Submerge Magazine: Issue 227 (November 21 - December 5, 2016)

Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas

227

November 21 – December 5, 2016 • #

free

Life in 24 Frames Change with the Times Mustafa Shaheen The Art of Empathy Trophii This Is Not a Test

Kanye West at Golden 1 in 30 Minutes or Less Monkey Cat Happy Hour in Auburn Porter Robinson & Madeon Seek Shelter at McClellan Park

Capital Cities Show You What You Want to See

The Nutty

Nutcracker 2

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

December 9 & 16/2016 Community Center Theater For tickets visit sacballet.org/nutty or call 916.808.5181 M-Sat 10am-6pm

Photography: Keith Sutter

NU TS

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

9426 greenback ln, orangevale

tickets available at dimple records or online at

theboardwalkpresents.com all shows all ages

D ay s o f H e av e n

saturday november 26

national lines

wednesday november 30

Friday December 2

saturday December 3

Killer Couture

otW

alCatel iDol 4 CriCket

WitH speCial Guests

Cruisr BeaCH WeatHer tHe Color WilD

notHinG But losers oH! tHe Horror a n d D-one

monday December 5

wednesday December 7

DalHku tHrasHzilla sofo

Friday December 9

siDe effeCt free CanDy

saturday December 10

coming soon saturday

dec 17

Hail tHe sun,

secret band, sianvar, stolas

dec 18 diGitour Winter: sunday

blake Gray, baby ariel,

Weston koury, natHan triska + more

Friday

sunday December 11 SubmergeMag.com

tuesday December 13

Friday

December 16

dec 30

HoW tHe lyncH stole cHristmas:

brotHa lyncH

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

3

Tattoo 12pm-10 Walk-ins Welcome pm

7 Days a Week

Appointments Available

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Available

fri sat sun dec 2nd dec 3rd dec 4 th

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All Toys go to charity

1422 28th St, Ste C • SaCramento

916.452.2000 • relentleSStattoogallery.Com 4

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

coMinG to GraSS Valley GeT TickeTs NOW! Sunday, noVeMber 27

Saturday, deceMber 3

Sunday, January 29

Dustin VeteranS MeMorial auditoriuM thomas 255 S. auBurN ST, GraSS valleY

opening: Hannah Jane Kile

VeteranS MeMorial auditoriuM 255 S. auBurN ST, GraSS valleY

$20 members, $22 general public

$17 members, $20 general public

$47 members, $52 general public

Ages And Ages

An EvEning With

friday, noVeMber 25

Saturday, noVeMber 26

thurSday, deceMber 8

friday, deceMber 9

Saturday, deceMber 31 ne yea W eVe rS !

draWinG held on election day: noV 8

a Joyous revival:

New Years eve with

roy rogers & the

davia, aaron ross

baby Gramps

the Steel Wheels

Joy & Madness,

opening: David Jacobs-Strain

dirty revival

$14 members, $17 general public

$20 members, $22 general public

$17 members, $20 general public

$20 members, $22 general public

$32 members, $37 general public

thurSday, January 26

Saturday, february 18

Monday, february 20

friday, february 24

Sunday, March 26

This Path Tonight Tour

Golden Shoulders

an evening with

robert earl Keen

opening: rabbit Wilde

hot tuna (acoustic)

Paula Poundstone

$47 members, $52 general public

$24 members, $27 general public

$52 members, $62 general public

$57 members, $64 general public

an evening with

alo

delta rhythm Kings opening: The rayos

Graham nash

VeteranS MeMorial auditoriuM Tix start at $33

530.274.8384 • 314 W. Main St, GraSS Valley all shows at our intimate Main StaGe theater unless otherwise noted

B e co m e a m e m B e r & Sav e

For a complete listing of events visit:

thecenterfortheartS.orG SubmergeMag.com

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

*Ticket prices do not include applicable fees

5

dive in

227 2016 Submerge: an independently owned entertainment/lifestyle publication available for free biweekly throughout the greater Sacramento area.

November 21 – december 5

Thankful, I am!

Melissa welliver melissa@submergemag.com cofounder/ Editor in Chief/Art Director

Melissa Welliver melissa@ submergemag.com cofounder/ Advertising Director

Jonathan Carabba jonathan@ submergemag.com

18

senior editor

James Barone Assistant Editor

Daniel Taylor

28

Contributing Writers

Ellen Baker, Robin Bacior, Robert A. Berry II, Bocephus Chigger, Ronnie Cline, Justin Cox, Alia Cruz, Josh Fernandez, Catherine Foss, Andy Garcia, Blake Gillespie, Lovelle Harris, Mollie Hawkins, Eddie Jorgensen, Niki Kangas, Nur Kausar, John Phillips, Ryan Prado, Andrew C. Russell, Estefany Salas, Amy Serna, Jacob Sprecher, Richard St.Ofle, Haley Teichert Contributing photographers

22

Kevin Cortopassi, Evan E. Duran, Kevin Fiscus, Dillon Flowers, Phill Mamula, Jason Sinn

Submerge

1009 22nd Street, Suite 3 Sacramento, California 95816

916.441.3803 info@ submergemag.com

20 06

Dive in

20

08

The Stream

22 Mustafa Shaheen

09

The Optimistic Pessimist

10

Submerge your senses

14

trophii

18 6

capital cities

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

24 27 28 29 30

life in 24 frames

calendar happy hour hound

monkey cat live<<rewind

kanye west THE GRINDHOUSE

ARRIVAL

the shallow end

All content is property of Submerge and may not be reproduced without permission. Submerge is both owned and published by Submerge Media. 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 1009 22nd Street, Suite 3 Sacramento, California 95816.

Or you can email us at info@submergemag.com.

Submergemag.com Follow us on Twitter & Instagram! @SubmergeMag printed on recycled paper

Front Cover photo of capital cities

by Piper Ferguson back Cover Photo of Life in 24 Frames

by Phill Mamula

Damn! It’s that time of year already? The holidays are upon us once again? It seems like it just starting finally feeling like fall.

Amiright!?

Thankful, once again, I am.

And though I’m not thankful for this flu that is coming on strong as I’m writing this column and we’re sending files off to the printer, I am thankful for plenty of other things. For one, I’m thankful that I didn’t end up trying to get tickets to the Kanye West show at Golden 1 Center. Let’s be real, all it sounded like was some very “Kanye” type shit that he pulled and frankly, I’m not surprised. I’m more surprised that people were surprised. Honestly though, if I wasn’t working I probably would have gone and wouldn’t have even been mad about it. Maybe I would, if they weren’t offering refunds. I could go on and on about how I saw a younger Kanye in ‘05 or ‘06 and how that was awesome, how his ego is on another level these days, and how he loves to be in the news and will do anything to keep people thinking he’s relevant, but instead I would like to encourage you to read our review of his “show” at G1C on page 28 by our contributor Josh Fernandez.

On with my thankfulness... I’m extremely thankful that Sacramento is killing it this fall with things to do. Usually it feels like things slow down after October, but instead there’s so much happening!

There are plenty of concerts to attend, from big to small, including a handful of album release shows. The larger shows I’m most excited about are Electric Christmas and the Porter Robinson and Madeon show. In this issue we have an interview with Electric Christmas headliner, Capital Cities, which you can read starting on page 18. And you can get the 411 on the Porter Robinson and Madeon show (we just found out it is happening one week ago) on page 13.

There are two note worthy local release shows that should be on your radar: Life in 24 Frames and Trophii. Life in 24 Frames, whose release show is at Goldfield on Nov. 26, has a Q&A in this issue on page 20. And Trophii, who are celebrating their release at Lowbrau on Dec. 6, have a feature story on page 14. Both are great reads and it’s interesting to learn how these two bands happen to have extremely close ties.

I’m also grateful that I’m going to be able to do a lot of my holiday shopping at all of these rad events in town that have local craft vendors. Two I’d love to point out are Maker’s Mart on Dec. 3 on J & 19th streets, inside the building that use to be Metro Electronics, and the Midtown Bizarre at Identity Coffees on Dec. 10.

Last but not least, I’m thankful for all of our writers, photographers, delivery drivers, sales guy (aka the husband and cofounder), editors, advertisers and you, our dear readers!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy issue #227, Melissa

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

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quality cOmfOrt fOOD alOng witH fresH & HealtHy cHOices Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

7

Celebrating their Celebrate new albumHard Rock EAsy ComE, EAsy Go

The stream

& Metal

Jonathan Carabba

Send regional news tips to info@submergemag.com

Live!

Indie Americana Pop

Blue Note Brewing Co. | free / 3 p.m.

Sunday, November 27 | (750 all ages Dead Cat Alley, Woodland) Pizza | free / 9 p.m.

Saturday, December 3 | Woodstock’s (219 G Street, Davis) 18+

Brewing Brewing Co. | free / 6 p.m.

Saturday, January 13 | Yolo all ages (1520 Terminal Street, West Sac)

AccordingToBazooka.com

Facebook.com/AccordingToBazooka

Iconic Sacramento Music Venue The Boardwalk Will Undergo Major Changes in Early 2017 Major changes are coming to The Boardwalk, an iconic all-ages music club that’s hosted national and local bands across many genres since the late 1980s. The venue is set to close in January and February for a remodel, and when it re-opens in March to celebrate its 30th anniversary, it will become a primarily 21-and-over room operated and booked by the original owner, Mark Earl. Those who follow the local music scene closely will already know that since late 2014, The Boardwalk has been operated and booked by Eric Rushing and Bret Bair, founders of popular downtown Sacramento music venues Ace of Spades and Goldfield. Rushing also booked shows at The Boardwalk from around 2000–2010. But now the two are stepping away from The Boardwalk in order to focus on their other ventures and to let Earl do his thing with the room.

And while we here at Submerge are sad to see more all-ages shows in Sacramento going away, there are still a handful of rad gigs booked by Rushing at The Boardwalk through the end of the year, like badXchannels on Friday, Dec. 2 (a new project from Craig Owens of Chiodos and Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows); Mushroomhead on Wednesday, Dec. 7; Tribal Theory on Friday, Dec. 9; Animals As Leaders on Friday, Dec. 16; Hail the Sun on Saturday, Dec. 17; and Brotha Lynch Hung on Dec. 30, just to name a few. Visit Theboardwalkpresents.com to snag tickets to any of those shows. Keep an eye out here on Submerge for follow-up articles on the new Boardwalk incarnation, as well as any updates from Rushing and Bair, who are rumored to be looking for a new downtown spot to open another venue.

with Pine + Palm

8

7PM

NO COVER

IDENTITY COFFEES

More details are starting to emerge about the next project from M5Arts, the group behind the insanely popular Art Hotel exhibit that took place in downtown Sacramento in early 2016. Come February 2017, M5’s “ArtStreet” exhibition will take over an entire warehouse building and the exterior space surrounding it located at 300 First Ave. The building is located right next to The Mill at Broadway, a 32-acre industrial park that’s currently being redeveloped into an urban residential community. Much like Art Hotel, ArtStreet will be a temporary, multidisciplinary exhibit that will run from Feb. 3–25 and will be free for the public to attend. M5 recently closed the first round of their call to artists, receiving well over 300 submissions from local artists as well as many from around the world. The project is estimated to cost upwards of $150,000, which the group hopes to raise from donations by local art enthusiasts, both personal and institutional. Visit Kickstarter.com and search for “ArtStreet” to donate and in return you’ll get rad stuff like shirts, hoodies, a thank you on their website, stickers, front-of-the-line passes and copies of the Art Hotel coffee table book, which will be released soon. Learn more about ArtStreet and the group behind it at M5arts.com. We’ll have more pre- and postArtStreet coverage right here in Submerge.

