s Mark Wears Clogs, Anima Fracture, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live South of Sunshine, Get Shot, 8:30 p.m.

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

Powerhouse Pub Egostall, Yes, Sir, 9 p.m.

Press Club HUMP w/ DJ Whores, Dibiase, C-Plus, DJ Flow, hosted

by AV, 9 p.m.

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

Distillery

open for lunch & dinner

friday, Jan 28 Big Sandy & His Fly Right Boys, Jenny Lyn & Her Real Gone Daddies $8 10pm

friday, feb 11 L!fe: Blee hosting Verbal Taktiks and Kenotheos w/ DJ Oasis $5 10pm; free cover before 11pm

Saturday, Jan 29 Machete, The Stalking Distance, Lessons in Failure & Fight Inside $7 10pm

Saturday, feb 12 Nevada Backwards, Mark Wears Clogs & Problem With Dragons (MA) $6 10pm

friday, feb 4 Acoustic friday: Autumn Sky, Dick Larson, Alyssa Cox & Graham Vinson $5 10pm Saturday, feb 5 Murderlicious, The Scowndrolls, Rude Intoxicant & Support The Rabid $6 10pm

friday, feb 18 Verbal Abuse, Psychosomatic, BeerLords & Flip-offs $7 10pm

Karaoke

every Sun-Thurs 9pm Free

2107 l street sacramento, ca 95816 (916) 443-8815 SubmergeMag.com

Torch Club Double Magnum, 5:30 p.m.; Jimmy, Adams & Joyce, 9 p.m.

University Union Redroom Room, CSUS Nooner feat. The Zoo Human Project, 12 p.m.

1.27 thursday

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

The Blue Lamp The Value Menu Tour w/ Big Pooh (Little Brother), Tanya Morgan, Addict Merchants, Styles 1001 feat. Floe Montana, DJ Slugworth Chocolate, 8 p.m.

The Boardwalk The Bank, Stasis Burden, Adhara, Smelling Colors, 8 p.m.

Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m.

Club Retro Beyond the Sun, Alyssa Cox, Waxed Apple, Don’t Forget Today, Just Friends, Ask Fredric, 6 p.m.

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

G St Pub DJ Somebody, 10 p.m.

Harlow’s Deerhoof, G. Green, 9 p.m.

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

Mix Rick Preston, DJ Ron Reeser, DJ Dan Saenz, 9 p.m.

Old Ironsides Bastards of Young, Kevin Seconds, Tater Salmon, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Lee Brice, Chris Gardner, 9:30 p.m.

Press Club Breva, LP Sessions, 9 p.m.

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

Townhouse SEMF Night 1 Submerge Presents: Daedelus, Tycho, Sister Crayon, Rufio, Thriftcar, Pregnant, DJ Whores, DJ Fresh Machine, 8 p.m.

UC Davis: Freeborn Hall RJD2, 8 p.m.

Vega’s Blues Jam, 7 p.m.

1.28 Friday

Beatnik Studios Step Jayne, Goodness Gracious Me, The Sizzling Sirens; Art by: Miguel Willet, Andy Littlefield, 6 p.m.

The Blue Lamp Tiger’s Blood, Eightfourseven, I’m Dirty Too, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk The English Beat, La Noche Oskura, The Vintage Vandals, 7:30 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Sharon Cuneta, Christian Bautista, 9 p.m.

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

use a qr scanner on your smart phone to view calendar online Delta of Venus Domes/Campus Tri-COOPs Benefit Dance Party, DJs StraightNasty, Spoken Bird, 8 p.m.

Distillery Big Sandy & His Fly Right Boys, Jenny Lyn & Her Real Gone Daddies, 10 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Musical Charis, The Onlymen, The Kelps, Brightmillion, 9 p.m.

G St Pub Diciembre Gris, APT D203, Aire Espacial, QUIN, 9 p.m.

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

Harlow’s Tom Rigney & Flambeau, 7:30 p.m.; Goapele, 10 p.m.

Luigi’s Fun Garden Typhoon, AgesAndAges, Appetite, Brainstorm, 8 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Yeti, Shamalamacord, Julie the Bruce, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s Walking Spanish, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Scene, DJ David X, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live The Meantime, Little Black Bats, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Jet Black Popes, Manatee, Desario, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub WonderBread 5, 10 p.m.

Press Club College Night w/ DJ Rue, 9 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Audioboxx, 9 p.m.