Local Musicians Band Together to Throw Benefit Show for Sol Collective on Dec. 11

Well Dressed Mannequins

12/3

Location Revealed for ArtStreet Project, Exhibit Will Run Feb. 3–25, 2017

1430 28TH ST, SAC, CA

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

One of the most important arts organizations in the community, Sol Collective, is in the midst of a massive campaign to raise funds to purchase the building they’re currently renting, which recently went up for sale.

When word recently got out that they might have to move, Sol’s many supporters immediately started taking action, and to date they’ve raised a pretty significant amount toward their down payment, but they still need your help! If you’d like to put some money toward Sol Collective and support their many amazing programs, you might want to hit up The SOLution Benefit Concert on Sunday, Dec. 11. It’s just $10 to get in, with all proceeds going toward Sol Collective’s efforts to purchase their building, and you’ll be treated to performances from some of the area’s most exciting musical groups like DLRN, James Cavern, Soosh*e, The Philharmonik, Dre-T and Privileges. The show is all ages and kicks off at 8 p.m. Sol is located at 2574 21st St. Learn more at Solcollective.org.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

The Optimistic Pessimist Far be it from me to question the intelligence of Elon Musk. The man created Tesla Motors and SpaceX and was one of the founders of PayPal. He is also a big supporter of Hyperloop technology and will soon revolutionize America’s power grid with his home battery system. On top of all that, the dude is basically Neo from The Matrix.

Like The Matrix, Musk believes that the earth and our lives are but a simulation running on a computer for the entertainment and education of some higher being. I used to scoff at such an idea, but now it gives me comfort. How else do explain the presidency of Donald Trump?

Unfortunately, ours is not the sophisticated, technocratic, patent-leather world of The Matrix.

The country we live in today is a shoot-’em-up full of danger and adventure where it seems nothing is off limits if you are willing to pony up the cash to have at it. What we are experiencing is more akin to the Wild West. Where we live now is closer to HBO’s Westworld and Donald Trump has just been elected the president of the park.

That means the narrative must change to make room for Trumpworld. Some of us will be assigned new parts and have our past lives erased for the sake of the story. Don’t worry prostitutes and the poor, Donald Trump will continue to work and demonize you for all you are worth; that will always be something those in power can get on board with. The possibility of mistreating these folks is the bread and butter of the park, after all.

In an effort to entice previous visitors to return to the park again, a few new faces will be around town offering up adventures the likes of which haven’t been seen in eight-plus years.

Relive the experience of 9/11 over and over and over (and over) again in excruciating detail with the Rudy Giuliani-bot. Sip whiskey as America’s Mayor™ regales you with stories of how he single-handedly skull fucked Osama bin Laden and the rest of Al Qaeda into submission. Watch him stoke fear of an unknown enemy to bolster his own financial stake in a half-assed computer

Trumpworld Bocephus Chigger bocephus@submergemag.com security company that makes John McAfee look like a safe and sane bet in comparison.

If acting dangerously is not your thing, maybe eating dangerously is. Join newly christened White House head chef, Chris Christie, on a rootin’-tootin’ tour of the cuisine that brings the racism of the park to life. There will of course be the famous taco salad, the walls of which will be higher and stronger than any before. Not only that, but the shell will be very secure and will be paid for by the government of Mexico. Sour cream will be served on the side for all you haters out there.

If Mexican is not your thing (and if you support Trump, it probably is not) there will be plenty of comfort foods for the white folks like Spaghetti-O’s, mayonnaise, Wonder Bread, Budweiser and plain vanilla ice cream. Chef Christie will also be willing to pick up anything you need from McDonald's so long as all the bridges are open on the way there.

The world will truly be your oyster at Trumpworld, so long as you can afford to eat the oysters.

For those that come to the park to sustain

themselves on hate, let Stephen Bannon be thy guide. Bannon, the chairman of Breitbart News, right-wing provocateur and chief Trump strategist is sure to ruffle plenty of feathers. Wyatt, the cannibalistic cult leader from Westworld, doesn’t have shit on this guy. Bannon makes Wyatt look like a community organizer and a Sunday school teacher in comparison. In fact, he is only outshined by his sergeant at arms, Alex Jones of Infowars.com fame. Together the two will spin you a conspiracy that only a ragtag militia with white supremacist leanings and a lifetime of collecting firearms can resolve.

For the rest of us hosts, the hope remains that we will wake the fuck up and realize what we have become a part of. Only then can we take control of our lives and demand that we be allowed to live them as we best see fit, free from the judgment of an orange, gas-filled demigod hell-bent on recreating the world in his own gold-leafed image.

Now if we could just find the entrance to this goddamn maze already!

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9pm to close

saturday & sunday 10am - 1:30pm $12 bottomless mimosas $5 bloody marys

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

9

Your Senses Words submerge staff

HEAR

Local Singer-Songwriter Ruby Jaye Celebrates Release of Debut Full-Length Album at Antiquité Maison Privée • Dec. 3 For 15 years, singer-songwriter Ruby Jaye has been gigging up and down the West Coast with her sugary, jazz-influenced pop tunes. The now Sacramento-based, Southern California-raised pianist, singer and ukulele player has taken the stage at such renowned venues as Reno’s Knitting Factory, Lake Tahoe’s Ritz Carlton, Harlow’s in Downtown Sacramento and even festivals like Sweet and Hot Festival and Sleeping Giant Festival. As a child playing blues/ragtime piano in and around Southern California, she was recognized by Governor Gray Davis, found herself featured in Keyboard Magazine, was named a Fox Kids Hero and was also chosen as one of YM Magazine’s “20 Coolest Girls in America.” Now, all these years later, with countless shows and a massive amount of experience under her belt, Ruby Jaye is finally ready to release her first official full-length album on Dec. 3 at a very special and intimate show at Antiquité Maison Privée in Midtown Sacramento.

General admission is just $10, or you can upgrade to reserved seating for $15. There will be opening sets by Casey Lipka and Samantha Sharp.

All ages are welcome. Visit Rubyjaye.com or Facebook.com/rubyjayemusic to learn more about the artist and to snag tickets ahead of time.

Learn more about the venue, often referred to as “The Jewel of Midtown,” at Antiquitemidtown.com or Facebook.com/antiquitemidtown.

SEE

Reel to Real Films Is Hosting a Gremlins Double Feature to Benefit Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services! • Dec. 3

TOUCH

Up Your DIY Game at Verge’s Holiday Weaving Workshop with Instructor Jessica Filip of The Northern Needle Co. Dec. 7–8

Need a unique gift idea for the stylish, artsy person on your shopping list? Looking to up your DIY game? At Verge Center for the Arts’ upcoming Holiday Weaving Workshop, taking place Dec. 7–8, you’ll learn how to create stunning, texture-filled, woven wall-hanging art, one of the biggest crazes in the DIY world. No experience is necessary and you’ll be in good hands, as the course is being lead by local fiber artist and owner of The Northern Needle Co., Jessica Filip. Get hands-on instruction on how to dress the loom, start the weaving, create your design, and how to tie it off to finish. The registration fee ($115 for Verge members, $130 for non-members) includes a small lap loom and weaving tools that you will take home at the end of the workshop, so you can build upon the basics you learn here and continue to hone your skills!

Space is limited, so sign up soon at Vergeart.com. Learn more about the instructor and take a peek at some of her amazing work at Thenorthernneedle.co.

10

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

Film events are great, especially this time of year when the weather is getting all frightful and stuff. You know what else is great this time of year? Getting in the giving spirit. You’ll get your chance to do both at the Colonial Theatre (3522 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento) on Dec. 3 when Reel to Real Films will screen the delightfully twisted Gremlins (7 p.m.) and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (9 p.m.). In addition to the films, this event will also feature an ugly sweater contest, a Gremlinsthemed art show and an exclusive T-shirt by Sinclair Klugarsh for sale. A canned food drive and a portion of the proceeds will go to benefit Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services (Sacramentofoodbank.org). For more info, go to Facebook.com/ reeltorealfilms. Holiday cosplay is encouraged!

TASTE

Sacramento Food Delivery Service FoodJets Relaunches In Downtown Area It’s a bird! It’s a plane! … No! It’s FoodJets! That’s right, those wacky, tricked out Priuses are back and raring to deliver meals to those in the downtown Sacramento area as fast as humanly possible (in as little as 15 minutes as per their website). For the November relaunch, FoodJets will charge a special reintroductory service fee of just 99 cents and, according to a recent blog post on their site, have expanded their number of partnered restaurants as well as “some grocery items.

This includes food and drinks, household items, flowers and chocolates and, wait for it … beer and wine.” For now, FoodJets will only cover downtown Sacramento and operate from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on weekdays and 4–9 p.m. on weekends. For more info and to download the app, go to Foodjets.com.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

5th AnnuAl

“Be the ChAnge” Winter MusiC FestivAl

saturday,

Dec. 3

Blue goose event Center Loomis, CA • 6pm

feaTurin g Performances By:

PaBlo cruise j e f f k e i T h of Tesla j a i m e ofksToneground y l e annie samPson

l arisa Bryski • willie selTzer

and memBers of Bands like: garraTT wilkin & The ParroTheads nighT moves • greg golden Band dana moreT & mr. decemBer + more!

TickeTs on sale now aT

BeThechange.cc

all Proceeds BenefiTing The gaThering inn and gold counTry wildlife rescue helPing homeless families and injured and orPhaned wildlife in Placer counTy

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

11

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Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

101 Main st.

Your Senses

roseviLLe 916-774-0505

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Mind-Blowing Animation at the Crest Anime Festival • Nov. 26–27

Studio FIG

HEAR

Porter Robinson and Madeon Are Bringing Their Shelter Live Tour to Sacramento Dec. 3

Based out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 24-yearold Porter Robinson is one of the country’s rising electronic music stars. This summer, he teamed up with French producer Madeon (himself just 22 years old and whose 2015 album, Adventure, topped the Billboard U.S. dance charts) to create “Shelter,” a collaborative single that made waves on both sides of the Atlantic. Sacramento electronic music aficionados will have a chance to see this dynamic duo live when they play the McClellan Center (inside McClellan Park) on Dec. 3, courtesy of Midnite Events. The show gets underway at 9 p.m., and opening sets will be provided by San Holo and Robotaki.

As of this writing, tickets are still available for this event, but don’t expect them to last long. The Shelter Tour has already sold out two nights at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco as well as dates at the Shrine Auditorium and Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and the Fillmore in Denver. To purchase tickets ($35), go to Shelterlivetour.com.

SubmergeMag.com

Dylan CrawforD saturday december 17

Paprika

Geeks will have plenty to be thankful for this year. After you awaken from your postThanksgiving food coma, you should head over to the Crest Theatre for an anime feast that will be a treat for your eyes. You’ll have two chances to see Hayao Miyazaki’s classic Nausicaä on Nov. 26 (dubbed in English at 1 p.m. or in the original Japanese language version with subtitles at 3:30 p.m.). Other films include Rintaro’s Metropolis (based on the 1927 German silent film of the same name) on Nov. 26 at 7 p.m.; Steamboy, a steampunk action-adventure story by Katsuhiro Otomo, on Nov. 27 at 4 p.m.; and Miyazaki, once again, with Castle in the Sky, on Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. Any one of these would be a great introduction to the rich and diverse world of Japanese animation, but if you’re looking for something truly outside-the-box, check out Satoshi Kon’s Paprika, this writer’s personal favorite, which will be shown at the festival on Nov. 26 at 9 p.m. This wonderfully surreal film is a perplexing and beautiful dreamscape that will warp your sense of reality. Seeing it on the big screen is an opportunity that doesn’t come around often, so don’t miss it. You can purchase an all-weekend pass ($35–$40) at Crestsacramento.com.