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

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

Townhouse SEMF Night 2 Rough House/Record Club Presents: Little Foxes, Melee Beats, Favors, Boss Magic, Shaun Slaughter, Roger Carpio, Taylor Cho, Adam J, 8 p.m.

Vega’s Defeating the Purpose, Mother Harlot, One Sharp Mind, 9 p.m.

1.29 Saturday

Bisla’s DJ Nita, Mackenzie Knoester Project, 9 p.m.

Blue Cue Live Band Karaoke, 9 p.m.

The Blue Lamp Black Mackerel, Bloodshot & Dilated, MDL, Drawing of the Three, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk Lil Uno, CD Loco, W.O.W. Ent, Penny, Good People, Fade, Mic Meezy, 8 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Sharon Cuneta, Christian Bautista, 4 p.m. & 8 p.m.

Club Retro Kingdom of Giants, Dressed In White, Above the City, Eleonora, Everyhand Betrayed, 6 p.m.

Distillery Machete, The Stalking Distance, Lessons in Failure, Fight Inside, 10 p.m.

January & february TUES

25

WED

26

THURS

27 FRI

Alex NelsoN 5:30PM lew frAtistrio 9PM double MAgNuM 5:30PM

JiMMy, AdAMs ANd Joyce 9PM x trio 5PM

HArleywHiteJr.

feAturiNg AAroN KiNg 9PM

Acoustic trio 5PM

KiNg 28 AAroN &tHe iMPeriAls 9PM SaT

29

JoHNNy guitAr KNox 5PM

sHANe dwigHt9PM

SUn

blues JAM 4PM 30 boNe MAcdoNAld 8PM Alex NelsoN 5:30PM TUES 1 lew frAtistrio 9PM Acoustic oPeN Mic 5:30PM WED 2 goldeN cAdillAcs 9PM xtrio 5PM THURS

3

FRI

HArleywHiteJr.

feAturiNgAAroN KiNg9PM JiMMyPAiler&lewfrAtis5PM

wHite Jr. 4 HArley orcHestrA 9PM

SaT

5

SUn

6

JoHNNy guitAr KNox 5PM

tHeNibblers9PM superbowlParty drinkspecials &comp. food doors open at 1PM

JoHNNy guitAr KNox & tHe sootHers 8PM

torchclub.net

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

21

RESTaURaNT & NIghT clUB monDAY JAn 24 8PM $10 Radio 94.7 PRESENtS WEDnESDAY JAn 26 10PM $22

hugo

FRIDAY FEB 4 9PM $15

the aggrolites

w/ guests devil’s brigade and roger Miret & the disasters

midnite steelin dan SAtuRDAY FEB 5 7PM $15

st croix roots

thuRSDAY JAn 27 10PM $12 adv

deerhoof g green with guest

FRIDAY JAn 28 7:30PM $15

tom rigney & flambeau FRIDAY JAn 28 10PM $20

Goapele SAtuRDAY JAn 29 10PM $10

sTiLL Time longview cd release tuESDAY FEB 1 8PM $20 adv

clutch with guest valient thorr

thuRSDAY FEB 10 9PM $10

Moustache harbor with sean tabor

FRIDAY FEB 11 7:30PM $25

toMMy castro

SAtuRDAY FEB 12 7PM $15 ChiCago TribuTe a u T h o r i T y

SAtuRDAY FEB 12 9PM $ 10

Dane Drewis

SunDAY FEB 13 10PM $12

Murder by death

w/ the builders and the butchers and damion suomi & the minor prophets

ComInG Soon Feb 16 Mother Mother Feb 18 island of black and white Feb 19 a.l.o.

Feb 20 big sam’s Funky nation Feb 21 rocky votolato Feb 22 young the giant Feb 23 todd snider & elizabeth cook Feb 24 Miguel Feb 25 & 26 tainted love Mar 2 laura Meyer Mar 6 Kaki King Mar 8 no. Mississippi allstars Mar 9 truth & salvage co.

Mar 12 bueno bros Mar 20 dwele Mar 27 Jake shimabakuro

VIP BoothS AVAILABLE CALL CLuB FoR DEtAILS PARtIES oF ALL SIZES FoR ALL oCCASIonS

Email: reservations@harlows.com or Call 916.441.4693x19

BISTRO MENU

monDAY FEB 14 10PM $10

valentine’s day with

ViVian Lee

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 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Trillick, 5 Days Dirty, Fuhcade, 7 p.m.

G St Pub DJ Charlie, 10 p.m.

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

Harlow’s Still Time, Longview (CD Release), 10 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Never Too Late, 4 p.m.

Luigi’s Fun Garden Rademacher, San Kazakgascar, Mathletes, 8:30 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe David Houston & the Strings, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s Tres Hombres (ZZ Top tribute), 8 p.m.

Mix Dance Party w/ DJ Mike Moss, 9 p.m.

Naked Lounge Downtown Live The Isaac Howl, Skyway View, Odame, 8:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides The Golden Cadillacs, JP Harris & The Tough Choices, Miss Lonely Hearts, 9 p.m.

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

Powerhouse Pub Dept of Rock, Mother Mayhem, 10 p.m.

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

The Radisson Boz Scaggs, 7:30 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Audioboxx, 9 p.m.

Odd Fellows Hall (Davis) Geographer, Lord Huron, A B & the Sea, 8 p.m.

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

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

Townhouse SEMF Night 3 One Solutions Presents: The New Humans, Bonjay, Dusty Brown, Tha Fruitbat, Two Playa Game, Seventh Swami, Paper Pistols, Chachi Jones, Hearts + Horses, Mike Diamond, Sex & Weight, My Cousin Vinny, 6 p.m.

Vega’s Set Theory, Instagon, Doofy Doo, 9 p.m.

1.30 Sunday

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

Blush Ultra Lounge Torrey Tee, J Gouda, Da Blocknocs, J5, Vern, Stueazie, Yae & Joel, DJ Gio, 9 p.m.

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

Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill South of Sunshine, Skinhammer, That’s What She Said, Step Jayne, 6 p.m.

Golden Bear Industry Night, 7 p.m.

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

Laughs Unlimited Rolling Fork Blues Revue, 3 p.m.

Mix DJ Billy Lane, 9 p.m.

MontBleu Casino Resort George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, 8 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub AC Myles, 3 p.m.

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

Torch Club Blues Jam, 4 p.m.; Bone MacDonald, 8 p.m.

Townhouse Roman Funerals, X-Ray Press, Winter’s Fall, 8 p.m.

1.31 Monday

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

G St Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Liquid Nightclub We Love Monday’s w/ DJs Ron Reeser, Rustique, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Press Club Noisepsalm, Waning, 9 p.m.

2.01 Tuesday

Capitol Garage Open Jazz Session, 9 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

G St Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Harlow’s Clutch, Valient Thorr, 8 p.m.

Marilyn’s Acoustic Karaoke and Open Mic, 9 p.m.

Odd Fellows Hall (Davis) DAWES, Jonny Corndawg, Shannon Harney, 8 p.m.

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

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

Press Club 80’s Night w/ Billy Lane, 9 p.m.

T2 Nightclub & Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Torch Club Alex Nelson, 5:30 p.m.; Lew Fratis Trio, 9 p.m.

UC Davis: Freeborn Hall Social Distortion, Lucero, Chuck Ragan, 7 p.m.

2.02 Wednesday

Bisla’s Open Mic, 9 p.m.

Blackwater Cafe Open Mic, 7 p.m.

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

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

Marilyn’s Secure Sounds, 9 p.m.

Mix DJ Gabe Xavier, 9 p.m.

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

Powerhouse Pub Shiver Fox, Defyant Cirle, 9 p.m.

Press Club Neptune’s Folly, Terra Ferno, Ventura, 9 p.m.

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

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

University Union Redroom Room, CSUS Nooner feat. Tommy & the High Pilots, 12 p.m.

2.03 Thursday

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

The Blue Lamp Rat Damage, Majesty, Flesh Hammers, 9 p.m.

Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m.

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

Delta of Venus Soul N’ Bass DJ Dance Party: Mr. Glass, Vee and The Krust Brothers, 8 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Ember Beside Us, Royals Die Young, Our Endless Obsession, Galatia, 6 p.m.

G St Pub DJ Somebody, 10 p.m.

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

Odd Fellows Hall (Davis) Yolo Mambo, 7 p.m.

Old Ironsides Leroy Virgil & The Excavators, The Bright Faces, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Brodie Stewart Band, 9:30 p.m.

Press Club Jem & Scout, 9 p.m.

Sol Collective Scratchpad, 7 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.

2.04 FRIDAY

Blue Cue Live Band Karaoke, 9 p.m.