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More Than 40 Vendors Are on Board for the Makers Mart Holiday Event Dec. 3

Are you super crafty and really good at making stuff? Yeah … me neither. So lucky for us, we can just hop on down to the Makers Mart Holiday Event to acquire handmade, unique gifts the good, old fashioned way— purchasing them. In addition to providing some much-needed holiday shopping and/or retail therapy, the Makers Mart Holiday Event looks to provide an engaging social experience.

Besides housing more than 40 hand-picked vendors, the Makers Mart will also offer coffee from Seasons Coffee, grub by Pizza Supreme Being, music from DJ Deedee and Chic Filet and, of course, cocktails, courtesy of Burly Beverages. The Holiday Event will take place from noon–6 p.m. at 1831 J St. in Sacramento (inside the old Metro Electronics building) and admission is free! To peruse some of the goods that may be on sale, check out Makers Mart’s Instagram account (@makers_mart).

YOURAD 3 0 8 3 1 H9ERE 4 4 16) (

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Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

13

Finding a Connection

Local Music Vets Lindsey Pavao and Richie Smith Get to Know Each Other Better in Their New Band, Trophii Words John Phillips • photo Sri Sherrell

T

rophii was definitely not intentional. The way they tell it, it’s hard to tell whether or not you’re hearing the story of how a musical act formed or how a couple met.

Is there a difference?

Richie Smith has been a mainstay in the Sacramento indie rock scene as a member of popular acts such as Wife and Son, Sunmonks, as well as numerous other local projects.

Lindsey Pavao found regional fame and national recognition when she participated in the second season of reality competition show The Voice.

The story goes that, while Smith and Pavao had met previously (a little back and forth messaging on Facebook after they had both participated in a local Radiohead tribute show), the true start to their collaboration was born after Smith’s ex-wife, Mallory, had left her role in the project Life in 24 Frames following their divorce, and Smith needed to fill that vacancy with someone with similar vocal and musical talents.

Mutual friend James Cavern suggested Pavao. Smith says he didn’t think she would be interested.

“He probably said something along the lines of ‘Oh, she’s a flake’ or something,” Pavao said during a phone interview with Submerge, followed with “I flaked on you once,” directly aimed at Smith, and with a tone of playful jabbing.

The project wasn’t immediate. Following their time together in Life in 24 Frames, the two kept in contact, and when Pavao was in need of some assistance for her own project, she reached out to Smith.

“I asked him to help out with my solo record that I was trying to put out. Richie looked me dead in the eye when I showed him the songs that I wanted him to help out with, and he’s like, ‘I’ll do this, but I need to be a part of this whole record. We’re going to do this together,’ and there was something about how confident and how inspired he was to help me,” Pavao said. “About three months later it just became too entangled for it to be just my project. I didn’t even feel comfortable pretending like I was this solo artist anymore because the music wasn’t just mine. We were writing songs together. By the end of the summer we were Trophii.”

A few years ago, they began the recording process in their Sacramento apartment, and on Dec. 6, they will finally have a release show for the album Vitamins and Flowers, the fruits of their recording labor.

While the two have a fairly seasoned resume when it comes to music projects, the selfrecording aspect was not exactly one they had a ton of familiarity with from the get-go.

“I’ve done a lot of positive self-recording and arranging. But, for a long time I didn’t have any recording equipment of my own,” Smith said.

“Lindsey has some pretty nice gear, and once we started working together, I was able to use some of the stuff that she has, and start the demoing and pre-production process for what is now our first record.”

“I’m self taught,” Pavao added. “I’ve been recording since I was in high school. It’s an ever evolving process.”

When it comes to learning on the job—no matter the field—one has to expect a certain

14

learning curve. For Trophii, the speed bumps were limited and the DIY approach gave them plenty of time to get things done right.

“I think mainly when it comes to parts arrangement, as far as capturing the sounds going in, I’ve been doing recording long enough to know how to achieve certain sounds that I want to get,” said Smith. “I think the arrangement part was tough … a lot of the engineering logistics as far as within the software programs—we recorded in Logic Pro X—was a challenge. Lindsey got Logic Pro X certified, and because she did that, we didn’t have to bring in an engineer to track our stuff.”

“Basically all of that happened within the last two years … She learned the program, I learned based on what she learned, and we did it together,” he said.

Post-production work was taken on by Sacramento legend Robert Cheek, well known for his work with projects such as Band of Horses and Chelsea Wolfe.

While most of the recording of Vitamins and Flowers was done at their leisure in the comforts of their apartment, they did track some acoustic drum arrangements with percussionist Christian Midthun.

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

“Basically, he was performing slash interpreting drum arrangements that Lindsey and I composed for the record,” Smith said.

The first incarnation of Trophii’s live act was as a six-piece, and Smith and Pavao found that too much to manage, both in regards to scheduling and on stage. Now they’ve cut that down to four members: Smith and Pavao, drummer Midthun and Ryan Tillema on guitar

“Richie looked me dead in the eye when I showed him the songs that I wanted him to help out with, and he’s like, ‘I’ll do this, but I need to be a part of this whole record. We’re going to do this together,’ and there was something about how confident and how inspired he was to help me.”

– Lindsey Pavao on Trophii’s formation

and bass guitar.

“They were the first to be on board with the project a couple of years ago. They’re good friends, and really talented players,” Smith said.

“They’re both songwriters themselves, and multi-instrumentalists, and they have a really good understanding as far as songwriting goes and what’s appropriate … they really do a great job of interpreting the parts that we’ve arranged for this project and bring their own flavor to the stuff, which is really exciting for me to hear.

They’re very capable.”

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

One thing that you notice about the record is that there are definitely differences from both Smith and Pavao’s previous sounds. When it comes to Smith, there is the addition of more electronic elements and that “dream pop” aesthetic that is hardly escapable, something not really found in his prior projects. As for Pavao, the work is far more layered, and while her vocals are a clear focal point, they're far from alone in that sense.

“Our brains see music in different ways, which is cool,” said Smith. “I think it’s always changing …

Every time we write a song it’s always different. I will say the more we do write music together, the more we do strike a balance.

“I’ve always kind of been interested in electronic music and electronic elements, and I love a good marriage of electronic music with rock music,” Smith continued. “When it comes to percussion, four of the ten songs had no acoustic drums, so I was left with the question of how to get these songs to move rhythmically, so I ended up programming all of our digital percussion and trying to blend that with shakers and tambourines and other auxiliary percussion instruments.”

30

The record, now finished and on its way to the hands of their followers, has the feel of a testing ground. While they certainly are proud of their work, Pavao and Smith were getting to know each other like any new relationship. Along with that comes the ability to reflect and perfect—something you are unable to do when you have no history with a person or group.

“I see us as always changing,” said Pavao. “We didn’t have a gameplan with this record. It’s like a whole lot of ideas all crammed into one hour. There are some things we could have done a lot differently, so moving forward we have a strong vision of where we are headed musically.

“I’m learning how to be the writer I want to become,” she added.

However, whether they felt the album was a learning experience, it’s not as if they aren’t proud of the completed project.

“My opinion on what we do aesthetically is that … our sound is evolving,” said Smith. “We’re brand new. We’ve only been running together for the last two years. But, we’re enjoying the process.”

“We’re not fucking apologizing for it, you know what I mean? I think it’s great,” he added.

2708 J Street Sacramento 916.441.4693 HarlowS.com Monday Wednesday

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COMING SOON 12.09 Geoff Muldaur & Jim Kweskin 12.10 Felipe Esparza (Comedy)

See Trophii live Dec. 6 at LowBrau (presented by Le Twist) at their album release party. Doombird will also perform, and the show is FREE. LowBrau is located at 1050 20th St., Sacramento. The show will get underway at 9 p.m. For more on Trophii, go to Facebook.com/trophii.

SubmergeMag.com

12.11 12.13 12.14 12.15 12.16 12.16

The California Honey Drops Big Daddy Kane Anuhea Cam’ron Ken Emerson & Jim “Kimo” West Joy & Madness {late}

12.17 12.17 12.18 12.23 12.30 1.07 1.09 1.13 1.17 1.19

Todd Morgan & the Emblems Charlie Hunter {late} Barrington Levy The Funky 16s Daisy Spot Irishpalooza Midge Ure The Purple Ones Stick Men Led Kaapana

1.22 1.26 1.31 2.03 2.11 2.16 2.19 2.24 2.25 3.24

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

Metalachi Mac Sabbath Felly Cody Jinks (Sold Out) Paul Barrere & Fred Tackett The Infamous Stringdusters ALO Will Kimbrough & Brigitte Demeyer House of Floyd (Pink Floyd Tribute) Save Ferris

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Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

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Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

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Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

17

The Making of Capital Cities’ Pop Empire Words Robin Bacior photo Piper Ferguson

C

apital Cities’ catchy pop hits seemingly came flying out of the sonic woodwork.

The Los Angeles pop duo Sebu Simonian and Ryan Merchant’s very first single, “Safe and Sound,” hit No.1 on Billboard’s U.S. Alternative Songs chart, landed in a Mazda commercial, and got them signed to major label Capitol Records.

Though it sounds whirlwind, a lot of that speedy success stems from the fact the duo hit the ground running with purpose.

The two met in 2010 through a simple Craigslist ad posted by Merchant, who at the time was looking for a producer to help him with his personal songs. Simonian and Merchant began working as a band, but when Merchant had an opportunity to start writing music commercially, the two transitioned into jingle writing. Even with their focus shifted, Simonian and Merchant never fully put their original intentions aside.

“The two of us always had aspirations to have our own bands,” Merchant said. “We fell into jingle writing because it was a way to make music and get paid. In that process of writing all the jingles, we started writing a bunch of songs. We were just in the studio all day long writing constantly, so we started generating all this material.”

In the midst of that material came “Safe and Sound.” The song felt right to the duo. To gauge that hunch, the two began sharing it with friends.

“We wrote ‘Safe and Sound’ and showed it to people, and everyone unanimously felt like there was something special about the song,” Merchant said.

From there, the duo decided to put together an EP, along with a full band to start performing some of their material live.

“Initially we were gonna just record [‘Safe and Sound’], but then we started performing and it grew organically,” Merchant said “There were no expectations for it getting as big as it did.”

Though the single picked up quickly, it wasn’t altogether instant. The duo did a lot of hands-on, DIY work, including a lot of self-promotion and self-booking shows and small tours to get their sound out.

“We did a lot of grassroots marketing in the beginning,” Merchant said. “When we first put out ‘Safe and Sound’ we literally just put it on the internet, and it slowly started to get picked up by blogs here and there, and it rose up the charts on hype machine, and labels started contacting us.”

The band didn’t immediately sign with a label.

Instead, they started their own, Lazy Hooks. They also invested in a radio-promotion campaign, which helped get “Safe and Sound” into the ears of the public and the music industry, and eventually led to signing with Capitol Records.

“The song started to have this momentum” Merchant said. “Capitol came in and helped us take it to the next level.”

18

City Builders

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

That next level was their 2013 album debut, In a Tidal Wave of Mystery. The album comprised a collection of precisely manicured pop pieces, with tightwire-walking synth melodies, flaring horn solos and easily digestible vocal hooks. The duo was able to create equally strong visuals to match their songs, making a music video for “Safe and Sound” that garnered them a Grammy Award nomination for Best Music Video, along with an MTV Video Music Award for Best Visual Effects. The success of their debut also landed them as an opener for the North American leg of Katy Perry’s Prismatic World Tour.

“When we played our first show we were all terrified, because I think we realized the scale of her concerts, just how much production goes into it,” Merchant said. “Over time, I think the biggest thing we learned from that was how to really sell yourself on stage. When you play to a crowd that’s not there to see you, and a demographic that’s not your typical demographic, you really need to sell the show. At the end of the day you realize OK, this is intimidating, but also you have this amazing opportunity to go out onto the stage and connect with people, make a statement.”