The Blue Lamp Mahtie Bush, Kelcz, Floe Montana, Task 1ne, DJ Los, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk Paint Over Pictures, June Breaks Bright, Before You Fall, 7:30 p.m.

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

Colonial Theatre Waynee Wayne, Dimplomatz Kast, Bueno, Gino, Philthy Rich & Guce, Open Mic, 7:30 p.m.

Crest Theatre David Garrett, 6:30 p.m.

Distillery Acoustic Friday w/ Autumn Sky, Dick Larson, Alyssa Cox, Graham Vinson, 10 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Illogical Beats (CD Release), Americaz Mozt Haunted, Divided Allegiance, Teeth N Tonez, Cylince, Lower Level, 7 p.m.

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

Harlow’s The Aggrolites, Devil’s Brigade (feat. Matt Freeman of Rancid), Roger Miret & the Disasters, 9 p.m.

Luigi’s Fun Garden Autopsy Drive, Uncle Tony, Down From Here, Eluminati, 8 p.m.

Mix DJ Jus James, 9 p.m.

Old Ironsides Gun Runner, 9 p.m.

The Park Ultra Lounge Joe Maz, DJ Billy Lane, 9 p.m.

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24 Hour

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

23

Powerhouse Pub Cheeseballs, 10 p.m.

Press Club College Night w/ DJ Rue, 9 p.m.

The Refuge March Into Paris, Death Valley High, I’m Dirty Too, The Hungry, Into the Open, 7 p.m.

Shenanigans Allinaday, Fate Under Fire, The Silent Game, 8 p.m.

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

Torch Club Jimmy Pailer & Lew Fratis, 5 p.m.; Harley White Jr. Orchestra, 9 p.m.

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

2.05 Saturday

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

The Blue Lamp Three Bad Jacks, The Whiskey Avengers, Moonshine, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk Haste the Day, My Children My Bride, The Chariot, A Plea for Purging, It Starts With Alaska, 6:30 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Chi of Shaolin, 8 p.m.

Center for the Arts The Battlefield Band, 8 p.m.

Club Retro K Será, I the Mighty, Not Your Style, Nowhere But Up, Across the Tide, l.i.f.e., 6 p.m.

Distillery Murderlicious, The Scowndrolls, Rude Intoxicant, Support the Rabid, 10 p.m.

The Fire Escape Bar and Grill Diamond Doll FUNdraiser & Kiss Kiss Booth! w/ Hero’s Last Mission and more, 9 p.m.

G St Pub DJ Charlie, 10 p.m.

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

Harlow’s Steelin’ Dan, 7 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Road Test, 4 p.m.

Luigi’s Fun Garden Roman Funerals, 8 p.m.

Mix Dance Party w/ DJ Larry Rodriguez Powerhouse Pub Spazmatics, 10 p.m.

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

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

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

Vega’s Lizzy D, 7 p.m.

2.06

Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Golden Bear Industry Night, 7 p.m.

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

Mix DJ Billy Lane, 9 p.m.

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

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

Torch Club Super Bowl Party, 5 p.m.; Johnny Guitar Knox, The Soothers, 8 p.m.

2.07 monday

Ace of Spades Badfish (Sublime tribute), Scotty Don’t, Arden Park Roots, Dogfood, Element of Soul, 6:30 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

G St Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Liquid Nightclub We Love Monday’s w/ DJs Ron Reeser, Rustique, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Sunday

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

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

Comedy Laughs Unlimited D’Sean Ross, E Clark, Jan. 27 28, Thursday, 8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.

Laugh for Peace w/ Steph Sanders, Mickey Gordon, E Clark, Insane Wayne, hosted by Patrick Jaye, Jan. 29, 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.

Comedy for the Soul w/ D’Sean Ross, Jan. 30, 7 p.m.

Comedy Open Mic Showcase, 8 p.m.

Corey Holcomb, Feb. 2, 8 p.m.

Mike Pace, Toby Muresianu, Feb. 3 - 6, Thursday, 8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m.

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

Punchline Comedy Club Lavell Crawford, Jan. 27 - 30, Thursday & Sunday, 8 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.

Sacramento Comedy Showcase, Feb. 2, 8 p.m.

Chicano Comedy All Stars, Feb. 3, 8 p.m.

Maz Jobrani, Feb. 4 - 5, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.

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

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

Sacramento Comedy Spot Jan. 26, Improv 1 Continuous, 7 p.m.; Harold Night, 9 p.m.