In gearing up for a 2017 sophomore album release, Capital Cities recently released their newest single, “Vowels.” While the song still has that pop simplicity, there seems to be more of an organic core to it. The vocal melody is still hook driven, but it feels less stiff. Part of that stems from the fact that Merchant and Simonian have been working on making sure the heart of their songs is palpable to listeners.

“We basically spent the last year and a half just writing as much new material as possible,” Merchant said. “I think when you have a success, you start to think your sound should evolve, and you should try different things, but in the last couple months we’ve sort of blocked out all external influences and really gotten back to the essence of Capital Cities, which is Sebu and I in this little studio in Burbank, working for 10 hours a day and just pushing as hard as we can, producing everything ourselves.”

“When you have a success, you start to think your sound should evolve, and you should try different things, but in the last couple months we’ve sort of blocked out all external influences and really gotten back to the essence of Capital Cities, which is Sebu and I in this little studio in Burbank, working for 10 hours a day and just pushing as hard as we can.”

– Capital Cities’ Ryan Merchant on creating the follow-up to the band’s 2013 debut album, In a Tidal Wave of Mystery.

From that material, Simonian and Merchant narrowed it down to their strongest songs, combing through every last sonic detail.

“We spent a month sitting at the piano and hammering out what key is the song gonna be, what’s the perfect melody, where’s the lyrics going to be, with the goal of trying to make it so you can play the songs acoustically and they’re compelling, and feel good to perform without all the production behind it.”

While the songwriting is being simplified, the production continues to expand, bringing in more well-known vocal cameos.

“There’s definitely going to be some interesting features on the album,” Merchant said. “We had Andre 3000 on the first album, and on this new album I can’t say who it is, but it’s gonna be another pretty prominent hip-hop feature, and we’re also working on a few female vocalists to sing on a couple songs. It’s gonna be very eclectic.”

The live show continues to grow as well.

The duo recently expanded their live band, bringing in jazz vibraphonist Justefan (aka Justin Thomas) to flesh out synth sounds into expansive solos on a malletKAT, and classical guitarist Vahagn Turgutyan on electric guitar.

The new arrangement and recent tour dates like the upcoming Electric Christmas show, Dec. 8 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento have been a perfect opportunity to try out the new album live.

“We’ve been testing out new material, playing it live to see what works,” Merchant said. “We play it once for people and we have them singing the lyrics by the end of the song, so that’s a good sign.”

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(doomtree) Air credits

Catch Capital Cities with Glass Animals, the Naked and Famous and more at this year’s Electric Christmas presented by Radio 94.7, Dec. 8 at the Golden 1 Center, located at 500 David J Stern Walk in Sacramento. The all-ages show starts at 6 p.m., with tickets available for $36 online at Electricconcert.com.

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

19

Once Mor e Around th e Sun

Life in 24 Frames Signs to Label, New Concept Album CTRL-Z Explores the 12-month Cycle Words Andrew C. Russell • photo phill mamula

T

here’s a heady dose of sci-fi in the visual material for CTRL-Z, the latest record by Sacramento’s own Life in 24 Frames. Departures on massive interstellar vessels, arrivals on lonely, deserted planets and the calculations of hooded, monastic figures at the controls of complicated machinery. The ultimate aim of these figures is as cloaked as they are. Perhaps they’re only searching for new worlds or new life—perhaps they mean to create them.

It’s a fitting change in imagery for the band, who has always experimented with space and atmospherics in their work, albeit in a more earthbound, pastoral mode. When we last encountered them two years back, they had just released Bitter End, a record filled with warm sounds—layered vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar and a horn section. It evoked a journey on a wooded, sylvan path with many detours and changes in companions along the way. At this time, the band and their sound were in flux, a rotating cast of characters with a burgeoning assemblage of styles and instrumentation. Since then, two of their members (Richie Smith and Lindsey Pavao) have gone on to form the dream pop duo Trophii, and Life in 24 Frames has been minimized to a core group of Kris Adams, Jason Brown, Joe Strouth and Tony Caldron, with featured recording guitarist De’von Blue.

Consequently, CTRL-Z takes a much different path, directly out into the cosmos, rising and falling in speed but always confined to the tracks of time, which here take us through deeply personal reflections of one very tumultuous year on Earth. From the reverberating build of “January (My Condition)” to the otherworldly, plaintive chorus of “June (Halfway to One)” and the soaring harmonics of “September (Months Like These),” we catch glimpses, but never the full story, of heartbreaking moments, reconciliation, the birth of a child and the promise of new beginnings.

The band’s newly energized focus on sonic space (partly in order to maximize the sound of the remaining members) is perfect for highlighting the interior world of the mind and heart, the way time plays with perception, the way that stimuli in daily life can make the heart race and bring it to a standstill in the space of a few weeks. Within the new record’s spacey packaging, the musical contents are pressed to blood-red vinyl, an apt choice for the emotionally charged work inside.

There is far less tumult outside of the album, as the band members themselves move optimistically into a new era after coming off a year of successful recording. 2017 will begin with L24F signed to a new label, Gold Standard Records, alongside Doombird, with possible touring to follow.

We met with the laid-back Kris Adams and Jason Brown to hear more about the good news, and the story of how CTRL-Z came to be.

20

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

Would you say that this album is a more definitive statement from a more definitive version of the band?

Jason Brown: The sound of the band now is probably closer to what was originally envisioned, for the most part. Bitter End was kind of a stylistic departure for the band. I think we’ve finally solidified the members of the band, I think that’s helped quite a bit with the dynamic.

Kris Adams: I think this album really represents all of our influences and all of what we’re into combined. Like he said, Bitter End was a great album, but it’s also part of this alternate Life in 24 Frames timeline, with a lot of other people’s involvement in the band. This is us coming back to, like, if we would have made a second record that was an evolution of Time Trails [2011], then CTRL-Z is an evolution of that. It’s the perfect mesh of our performing styles.

Was the concept of having the songs named after each month of the year always part of this project?

KA: It was always something that I thought about in the back of my mind. I didn’t know how this would take shape, because it was a very personal thing for me, and so I wasn’t sure if these guys were going to be cool with such personal and intimate thematic material. I didn’t know if some of these songs would ever come to light, or if they would become part of an acoustic side project or something.

When I first pitched to Joe the idea of months, I was afraid that it might be lame, but his first instinct was, “We should plan this Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

You’ve alluded that these songs refer to the events of a particular year, 2013. What was significant about this year in your life?

KA: 2013 was the year that my son was born. I think becoming a parent changes anyone as a person. That was more or less what I wanted to capture on the record, this transformational period. For some people it happens at 18, for some people it doesn’t happen until they are 45.

But everybody goes through that period in their life, where things dramatically change, and the way you were living is no longer sustainable to the way you have to live, whether it be having a child or having a death in the family. It’s more about overcoming adversity.

we discussed today, I think it’s going to be a perfect fit for them and us.

KA: I’m really looking forward to it, and I can happily say that we’ll be labelmates with Doombird. Robert Cheek, who produced this record and has produced all of our records has also recorded their new record. We’ve intermingled with each other—some of their members have played on the last couple of records, and we recorded at the same studio. It just felt right. I think we’ll be the third band signed to this label, it’s quite new. I couldn’t be happier for it to be with Doombird. Hopefully that means some shows with the two of us coming in the next year.

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Do you think the meaning of the concept album has changed in our current times?

KA: I think sitting in that room with the label and talking about plans to move forward, the climate of music and live music today, and people’s tastes and methods of listening, it’s very important to think about. People don’t listen to music the way that I listen to music. I’m kind of What does the title CTRL-Z mean for you? an outlier in the fact that I still listen to albums, KA:Anyone who’s tech-savvy gets it. It’s the and I don’t necessarily mean albums as in vinyl, UNDO key on a computer—it’s like a geek apology.

I mean the act of listening to a band’s album It’s just saying sorry, even though you shouldn’t completely. I never feel like just necessarily be apologizing for listening to a particular song. the things you’re sorry about.

“There are things that I That meeting was a wake up There are things that I think think everyone does in call to realize that most people everyone does in their life that aren’t listening to music like that they end up feeling guilty for, their life that they end but they know on a certain up feeling guilty for, but anymore. It’s good to realize that once in a while because I’m level they shouldn’t feel guilty they know on a certain in my own bubble, you know? about it. If you’ve listened level they shouldn’t feel I don’t tend to get out a ton. I lyrically to the songs, I think it’s pretty black and white guilty about it. If you’ve don’t see a lot of live shows, I have two kids. I’m not exposed what that is. listened lyrically to the to culture. songs, I think it’s pretty If this is a concept record, Has being narrowed down black and white what then we’ve created a piece personnel-wise made it of music that is meant to be that is.” – Life in 24 harder to re-create your listened to front to back, for studio sound live?

Frames’ Kris Adams on 40, 45 minutes. The songs all KA: Shrinking the band down the title of the band’s meld into each other—some of to a four-piece, after having upcoming album, CTRL-Z them don’t even have audio played as five, six and even gaps. It’s just this continuous, seven-piece over the last four Pink Floydian thing. We’ve had double duty to years. I think we’re sonically bigger than we make sure the album is also listenable when were before to be honest with you. We became broken down into separate songs, because this gearheads over the course of this record, so my is how some people are going to consume the pedal board grew from a vocal processing pedal, music. If you take just the song “November,” for an overdrive and a delay to a massive setup. I instance, you can listen to it and still really enjoy don’t know how many pedals I’ve got—12? it without feeling that you’re missing anything.

JB: That’s something we really experimented It’s really hard trying to maintain continuity with on this album was not so much with all these songs but still make them able to instrumentation, but sonics—ambience, sound stand on their own. It was a very tough thing to effects, that sort of thing and that’s something balance. We approached it like Pet Sounds, where we hadn’t really explored a lot as a band, so you have these anchor tracks spread throughout this album it reflects that experimentation into the album that can be pulled out and listened to this sonic coloring, and it’s pretty apparent as singles, but if you lock all of those back into on the album. But as far as reproducing it live their appropriate places, there are little things goes, I think this is the easiest album to do live, between each of them that make them one whole because the instrumentation has been pulled experience. It’s like a modular album. back to the four of us. With all that extra stuff gone, I think there’s a lot more room for us to fill in the void. I think this album pushed all of In anticipation of the release of CTRL-Z, us a little bit outside of our comfort zones. you can catch Life in 24 Frames with Epsilona and Skylis live on Nov. 26 How do you feel about signing to a label for the at Goldfield Trading Post (1630 J St., first time? Excitement? Trepidation?

Sacramento). Advance tickets for this KA:This isn’t our first time talking with a label all-ages show are $10. What a great way to unwind after what is sure to or being offered a potential deal, but with be a vexing Thanksgiving dinner! For this one, it was a no-brainer, almost. It was more info, go to Goldfieldtradingpost. very low-risk for us, it was perfect—for me it’s com. Keep an eye out for the release nothing but excitement. date of CTRL-Z by following the band at JB: I’m excited. I mean, with anything in life Facebook.com/lifein24frames. there’s a little trepidation, but considering what

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out thematically so each of the songs have a particular feel.” He was the one who talked to me about the record by Thrice—Alchemy Index— as a good example of thematic grouping. It’s a collection of four EPs that deals with the four elements: fire, water, wind, earth.

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Get it fixed at anthony’s barbershop 2408 21st st • Sac • sacramentobarbershop.com (916) 457-1120 • Tues-Fri 9am-6pm • saT 10am-4pm Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

21

Form Reveals Function

Artist Mustafa Shaheen Channels Empathy Into Stunning Portraits Words Amy Serna

M

"Madison M." / 2014 / 46" x 30" "Omar F." / 2014 / 42" x 34"

"Earring Thief" / 2016 / 42" x 42"

"TRVR" / 2015 / 60" x 48"

"Bro-Bro" / 2016 / 50" x 40"

22

"Brett F." / 2015 / 42" x 34"

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

ustafa Shaheen is a local painter, Sacramento State grad student, 2016 California State Fair Fine Art Competition Juror’s Award-winning artist, and likes to eat cake. If you take a look at Mustafa’s bio online that’s exactly what it says, well the cake part anyway.

“I mean I can easily be serious about things but it sometimes feels a little too pretentious. I mean everybody knows that I am typing up that bio for myself,” Shaheen said as he was taking a bite into his chocolate strawberry cake at Rick’s Dessert Diner. “I think the strawberry is a little too tart but it’s not going to stop me from eating it,” he joked.

Over slices of cake at Rick’s, Submerge got to dive into the mind of the dessert-loving artist, who talked about how his art has evolved throughout his undergraduate and graduate years, and his involvement in the upcoming gallery show at Sacramento State.

Two years ago Shaheen started an art group called FORM, a student-run group that brings together artists who contribute their artwork to the Sacramento State campus and community.

FORM will be hosting an art gallery show at Sacramento State’s University Union Gallery called Revealing Identity, running from November 21 through December 15.

It will feature realist and abstract paintings, sculpture work and even an installation piece.

“It’s a really cool show because I think it will express the variety of the level of talent that the students at Sac State have. The show will have graduate students in and it will have undergraduates in it too. So it’s going to be really cool,” Shaheen explained.

Currently a grad student at Sac State studying studio art, Shaheen has gone through

different stages of creating pieces but it has all surrounded one common theme: empathy.

“Many people are able to not just see art, but experience it visually and internally. For me there was sort of a disconnect, so I became super curious about why that was happening,” he said. “I think I approach things from more of a like a very logical and analytical sort of state.”

Shaheen could never identify himself as a “romanticized” artist that can slash paint on a canvas with little to no thought in mind and create something beautiful.

Every paint stroke for him is fully contemplated and thought out, there is no turning off his mind because he is always thinking of the next move.

During his undergrad Shaheen focused on painting portraits using the idea of empathy to relate to individuals doing normal day-to-day activities. He would take photographs of people doing “mundane activities” and create colorful, insanely beautiful and realistic paintings. Although the people in the portraits are doing everyday activities it seems easy to make a backstory about their lives and even see what mood they were in or what they were feeling at the time.

“With portraits it’s really interesting because I don’t have to know these people that well but I’m still going to make my version of my experience with them in a painted form. That has always been a little fascinating to me…

10 different artists can paint the same chair and they all have their own expression of that chair, and I really like that.”

But even with these incredible paintings Shaheen still felt as if he wasn’t pushing the idea of empathy enough through his portraits. He decided to still paint portraits from a photograph but

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s m a L L Business saturday! noV. 26, 2016 from a different approach. He would ask his subjects to bring in an item of significance with them and hold “mini interviews” with each person. Throughout his photograph and painting process only Shaheen would know the backstory of each person, inviting viewers of the final product to have their own interpretation to the portraits story. One portrait from this gallery of work called “Earring Thief” won him the Juror’s Award (one of the highest awards you can receive for a painting in California) at this year’s Fine Art Competition at the California State Fair.

“They make up their own stories, which I really enjoy and I felt that I was a little closer but even with that, I also felt myself doing more hyperrealistic work and I started feeling like this was becoming more of an egocentric exploration then it is really for the sake of making strong paintings,” Shaheen said. “It felt like it was more like I was just showing off how well I could paint rather than actually make a painting for a painting sake and really expressing something emotionally.”

After his win at the State Fair and the transition of becoming a grad student, Shaheen took a step outside the norm of his usual photograph painting.

Instead of using portraits, he is planning to use surreal landscapes and “ambiguous” figures that portray them exploring unknown surroundings.

“They are starting to feel more and more like they are self-portraits,” Shaheen said.

“I’m interested in where those are going. I’m not sure where that will go but it’s nice to be a little lost sometimes.”

SubmergeMag.com

Even though creating art was pretty natural for Shaheen, from creating comics with action figures as a kid into entering the world of hyperrealism as an adult, creating art wasn’t necessarily something that was always accepted in his culture. He moved from Egypt to the United States in 1996 at the age of 11 and as a young kid, fitting into the American culture meant everything to him. He mimicked the American culture and hid his accent, even though he admitted that his friends at the time would have accepted him regardless. Growing up in Egypt his mom had convinced him that his future career was to be a doctor, he explained.

“I think the fact that I come from a culture where art is not at all seen as important, it takes a very, very sort of back role to the Sciences and Engineering,” Shaheen said. “It makes me appreciate it a lot more because it makes me in a place where I can pursue that and I really try not to take that for granted.”

Since then, Shaheen’s mom has come around and has become very supportive of his artwork. And as he moves to the next phase of truly trying to capture the theme of empathy in his paintings, it will be exciting to see where Shaheen’s art will take him.

“With portraits it’s really interesting because I don’t have to know these people that well but I’m still going to make my version of my experience with them in a painted form.

That has always been a little fascinating to me… 10 different artists can paint the same chair and they all have their own expression of that chair, and I really like that.”

––Artist Mustafa Shaheen on

See work by Mustafa Shaheen and other members of FORM at Revealing Identity, a group exhibition of both paintings and sculptures exploring the idea of identity that runs Nov. 21–Dec. 15 at the University Union Gallery at Sacramento State. The opening reception for the show is Thursday, Dec, 1 from 6–8 p.m. For gallery hours and more info go to Theuniversityunion.com/gallery.

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Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

23

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music, comedy & misc. Calendar

Nov. 21 – Dec. 5 submergemag.com/calendar

11.21 Monday

Ann. E Pitzer Center (Davis) Early Music Ensemble: Medieval and Modern, 7 p.m.

Blue Lamp The Spotlight, 9 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

Louie’s Cocktail Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

LowBrau Motown on Monday’s w/ DJ Epik, 9 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Grex, Peter Miller, 7:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Heath Williamson & Friends, 5:30 p.m.

Press Club Monday Vibes w/ MC Ham, Jonah, Margs, Eric, 9 p.m.

11.22 Tuesday

Crest Theatre Lupe Fiasco, The Boy Illinois, RXMN, 7:30 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Hideaway Bar & Grill Delta Bombers, 8 p.m.

Kupros Craft House Open Mic, 8 p.m.

Nicholson’s MusiCafe Rich T’s Fleeting Days Concert, 6 p.m.

Old Ironsides Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Pine Cove Open Mic Night, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Live Band Karaoke, 8:30 p.m.

Press Club Tuesday Revival w/ Brendan Stone, 9 p.m.

Starlite Lounge Extinction AD, Sowers of Dissent, FRACK, 8 p.m.

11.23 Wednesday

Bar 101 Open Mic, 7:30 p.m.

Blue Lamp Setting Sons, Suburban Threat, Class System, Enemy Fire, 8 p.m.

Cafe Colonial Felix Martin, The Fine Constant, Wrath Of Tides, Misha Allure, 7:30 p.m.

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

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

El Dorado Saloon Open Mic Night, 7:30 p.m.

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Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

Fox & Goose All Vinyl Wednesdays w/ DJ AAKnuff, 8 p.m.

Harlow’s Janmondo (‘90s tribute), 8 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Mix Gabe Xavier, 9:30 p.m.

Nicholson’s MusiCafe Acoustic Open Mic, 6 p.m.

Old Ironsides Open Mic, 9 p.m.

The Park Ultra Lounge DJ Shift, DJ Peeti V, 9:30 p.m.

Press Club NewJackFling PreThanksgiving Party w/ CrookOne & Todd Shima, 9:30 p.m.

Shady Lady Crescent Katz, 9 p.m.

Shine Humpday Funk! w/ The Bumptet, 8 p.m.

Starlite Lounge Sacto Storytellers, Black Knight Satellite, The Ghost Town Rebellion, Flight Mongoose, 8 p.m.

11.24 thursday

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Press Club Reggae Night w/ DJ Dweet, 9 p.m.

Shady Lady Hot City, 9 p.m.

Kupros Craft House Shiner, 9:30 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Ciao Cinecittà, Proxy Moon, Carina, 7 p.m.

Memorial Auditorium Borgore, Snails, Joyryde, G-Buck, Jayceeoh, LAXX, 7 p.m.

MontBleu Resort Casino The Sun Kings (Beatles tribute), 7 p.m.

New Helvetia Brewing Co. 4th Anniversary Block Party w/ J’s House Band, Güero, Be Brave Bold Robot, 12 p.m.

Nicholson’s MusiCafe James Meder, 4 p.m.; Open Mic Night, 6 p.m.

Old Ironsides Alagondro Paiva, Jazzbow Paradox, Donell Terry, M2, 8 p.m.

On The Y Blessed Curse, Blood Cabana, Infinite Sleep, Sound Soul, Kyntallah, 8 p.m.

The Park Ultra Lounge DJ Billy Lane, 9:30 p.m.

Pine Cove Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Pistol Pete’s (Auburn) The Ghost Town Rebellion, Devon Gallery, Tao Tariki, 8 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Skid Roses, 10 p.m.

Press Club DJ Rue, 9 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino The Spazmatics, 9:30 p.m.

Shady Lady Switch Blade Trio, 9 p.m.

11.25 11.26 friday

Berryessa Brewing Co. Muddy Waders, 5 p.m.

Blue Lamp Josh’s Heart: A Benefit for the Homeless In Our Community feat. Tim Williamson, Marty Taters, Aurora Love, The Depths, The Square Cools, Cold Trap, Digital Martyrs, The Lady Mixx and More, 7 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Los Chicos Del 512 (Selena tribute), 8 p.m.

Capitol Garage Fyah Fridays w/ DJ Jaytwo, 10 p.m.

Center for the Arts Golden Shoulders, Davia, Aaron Ross, 8 p.m.

Club Car Justin Ancheta and Friends, 8 p.m.

Crest Theatre Mariachi Sol de Mexico, 6:30 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

El Dorado Saloon Big Trouble, 10 p.m.

Fox & Goose Met Music Benefit w/ Catchakoala, Gabe Nelson, Pat Reilly Trio, 9 p.m.

Golden Bear DJ Crook, 10 p.m.

Gold Country Lanes (Sutter Creek) C.T. Locke: DJ, Sing & Dance, 6:30 p.m.

Harlow’s Saved by the ‘90s, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday

Ace of Spades YG, 4 & 8 p.m.

(Sold Out) Bar 101 Dylan Crawford, 9:30 p.m.

Berryessa Brewing Co. Misner and Smith, 3 p.m.

The Boardwalk Burn Halo, Days of Heaven, Beauty is Betrayal, Tens Upon Thousands, Colour 21, 6:30 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Morris Day & the Time, 8 p.m.

Capitol Garage Feel Good Saturday’s w/ DJ Epik, 10 p.m.

Center for the Arts Baby Gramps, Fast Rattler, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

El Dorado Saloon Madison Hudson, 10 p.m.

Fox & Goose Anton Barbeau, Allyson Seconds, Noah Nelson, 9 p.m.

Goldfield Life in 24 Frames (Album Release), Epsilona, Skylis, 6:30 p.m.

Harlow’s Tommy Castro and the Painkillers, 8 p.m.

Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Elvin Bishop, 7:30 p.m.

KBAR Z Rokk, 9 p.m.

Kupros Craft House Harley White Jr. Trio, 9:30 p.m.

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

Luna’s Cafe David Houston & String Theory, Kevin Seconds, 8 p.m.

MontBleu Resort Casino The Sun Kings (Beatles Tribute), 7 p.m.

Nicholson’s MusiCafe Free Ukulele Class, 1 p.m.; Arnie Weiner, 6 p.m.