Jan. 27, Improv 1 Continuous, 7

p.m.; Cage Match, 9 p.m.

Jan. 28, In Your Facebook, 8 p.m.; Mortal Komedy, 9 p.m.

Jan. 29, Knee Jerk Comedy Hour, 6:30 p.m.; Spotlight Improv Showcase, 8 p.m.; Anti Cooperation League, 9 p.m.; Knee Jerk Comics, 10:30 p.m.

Jan. 30, Open Mic Scramble, 7 p.m.

Feb. 2, Improv 1 Continuous, 7 p.m.; Harold Night, 9 p.m.

Tommy T’s Sheryl Underwood, Jan. 28 29, Friday, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m. & 11:30 p.m.

Misc.

Artisan Building VegFest 2011, Jan. 29, 12 p.m.

Benvenuti Performing Arts Center The Blackrock Dance Company’s Mosaics, Feb. 2 - 4 Bisla’s Pub Quiz Trivia, Mondays, 7 p.m.

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

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

Center for the Arts The Linda Bair Dance Company, Feb. 4, 8 p.m.

Crest Theatre Sacramento Jewish Film Festival, Feb. 5 - 6 Fox & Goose Pub Quiz, Tuesdays, 7 p.m.

The Guild Theatre Movies On A Big Screen: Scrappers feat. a Q&A w/ codirector Ben Kolak, Jan. 30, 7 p.m.

I Street (between 16th & 17th) Midtown Bazaar, Saturday’s, 10 a.m.

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

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

Mondavi Center - Jackson Hall Momix’s Botanica, Jan. 29 - 30 Mark Morris Dance Group, Feb. 2, 8 p.m.

Never Felt Better Vegan Shop 1st ever NFB vegan chili cook-off, Feb. 5, 6 p.m.

North Natomas Library Brian Goggin Artist Lecture, Jan. 26, 6:30 p.m.

Rosemont High School Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest, Feb. 3, 12 p.m.

Sacramento Public Library (Central Branch) Nerd Fest: Super Smash Bros Tournament, Jan. 29, 2 p.m.

Sol Collective Mics and Moods Poetry Series, Jan. 29, 7 p.m.

Beat Swap Meet, Jan. 30, 11 a.m.

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

University Union Ballroom, CSUS Free screening: Due Date, Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m.

Submergemag.com

24

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

The grindhouse

live<< rewind

A Lot Like Birds

Not to Reason Why

No Shelter Here The Blame Game Blue Valentine

The Weinstein Company Words James Barone Love, like any other volatile emotion, doesn’t always end well. What starts out with the best of intentions can come crashing down.

The fragility of love is explored in Derek Cianfrance’s breakout film, Blue Valentine.

Much like the emotion it delves deep into, the film itself gets messy.

The story introduces us to Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams). When we first meet them, they are married with a beautiful young daughter. Their marriage seems stuck in perpetual malaise. The two love their daughter, but their love for one another seems more one-sided: Dean is still effusive in his praise for his wife, but she appears less than thrilled with her complacent—though doting— husband. After Cindy finds the family dog on the side of a road, struck dead by a car, the story flashes back to when the couple first met. Dean, a young drifter and a Floridian native, lives in Brooklyn. He doesn’t have much education, but is hopeful, idealistic and cheerful. He gets a job with a moving company. When the job sends him to an old-age home in Pennsylvania to move in a tenant, he meets Cindy, who is there visiting her grandmother. The story flashes back and forth between the optimistic past and the harsh present.

Co-writer/director Cianfrance paints a very stark picture of an ideally romantic relationship gone awry. Wonderful cinematography from Andrij Parekh has an extreme intimacy that borders on perverse. Blue Valentine is as up close and personal as a film gets, for better or worse. An iconic scene from the past—as Dean awkwardly serenades Cindy with his goofy voice and ukulele—is vividly contrasted with Dean’s climactic doctor’s office freakout in the present.

The viewer is in the story, and will often feel

SubmergeMag.com

the need to escape. Even the film’s sex scenes are portrayed with such closeness that it’s impossible not to feel voyeuristic, even intrusive.

Blue Valentine also benefits from wonderful performances from its two leads. Gosling and Williams show that they are two of the finest young actors working in or out of Hollywood with such visceral and contemporary performances.