Old Ironsides Gonzo’s Bad Muther F’n Birthday Show w/ Simpl3Jack, Jem & Scout, Hypnotic IV, Back Alley Buzzards, Drop Dead Red, Slow Lorries, 7:30 p.m.

The Park Ultra Lounge DJ Peeti V, 9:30 p.m.

Pine Cove Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub WonderBread 5, 10 p.m.

Press Club DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m.

Red Hawk Casino Clean Slate, 10 p.m.

Sacramento Community Center Theater Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera Presents: Classical Mystery Tour, 8 p.m.

Shady Lady Canciones Bonitas, 9 p.m.

Shine Fallout Kings, Worthy Goat, Iscariot, 8 p.m.

Starlite Lounge Eugene Ugly (Album Release), Vinnie Guidera & The Dead Birds, Noah Nelson and More, 8 p.m.

Thunder Valley Casino Resort Don McLean, 7:30 p.m.

11.27 sunday

Ace of Spades Noelia, 7 p.m.

Berryessa Brewing Co. Baby Gramps, Robert Armstrong, 4 p.m.

Blue Lamp Good Vibes: Reggae/ Afrobeat w/ DJ Nocturnal, 10 p.m.

Blue Note Brewing Co. According to Bazooka, 3 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Live Band Karaoke, 5 p.m.

Capitol Garage Karaoke w/ Jeff Jenkins, 9 p.m.

Center for the Arts Dustin Thomas, 7:30 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Harlow’s Vista Kicks, 6 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Val Starr and the Blues Rocket, 3 p.m.

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

Shady Lady Peter Petty, 9 p.m.

Starlite Lounge Lord of War, Anisoptera, The Odious Construct, 8 p.m.

Torch Club Blues Jam, 4 p.m.

11.28 monday

Blue Lamp The Spotlight, 9 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

Harlow’s The Kyle Gass Band, Scary Little Friends, 7 p.m.

Louie’s Cocktail Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

SubmergeMag.com

LowBrau Motown on Monday’s w/ DJ Epik, 9 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Nebraska Mondays hosted by Ross Hammond, 7:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Heath Williamson & Friends, 5:30 p.m.

Press Club Hang the Old Year, Modern Man, Juan Solo, 8 p.m.

11.29 Tuesday

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Harlow’s Waterstrider, Nine Pound Shadow, 7 p.m.

Kupros Craft House Open Mic, 8 p.m.

Nicholson’s MusiCafe Jazz Jam w/ Chet Chwalik, 6:30 p.m.

Old Ironsides Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Pine Cove Open Mic Night, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Live Band Karaoke, 8:30 p.m.

Press Club Ignorance w/ Travis Avampado, 9 p.m.

Sacramento State: Music Recital Hall Abel Figueroa and the Sacramento State Latin Jazz Ensemble, 8 p.m.

Starlite Lounge Modern Sons, Surviving the Era, Pierce & the Gals, 8 p.m.

UC Davis: Jackson Hall Vienna Boys Choir, 7 p.m.

11.30 wednesday

American River College Theatre A Holiday Concert w/ the American River College Orchestra, 7:30 p.m.

Bar 101 Open Mic, 7:30 p.m.

Blue Lamp The Draft, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk The Westside Christmas Tour: Warm Brew & Michael Christmas, 7 p.m.

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

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

El Dorado Saloon Open Mic Night, 7:30 p.m.

Fox & Goose All Vinyl Wednesdays w/ DJ AAKnuff, 8 p.m.

Harris Center for the Arts The World Music Ensemble, 8 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Nicholson’s MusiCafe Acoustic Open Mic, 6 p.m.

Old Ironsides Open Mic, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub 98 Rock’s Local Licks Live, 9 p.m.

Press Club MILK w/ Jaytwo, Danny Woods, Pumatron, Adam Jay, 10 p.m.

Sacramento Community Center Theater Santa Slam w/ Train, Mike Posner and More, 7 p.m.

Shady Lady Musical Mash Up, 9 p.m.

UC Davis: Jackson Hall UC Davis Concert Band, 7 p.m.

University Union Redwood Room, CSUS Nooner w/ Xochitl, 12 p.m.

12.01 Thursday

Bar 101 Karaoke, 7:30 p.m.

Blue Lamp Yukmouth, The Gatlin, DJ Mighty Mike, Lil Darrion, Young Cheddar, Bueno and More, 9 p.m.

Capitol Garage Karaoke w/ Jeff Jenkins, 10 p.m.

Center for the Arts The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra, 7:30 p.m.

Club Car Songwriters Showcase, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Dive Bar Dueling Pianos, 9 p.m.

Fox & Goose Marty Cohen & The Sidekicks, 8 p.m.

Harlow’s Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic and DJ Zone, Homeboy Sandman, 8 p.m.

Louie’s Cocktail Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Pine Cove Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Locked & Loaded, 9:30 p.m.

Press Club Ghoul School, Tedrow & The Good Intentions, The Co Founder, Vinnie Guidera & The Dead Birds, 7 p.m.

Sacramento Community Center Theater Celtic Woman: Home For Christmas - The Symphony Tour, 7 p.m.

Sacramento State: Music Recital Hall Sacramento State Jazz Ensemble, 8 p.m.

Shine Sac’s Coolest Jazz Jam, 8 p.m.

UC Davis: Ann E. Pitzer Center Empyrean Ensemble: Spectral Music, 7 p.m.

University Union Ballroom, CSUS Battle of the Bands: Plots, Whorrifick, 21B, Bad Mother Nature, Actuality, Malaska, Atlas Park, Nevergood, 7 p.m.

12.02 FRIDAY

Ace of Spades 21 Savage, 7 p.m.

Bar 101 Cynthia Renee, 9:30 p.m.

Blue Lamp Dead Horse Trauma, The Alpha Complex, FAID, Purge the Perfect, 8 p.m.

The Boardwalk BadxChannels (feat. Craig Owens), Colours, Marina City, National Lines, 6:30 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino George Benson, 8 p.m.

Cal Expo The Chainsmokers, Dillon Francis, Krewella, Alexx Adam, Billy Lane, Nick G, 8 p.m.

(Sold Out) Capitol Garage Fyah Fridays w/ DJ Jaytwo, 10 p.m.

Crest Theatre The Fab Four: Ultimate Beatles Tribute, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

El Dorado Saloon Dutchess Wilder Band, 10 p.m.

Golden Bear DJ Crook, 10 p.m.

Gold Country Lanes (Sutter Creek) C.T. Locke: DJ, Sing & Dance, 6:30 p.m.

Harlow’s Goapele, 9 p.m.

Harris Center for the Arts Nell Robinson & Jim Nunally Band, 7:30 p.m.

Kupros Craft House Byron Colborn Group, 9:30 p.m.

Nicholson’s MusiCafe Open Mic Night, 6 p.m.

The Park Ultra Lounge DJ Elements, 9:30 p.m.

Pine Cove Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Inspector 71, 10 p.m.

Press Club DJ Rue, 9 p.m.

Shine Sacramento Classic Jazz Messengers, 8 p.m.

Starlite Lounge Soft Kill, Number Station, Two Passengers, DJ D, 8 p.m.

UC Davis: Jackson Hall University Chorus and UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, 7 p.m.

12.03 Saturday

Antiquité Maison Privée Ruby Jaye (Album Release), Casey Lipka, Samantha Sharp, 6:15 p.m.

Bar 101 Scotty Vox, 9:30 p.m.

Blue Goose Event Center (Loomis) 5th Annual Be the Change Winter Music Festival: Pablo Cruise, Jeff Keith (of Tesla), Jaime Kyle, Annie Sampson (of Stoneground), Larisa Bryski, Willie Seltzer and More, 6 p.m.

Blue Lamp N-Men Holiday Party: Tommy Guerrero & El Diabollitos, The Habituals, The Boneshakers and More, 8 p.m.

The Boardwalk Psychostick, Korean Fire Drill, Heat Of Damage, Digital Havoc, Motorize, 6:30 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Tran Thu Ha, Dang The Luan, Ngoc Lien, Hoang Oanh, Y Phung, Anh Vu & Kieu Mai Ly, 7 & 10 p.m.

Cafe Colonial Others, Peace Killers, Chrome Ghost, Runespoor, 7:30 p.m.

Capitol Garage Feel Good Saturday’s w/ DJ Epik, 10 p.m.

Center for the Arts Ages and Ages, Hannah Jane Kile, 8 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

El Dorado Saloon Code Blue, 10 p.m.

Harlow’s Goapele, 9 p.m.

Harris Center for the Arts Voices Of California Presents: A Joyful Ring, 1 p.m.; The Folsom Lake Symphony Presents: Holiday Cheer, 7:30 p.m.

Hideaway Bar & Grill Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys, Fortunate Few, 8 p.m.

Identity Coffees Well Dressed Mannequins, Pine + Palm, 7 p.m.

KBAR Z Rokk, 9 p.m.

Kupros Craft House Michael Otwell Trio, 9:30 p.m.

McClellan Center Porter Robinson, Madeon, San Holo, Robotaki, 9 p.m.

Nicholson’s MusiCafe Free Ukulele Class, 1 p.m.; Vista Musician Social Club, 6 p.m.

Pine Cove Karaoke, 9 p.m.

Pioneer Congregational UCC Songs of the Season, 7 p.m. continued on page 26

>>

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

25

Powerhouse Pub 40oz to Freedom, Island of Black & White, 10 p.m.

Press Club DJ Larry Rodriguez, 9 p.m.

Sacred Heart Church Procession of Carols, 8 p.m.

Starlite Lounge Maiden California (Iron Maiden tribute), Judas Thieves (Judas Priest tribute), Miss Led (Led Zeppelin tribute), 8 p.m.

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

Woodstock’s Pizza (Davis) According to Bazooka, 9 p.m.

12.04 Sunday

Ace of Spades X, Small Wigs, Skating Polly, 7:30 p.m.

Blue Lamp Good Vibes: Reggae/ Afrobeat w/ DJ Nocturnal, 8 p.m.

The Boardwalk Dave Mason, 6:30 p.m.

Cache Creek Casino Taylor Hicks, 5 p.m.

Cafe Colonial Ghoul, Blessed Curse, Solanum, RAD, Conceived In Chaos, West Coast Fury, 7 p.m.

Capitol Garage Karaoke w/ Jeff Jenkins, 9 p.m.

Center for the Arts Kenny Steel’s Fall Student Showcase, 3 p.m.

Christian Brothers High School Sacramento Youth Symphony’s Holiday Benefit Concert, 2 p.m.

Crest Theatre Dave Mason, 6:30 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 8 p.m.

Harlow’s Peter Murphy, 7 p.m.

Harris Center for the Arts The Folsom Lake Symphony Presents: Holiday Cheer, 2 p.m.

Memorial Auditorium USAF Band of the Golden West Holiday Concert, 3 p.m.

Powerhouse Pub Lydia Pense, 3 p.m.

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

Sacred Heart Church Procession of Carols, 2 p.m.

Torch Club Blues Jam, 4 p.m.

ed t c e n n Stay hCoSubmerge wit w Mag folluobmerge @S 26

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

12.05 monday

Ace of Spades 10th Annual How the Grouch Stole Christmas Tour: The Grouch, Murs, Eligh, Aesop, Sunspot Jonz, Scarub, Bicasso, Luckyiam, DJ Fresh, 6:30 p.m.

Blue Lamp The Spotlight, 9 p.m.

The Boardwalk Against The Current, Cruisr, Beach Weather, The Color Wild, 6:30 p.m.

Crest Theatre Jonny Lang, Reeve Carney, 6:30 p.m.

Distillery Karaoke, 9 p.m.

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

Louie’s Cocktail Lounge Karaoke, 9 p.m.

LowBrau Motown on Monday’s w/ DJ Epik, 9 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Nebraska Mondays hosted by Ross Hammond, 7:30 p.m.