Unfortunately, there is a good deal of disconnect in Blue Valentine. The film lacks a bridge between the positivity of the past and then negativity of the present. We see how the lovers meet and fall in love—though even that feels as rushed and thrown together as their “shotgun” wedding—and the moment it comes crashing down; however, the middle is sorely missing.

Perhaps that’s what Cianfrance was trying to do. But in so doing, he makes cruel generalities. Is this how all relationships end, or just this one? He also perpetuates the stereotypical inconstancy of women with his casting of Cindy as the out-of-love wife who has grown cold and perhaps bored of her husband’s seemingly well-meaning romantic inclinations. In the past, Dean says to one of his coworkers, “I feel like men are more romantic than women. When we get married, we marry one girl. ‘Cause we’re resistant the whole way until we meet one girl and we think I’d be an idiot if I didn’t marry this girl.

She’s so great. But it seems like girls get to a place where they just kind of pick the best option or something. I know girls that married they’re like, ‘Oh he’s got a good job.’ I mean they spend their whole life looking for Prince Charming and then they marry the guy who’s got a good job and is going to stick around.”

Dean might be to blame for this— perhaps it’s his drinking and smoking, his receding hairline and the squandering of his “potential”—but Cianfrance’s ire seems focused squarely on Cindy. Fair or not, it’s only natural that someone takes the blame when love goes to shit. Still, this “he said, he said” sort of argument holds Blue Valentine back from being a truly great film and diminishes its otherwise strong emotional impact.

A Lot Like Birds, Not to Reason Why, Early States, The Dreaded Diamond, Cryptics Friday, Jan. 21, 2011 • The Refuge • Sacramento Words Bobby S. Gulshan The Refuge played host to an eclectic bill of hardhitting bands from around Northern California.

The Cryptics, a three-piece from Santa Cruz, Calif., opened the evening with a set of tunes that combined bite and sweetness. Part power pop, part jagged punk rock, The Cryptics relied on pulsing, driving rhythms and machine gun staccato guitar riffs. As the audience trickled into the space that serves double-duty as a Lutheran Church, the Cryptics took the chance to warm the crowd and prepare them for the night.

The Dreaded Diamond brought an unexpected hint of soul to the evening. The two-piece brother and sister act—featuring Juli Lydell on keys and vocals and Tyler Lydell on drums—combine a heavy percussive attack with melodies that at times soar and at other times lilt with emotional fragility. Despite only featuring two people on stage, there was no lack of presence. Juli’s stage persona is magnified not only by precocious lyrical content, but also her witty engagement with the audience. Songs like “Alphonse Muca” contain enough complexity to run the gamut from indie folk to soulful pop, making you wonder what Natasha Bedingfield might sound like if she had street cred.

Early States brought an air of big stage pomp, featuring a lighting rig and stage smoke that would be appropriate on an arena tour.

However, the big-time stage setup was justified by the bright energy the Sacramento three-piece brought to the audience. A faithful cadre of fans crowded the front of the stage and danced to the techno-infused pop and sang along to infectious choruses. Early States sound relates to that of Muse without the paranoia, and in fact presents an epic send-up of an emerging generation flush with optimistic possibility. Fans sang along to “Stop Calling Me Out,” the chorus of which describes defiance in the face of frustration and judgment. The band ended with “Smoke in

My Eyes,” a song driven by a jangly guitar riff reminiscent of classic U2 and a perfect coda to an energetic set.

“We’ve been called ‘moody,’” said Not to Reason Why guitarist Ian Simpson. In stark contrast to Early States, Not to Reason Why, a four-piece instrumental group from Petaluma, Calif., enveloped the venue in a sinuous darkness, like objects roughhewn out of obsidian. Combining hauntingly gentle piano melodies and arpeggiated guitar lines, Not to Reason Why lulled the audience into a reflective moment, and then would lambaste them with sonic dirges that would be well suited for the soundtrack to the end of days. The final tune, “Good Afternoon,” began with the bass player picking up a guitar, and the drummer switching to bass, as the band wove a tense lullaby that eventually arrived at epic, post-metal bombast as the drummer returned to his post and stark white light enveloped the stage during a powerfully sludging finale.

A Lot Like Birds closed out the evening with their pummeling brand of hardcore. The screams were accompanied by the melodic wails of Kurt Travis, formerly of Dance Gavin Dance, and the twin vocal attack added depth to the presentation.