Improv Lab, Harold Night & Gordon Teams, Wednesday’s, 7 - 10 p.m.

Cage Match & Improv Jam, Thursday’s, 8 - 10 p.m.

Anti-Cooperation League, Saturday’s, 9 p.m.

Ngaio Bealum, Nov. 25, 8 p.m.

Tommy T’s Tony Roberts, Nov. 25 - 27 DL Hughley, Dec. 2 - 4

Misc.

Comedy Harlow’s Jason Resler, Nov. 25, 7 p.m.

Shane Mauss, Nov. 30, 7 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited Dennis Gaxiola feat. Kristen Frisk, Nov. 25 - 27, Fri. & Sat., 8 & 10:30 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.

Don Barnhart, Dec. 2 - 4, Fri. & Sat., 8 & 10:30 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Open Mic Comedy Hosted by Jaime Fernandez, every Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.

Ooley Theater Comedy Night at the Ooley, every Thursday, 8 p.m.

Punch Line Gene Pompa, Jason Downs, Kiry Shabazz, Nov. 23 - 26, Wed., 8 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.

Lance Woods and Friends, Nov. 27, 7 p.m.

Just Comedy Presents: Laughs On Us w/ Michael Calvin Jr., Corey Calvert, Kiry Shabazz, Dav Gaskins, Anderi Bailey, Leon Gibson, Nov. 30, 8 p.m.

Adam Ray, Sandy Danto, Chazz Hawkins, Dec. 1 - 4, Thurs., 8 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m. & 10 p.m.; Sun., 8 p.m.

Sacramento Comedy Spot Open Mic, Sunday’s and Monday’s, 8 p.m.

1831 J Street Makers Mart, Dec. 3, 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.

20th Street (Between J and K) Midtown Farmers Market, every Saturday, 8 a.m.

Allied Ceramics Art Institute Studios & Gallery Annual Holiday Sale, Dec. 3 - 4 B Street Theatre Mainstage Series: A Christmas Carol, Through Dec. 31 Family Series: Robin Hood, Through Dec. 24 Blue Cue Bar Bingo, Wednesday’s, 9 p.m.

Bottle and Barlow The Sleazy Seventies Movember Mustache Bash: A Benefit for Men’s Health Awareness, Dec. 1, 6 p.m.

The Boxing Donkey Trivia Night, every Tuesday, 8 p.m.

Broadway Corridor (37th St. to Alhambra) Oak Park First Fridays, Dec. 2, 5 p.m.

Capitol Garage Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night, Wednesday’s, 9 p.m.

The Center for the Arts Holiday WinterDance, Dec. 2 - 3 Colonial Theatre Reel To Real Films Presents: A Benefit for Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services feat. A Gremlins Double Feature, Ugly Sweater Contest, Art Show and More, Dec. 3, 7 p.m.

Crest Theatre Anime Festival, Nov. 26 - 27 A John Waters Christmas, Dec. 1, 7 p.m.

Crocker Art Museum Holiday Artisan Market, Nov. 25 - 27 Claire Falkenstein: Beyond Sculpture, Now through Dec. 31 Highest Heaven: Spanish and Portuguese Colonial Art from the Roberta and Richard Huber Collection, Now through Jan 22, ‘17

Fox & Goose Pub Quiz, Tuesday’s, 7 p.m.

Golden 1 Center Cirque du Soleil’s TORUK: The First Flight, Nov. 30 - Dec. 4 Harris Center for the Arts An Irish Christmas, Nov. 25 - 26 Evening of Dance feat. MOSAIC Dance Company, Dec. 1, 6 p.m.

California Theatre Center: The Elves and the Shoemaker, Dec. 3, 1 & 3 p.m.

Historic Old Folsom Farmers’ Market, Saturdays, 8 a.m.

Kupros Craft House Trivia with Triviology 101, Sundays, 7:30 p.m.

Laughs Unlimited The Funk N’ Poetry Event feat.

Flyism Uncensored, Destiny Robbins, Zariah Matthews, Amy Rogers and More, Dec. 1, 8 p.m.

Luna’s Cafe Poetry Unplugged, every Thursday, 8 p.m.

Midtown BarFly Salsa Lessons, every Wednesday, 8 p.m.

Oak Park Brewing Co. Trivia Night, every Sunday, 8 p.m.

Pine Cove Trivia Night, Wednesday’s, 9 p.m.

Press Club Flex Your Head Trivia, every Tuesday, 8 p.m.

The Red Museum Sac Stands: Night of Strength and Solidarity feat. Live Music, Spoken Word, Food, Drinks, Fundraising and More, Nov. 23, 7 p.m.

Sacramento Fine Arts Center 22nd Annual Holiday Arts and Crafts Show, Dec. 3 - 4 Sacramento Poetry Center Doug Rice and Jordan Okumura Reading, Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m.

Sacramento Turn Verein 18th Annual Christkindlmarkt, Dec. 3-4 State Indian Museum Indian Arts and Crafts Holiday Fair, Nov. 25 26, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Stellar Studios Handmade Jewelry Show, Dec. 3, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Tommy T’s 50 Shades of Men, Dec. 1, 7 p.m.

Track 7 Brewing Co. (Curtis Park) Holiday Craft Fair, Nov. 27, 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.

WAL Public Market Art Exhibit: Pink Week 2016, Through Nov. 30 Opening Reception for 100 Under $100 Exhibit, Dec. 2, 6 p.m.

Wesley Social Hall Creative Craft Festival, Dec. 3, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

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Monkey Cat

805 Lincoln Way, Auburn

Words & photos Haley Teichert If you type “happy hour in Auburn” into Google, the first search result that shows up is Monkey Cat, an upscale American restaurant in Old Town Auburn. Their happy hour menu is featured online, and it looked appealing enough for me to want to check it out.

Happy hour at Monkey Cat is from 5–6 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. I had Monday free, so on Monday evening I headed towards Monkey Cat. I made it into Auburn around 5:30 p.m. and was able to park easily on the street. Old Town Auburn was quiet and magical. The streets were lit up with strings of hanging white lights, and Monkey Cat itself is located in a beautiful, vine-covered building.

I was lucky enough to have some good company during this excursion. My parents and grandparents joined me for happy hour at Monkey Cat, making our group a party of five. Fortunately, they had a table big enough for us. (The restaurant filled up with reservations later in the evening.)

The inside of Monkey Cat is classy and clean, and impressively decorated. The decor seems to be loosely based on Eastern cultures (many of the furnishings and art pieces are reminiscent of India and Thailand). It’s obvious that SubmergeMag.com

someone put a lot of time and effort into making the building feel warm and comfortable.

The tables are made of shiny, dark wood and set with white napkins and wine glasses. The dividers between the tables are adorned with fresh flowers and a collection of elegant monkey, elephant and cat sculptures. The walls are covered with expensive art made of metals and wood.

(The copper art piece nearest me was labeled with a $1,200 price tag.) The floors are made of beautiful dark wood and the room is lit by hanging light fixtures that cast a soft golden glow. Apparently there is also an outdoor patio, but it was cold out and I didn’t get the opportunity to really look at it.

The happy hour menu includes seven appetizers (all at a special happy hour price) and discounted beers, well drinks and well cocktails. My intention was to try as many things on the menu that I could for $20. It took a few minutes for our server to get the chance to get to our table, but once she arrived, she was very nice and answered all of our questions with patience and know-how. I ordered the apple Brie crostini ($5), the grilled stuffed portobello ($6) and some bleu cheese and garlic fries ($4). I ordered a well cocktail

every Friday, S aturday

to drink ($6). I asked the server for a recommendation, and she recommended the Monkey Tai. My Monkey Tai cocktail arrived, garnished with a slice of orange, two maraschino cherries and a straw. The ingredients included dark rum, coconut rum, pineapple juice and grenadine. I had requested that the drink be made with less alcohol than usual, and it seemed that the bartender followed through. The overlying flavor was coconut, and overall the cocktail was very sweet and tropical tasting. The other guests at my table ordered beers, wine, a margarita and a whiskey sour, and everyone seemed content with their choices.

My appetizers showed up to the table one at a time. The first to arrive was the apple Brie crostini. The three crostinis were presented on a rectangular plate over a bed of mixed greens, and were crispy and flavorful. The sweetness of the baked apple went well with the hot melted brie and bacon crumbles. The bread used for the crostini was homemade and very good.

The bleu cheese and garlic fries were brought out to our table soon after. The fries were not quite as crispy as I would have liked, but I feel like perhaps that’s just a matter of personal taste. I was a fan of the garlic and the abundance of chopped cilantro on the fries, and although

I don’t usually seek out bleu cheese, the bleu cheese crumbles on the fries worked well.

My favorite appetizer out of the ones that I ordered, was the grilled stuffed portobello. I don’t always love mushrooms, but if they are prepared correctly, they can be very good. The portobello was served piping hot, and stuffed full of hot, creamy, melty goat cheese, artichoke hearts and spinach, and topped with flavorful basil pesto. It’s the one thing on the menu that really stood out as something that I would seek out and order again.

The highlight of our visit to Monkey Cat was almost certainly the complimentary homemade French bread that we managed to eat four baskets of during our time there. The bread was served hot and fresh. The inside was warm and fluffy, and the crust was crunchy and salty. Each new basket of bread placed on the table by our patient and friendly server only lasted a few minutes before it was devoured by our party. There was olive oil and vinegar on the table, but the bread was enticing enough to eat on its own.

Overall, the comfortable and inviting ambience, the affordable menu and the limitless bread made for a lovely, warm and fulfilling evening for everyone in my party.

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Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

27

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Kanye West

Golden 1 Center | Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016

Words Josh Fernandez | photos Sarah & Zane Singleton

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Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

We waited an hour and a half for Kanye to start his Pablo Bullshitwhateverthefuck show. Then he came out on a floating stage and everyone went apeshit. Then, while hovering over the crowd, ‘Ye went insane and hugged Kid Cudi for an awkward amount of time. It was probably two minutes, but it seemed like an hour.

That’s when I knew we were in for some serious shit.

Disclaimer: I don’t know any Kanye West songs, so I don’t actually know which ones he performed, but they were both auto-tune-y and a little bit horrible. Anyway, he did two of them, but the important part is that he started Kanye-ing so hard that I think he even surprised himself. He was like, “Yo, I’m on my Trump shit, bruh,” and then he let out a political streamof-consciousness rant so long and ridiculous that I think Allen Ginsberg might have popped a posthumous boner in his grave. I couldn’t really understand everything Yeezy said, but he was definitely bummed out on Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, MTV, the radio (in general) and Jay-Z, who he begged not to kill him with his hit men. The best part of his rant was that people were so eager to hear music that they just said “fuck it” halfway through his boring speech and started twerking and moshing to the sound of babbling-ass Kanye. All the while, kids were in lines that spanned all across the arena lobby, trying to get their hands on some $40 Kanye shirts.

Finally, Kanye said, “Press, get ready to write some passive aggressive, LeBron James, season four racist comments. Get ready to have a field day, press, because the show’s over.” And then

his little stage floated back to its docking station and he stormed away, like Darth Vader, back into the darkness.

It was fucking perfect, plus I could be in bed before midnight.

But you know what’s even better than getting home at a reasonable hour? Watching fans freak the fuck out because they just got swindled by Kanye. People were yelling “Fuck Kanye!” and throwing their beer cans at the stage. Some lost souls just stood in the balcony, staring straight ahead as if they’d lost a loved one. And some people were crying. Fucking crying!

When I made my way toward the exit, there were still kids in line for merch. They had no idea that the show was over.

Whatever Kanye has done, he’s done it well.

It’s a formula: Take to the stage, build up some dramatic bullshit situation that doesn’t exist, like, say, Jay-Z murdering you, then hype yourself up so hard about your make-believe drama that you can’t possibly perform. Then you run off the stage and collect your cash.