A Lot Like Birds convulsed with tense energy, attacking with a sonic barrage. Most of the songs they played remain untitled, but what’s vital is the energy. A Lot Like Birds are technically savvy, and some of the tunes proceed with a barely controlled chaos, as if it will fall apart at any moment, only to turn on a dime and crush you with a driving breakdown. These guys can play, and they definitely left a pint of blood up on that stage. The audience was whipped into frenetic frenzy, head banging and writhing to every single break. The final tune, “My Body at War,” drove the crowd into a swirling mosh pit. The pure catharsis of A Lot Like Birds was the perfect exclamation point on an evening of wide ranging sounds.�

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

25

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abstract entertainment 26

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Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

the shallow end Cosmic Conundrum James Barone jb@submergemag.com About a month or so ago most had never even heard of Ophiuchus, let alone pronounce his name, but then a report published by the Minneapolis Star Tribune got loose on the Internet and caused everyone a bit of panic.

Ophiuchus, aka Serpentarius, is one of the many constellations in our night sky. Due to the precession of equinoxes and other things I have to reread Wikipedia articles a thousand times over to be able to truly comprehend, this cosmic space dude holding a snake may have royally fucked your sign of the zodiac.

Ophiuchus was wedged right between Scorpio and Sagittarius and threw every other sign off by about a month.

My friends hit their Facebook pulpits hard, loudly and proudly proclaiming that they’d always been a Taurus/Cancer/Pisces what have you and nothing was going to change that.

Reaction was so severe to the article that the Minneapolis Star Tribune posted a follow-up to a report that the publishers must have figured would just serve as a passing curiosity. “Countless people were astonished by the ‘news’ in Monday’s Star Tribune in which Minneapolis astronomy instructor Parke Kunkle affirmed that the Earth’s ‘wobble’ has shifted the zodiac signs,” the Jan. 14 article stated. “The buzz has raced across the Web like a shooting star.”

If you haven’t already heard, your sign didn’t really change. Western astrology is based upon the change of seasons, whereas Eastern astrology is reliant more on the movement of the constellations. Since you’re a Westerner, you’re in the clear. For those of you who thought you unceremoniously changed into a Gemini, rest assured that you won’t not lose all of your friends.

I was one of the many who would’ve seen their sign change. I would’ve moved from Scorpio to Libra. I didn’t take the news very well. I felt sort of betrayed. I read the description of my new sign, and being highly impressionable, immediately thought, “Is this really how I’ve been all along?” According to Astrology-online.com, on the positive side,

Librans are charming, diplomatic, romantic, easygoing and sociable (ladies…); conversely, they can also be indecisive, gullible and easily influenced. Holy shit! Maybe I am a Libra.

But my whole life I’ve spent identifying as a Scorpio, and really, it’s the coolest sign. I love being a Scorpio if for no other reason that when people ask what sign I am, and I tell them, I always get a look. It’s like, oh, you’re one of those. It’s the sexiest sign by far. It’s instant intrigue. Suddenly, I’m no longer the quiet, goofy man-boy everyone rightfully assumes I am, and now I’m like a kinkier version of James Bond or something. I like having a dark side, even if it’s only sign-deep.

I’m a Scorpio through and through, though, if you subscribe to such theories. I can obsess over the minute details of any menial conversation for days. I can keep a secret forever. I’m keeping about a million of them right now. Some of them are probably about you. Think about it.

The zodiac is like every other hocus pocus story I’ve been spoon fed my entire life. It’s like politics, religion and true love. I know it’s bullshit, but I believe every fucking word of it. It’s the chicken and the egg argument, I guess. Do I act this way, so I’m a Scorpio, or I’m a Scorpio, so I act this way? But in the end, does any of it matter? I’m situated on an oblate spheroid that follows an elliptical orbit around a fiery ball of gas, which spins its own orbit around Godknows-what at the center of our galaxy that’s just one of countless others just like it floating in a sea of mostly empty space.

But any time I think about shit like that, it just makes my head hurt. Like when I think how our solar system is so similar in structure to that of an atom, and then I think that maybe all of this—me, you, my dog, your ironic T-shirt—are just chilling on an electron that makes up just one of the atoms of some super colossal couch somewhere in a universe just like this one.

I think I need to lie down.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 77 • January 24 – February 7, 2011

27

Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas

January 24 – February 7, 2011

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alley Katz blue valentine A lot like Birds livE and MOre!

Sister Crayon Poetic Justice

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Here Comes the Storm

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