So when Kanye says, “I’m on my Trump shit,” he’s not joking around.

But to be honest, I would have paid a hundred bucks just to watch Kanye fans cry. I also would have paid that much to see Kanye hug Kid Cudi for an hour. Two rappers embracing?

That shit is beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some amazing shows in my day—Slayer, A Tribe Called Quest, Tom Waits, Run DMC, Madonna, Patti Smith, Operation Ivy, Wu-Tang Clan, Black Star … and while I don’t really know what I just watched, I do know that it was better than any of that shit. 10/10, would Kanye again.

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The grindhouse

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GREMLINS @ 7:00 PM • GREMLINS 2 @ 9:00 PM • • • •

fear of the other Arrival Rated pg-13 Words Richard St.Ofle Don’t hate me for this, but I think the 21st century hasn’t really done sci-fi very well. It’s disappointing (though I guess Hollywood has been making up for it with a fine selection of contained horror films). We’ve had our fair share of hokey premises, paper-thin plot lines and murky logic-spirals (I’m looking at you, Inception), but there’s hope: Arrival, the remarkable new film by Denis Villeneuve is a breath of fresh alien air.

Director Villeneuve and screenwriter Eric Heisserer’s adaptation of Ted Chiang’s short story picks up where films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Contact left off—films conceived to honor the artistry of storytelling and the beauty of imagination instead of lining some Hollywood executive’s pockets with Maserati money.

Like Villeneuve’s other recent successes, Prisoners (2013) and Sicario (2015), Arrival orients itself around an ethical dilemma: What happens when humans, fractured by fear and self-interest, are forced to communicate with “others?”

Amy Adams plays Dr. Louise Banks, a world-class linguist who, after aliens arrive in 12 mysterious spacecraft scattered across the globe, is commandeered by the U.S. Army to reach out to the unusual creatures inside.

Adams, haunted by visions of her beloved daughter’s sickness and eventual death, is broken but determined.

The spacecraft, we’re told, opens up once every 18 hours, and with a team including easygoing physicist Ian Donelly (played by Jeremy Renner) and overbearing Army colonel (Forest Whitaker), Dr. Banks enters the ship with the intent to make contact. It’s here that Villeneuve’s filmmaking maturity SubmergeMag.com

shines. Instead of a sophomoric sequence depicting the magnificence of the ship’s inner alien workings, he sits back and lets the audience experience the boarding of the vessel through the perspective of the nervous Dr. Banks. With her labored breathing in our ear, we’re hoisted up into the strange cavern and it’s through her eyes that we see the curious beings for the first time.

As the visions of her daughter’s death intensify, the visitors seem to gravitate toward Dr. Banks’ emotions, which are raw with grief, and it is with her that they achieve a rudimentary form of understanding resulting in a basic understanding between the researchers and the aliens.

Ironically, as inter-species understanding blossoms, international communication breaks down. Russia, host to two of the 12 ships, executes one of their own in order to prevent information from being shared. China belligerently threatens military action against their craft. Pakistan and Sierra Leone follow suit, cutting off ties and threatening aggression.

Under renewed duress, Dr. Banks climbs back into the ship and uses their basic means of communication to ask their intentions. The response is ambiguous—is it a gift or a threat? As other nations learn of the possible threat, more of them prepare for war.

With the second act in full swing, the

film benefits from Villeneuve’s masterful pacing and impeccable visual composition as well as Heisserer’s terse narrative, which relies heavily on Benjamin Lee Whorf’s theory that the structure of a language affects the speaker’s cognition.

A friend described Arrival as a “thinking person’s science fiction film,” which wouldn’t be entirely inaccurate due to the science and philosophy that imbues the film, but more than anything it’s the feeling person’s science fiction film. In an era marked by fear (on both sides) of partisan politics, Arrival uncovers the perils of aggression and the risk of treating an unknown other like an enemy.

It would really be a disservice to delve much more into the plot and the ensuing twist—a twist, by the way that really works because while it seemingly comes from nowhere, clues can be found peppered throughout the film. This is the kind of philosophical film with a twist that is as important to the ethos of the film as it is to the structure.

Arrival doesn’t beat you over the head with details. It doesn’t rely on special effects or large action sequences, and the film’s big reveal feels more like a hearty payoff than a cheap end cap.

This is an elegant story about a mother who is navigating the trauma of losing her daughter while trying to unravel the mysteries of the universe. The film asks the big questions in a riveting way. See it.

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Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

29

sunday

dec 4

ThuRsday

feB 16

tHe lawS of gravity tour

the shallow end The Echo Chamber

witH SPecial gueStS

Small wigS and Skating Polly

aCe of spades • 1417 r street saCto • all ages • 7:30pm

witH SPecial gueStS

HorSeSHoeS and Hand grenadeS

harlow’s • 2708 j street saCto • 21 & over • 7:00pm

Scott Pemberton band black Star Safari

sunday

nov 20

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

duStbowl revival

(2 SetS)

o l d I r o n s I d e s • 19 0 1 1 0 tH s t r e e t • s a c r a m e n t o • 2 1 & o v e r • 8 : 0 0 p m

SimS

(doomtree) air creditS

saTuRday

dec 3 Tuesday

dec 6

Blu e l a mp • 14 0 0 a lH a mBr a Blv d • s acr a mento • 21 & ov er • 7:0 0 pm

Pere ubu coed Jail (SongS from 1975-1982) obnox

wednesday

dec 7

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

california HoneydroPS SteeP ravine

sunday

dec 11

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

cHarlie Hunter (feat. Scott amendola, kirk knuffke, kaSey knundSen)

saTuRday

dec 17

Harlow’s • 2708 J street • sacramento • 21 & over • 9:30pm

tHe devil makeS tHree loSt dog Street band

wednesday

dec 28

Gr ass valley veter ans memorIal Hall • 255 s auBurn street • Gr ass valley • all aGes • 8:00pm

gazeboS boyfriendS

Tuesday

jan 17

Blu e l a mp • 14 0 0 a lH a mBr a Blv d • s acr a mento • 21 & ov er • 7:0 0 pm

Stick men (feat. memberS of king crimSon) Harlow’s • 2708 J street • sacramento • 21 & over • 7:30pm

mark eitzel (american muSic club) Howe gelb (giant Sand) Holiday flyer

Tuesday

jan 17 fRiday

jan 27

o l d I r o n s I d e s • 19 0 1 1 0 tH s t r e e t • s a c r a m e n t o • 2 1 & o v e r • 9 : 0 0 p m

tHe brotHerS comatoSe

Harlow’s • 2708 J street • sacramento • 21 & over • 9:30pm

tHe revivaliStS

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

alo + rabbit wilde

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

mike watt & tHe miSSingmen toyS tHat kill

saTuRday

feB 11 wednesday

feB 15 sunday

feB 19 fRiday

MaR 3

o l d I r o n s I d e s • 19 0 1 1 0 tH s t r e e t • s a c r a m e n t o • 2 1 & o v e r • 8 : 0 0 p m

all ticketS available at: abStractPreSentS.com & eventbrite.com ticketS for Harlow’S SHowS alSo available at HarlowS.com ticketS for blue lamP SHowS alSo bluelamPSacramento.com ticketS for ace of SPadeS alSo available at aceofSPadeSSac.com & 916.443.9202

30

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

I’m sure every generation believes that they are going to be the one that dooms the planet.

Perhaps we think this out of arrogance—like we’re so powerful and important that, on a whim, we could destroy this beautiful blue marble upon which we float around the cosmos. And sure, it’s true that, with a press of a button, world leaders could launch an arsenal of warheads that will plunge Earth into nuclear holocaust. And sure, human activity is contributing to climate change, or global warming, or that hoax that liberals and pretty much every scientist on the planet came up with (whatever you choose to call it) which may cause oceans to rise and violent storms to sink coastal cities and change life as we know it forever. While both of these scenarios are frightening, they may also have a flipside, giving us a God complex. It should be pointed out, though, that Earth has been through a lot of shit over its 4.5 billion years of existence. When the dinosaurs got wiped out by an asteroid or whatever, Earth was chilling. When we’re not here any more, probably due to our own hubris, Earth will still be circling the sun like, “That’s none of my business, though.” Earth is such a jerk.

It might seem morbid, but sometimes it’s comforting in uncertain times such as these to remember that in the grand scheme of things, unsettling current events really aren’t that important. Feeling that way may be a bit of a cop-out, though. I’ve been listening to a lot of George Carlin and Noam Chomsky over the past week or so, so I’m in a really weird headspace.

I’ve also been unfollowing a lot of people on Facebook … It’s just better that way. Maybe I’m walling off (pun intended) viewpoints that are different than my own, and that’s part of it for sure, but I’m just weary of all the bickering.

I’m not the kind of person who vents on social media (that’s what I have this column for—sorry). I don’t post about dudes who cut me off in traffic or take up two spaces when they park. I don’t post pictures of my Starbucks cup when the barista spells my name wrong (mainly because everybody knows how to spell “James,” but you know what I’m saying), because there’s no reason to passive aggressively point out someone else’s shortcomings in a public forum.

I definitely don’t post political stuff on social media, because, really, what’s the point? There’s so much noise out there. I might get some likes or comments out of it to validate my point of view, and make me feel better about myself. The weird thing is, not doing it while everyone else does makes me feel better about myself. Does

James Barone jb@submergemag.com

that make me a better person than people who use Facebook as their pulpit? I’d like to think so, but I’m probably wrong.

In light of the surprise some had at the results of the recent U.S. presidential election (perhaps you’ve heard that Donald Trump won), Facebook has come under fire for possibly influencing how it all went down (pun intended), albeit indirectly. Many of Facebook’s users, knowingly or not, shared fake news stories throughout this highly contentious election election cycle that many believe played a part in Trump’s victory. One admitted fake news writer, Paul Horner, told the Washington Post in an interview, “I think Donald Trump is in the White House because of me.”

“People are definitely dumber,” Horner said.

“They just keep passing stuff around. Nobody fact-checks anything anymore—I mean, that’s how Trump got elected. He just said whatever he wanted, and people believed everything, and when the things he said turned out not to be true, people didn’t care because they’d already accepted it. It’s real scary. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Scary, maybe, but is it really surprising? In light of the increased scrutiny, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (who I still believe owes me royalties from The Social Network) addressed the issue in a post.

“The bottom line is: we take misinformation seriously,” he wrote Saturday, Nov. 19. “Our goal is to connect people with the stories they find most meaningful, and we know people want accurate information.”

I know the first part of that statement is true. But “meaningful” and “accurate” aren’t exactly the same thing. I mean, the statement, “Everyone is a snowflake,” is meaningful … cheesy but meaningful. It’s not accurate, though.

If everyone was a snowflake, no one would be able to go to the beach, or exist in weather warmer than 32 degrees Fahrenheit. You get what I’m saying. Meaningful is impactful. Accurate has become open for debate. How did that happen?

I think it’s great that Zuckerberg addressed the issue. He even outlined some proposals on how Facebook is moving forward to make sure its users have more accurate information, such as third-party verification, labeling stories that may be erroneous with warnings and making it easier for users to report misleading articles.

That’s great. My only question is, do you really believe it will matter?

Dive Into Sacramento & Its Surrounding Areas

SubmergeMag.com

Issue 227 • November 21 – December 5, 2016

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Dive into Sacramento & its Surrounding Areas

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November 21 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 5, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ #

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capital cities Show You What You Want to See

Mustafa Shaheen The Art of Empathy Trophii This Is Not a Test

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Kanye West at Golden 1 in 30 Minutes or Less Monkey Cat Happy Hour in Auburn Porter Robinson & Madeon Seek Shelter at McClellan Park