Music

Not What You’d Expect Long before Sarah Palin stepped into the national spotlight and gave the small town of Wasilla, Alaska a name, John Baldwin Gourley of Portugal. The Man called it home. “It’s such a sheltered place,” recalls the singer/guitarist/songwriter. “It’s so very much a part of the United…

Harlow’s Sacramento Monday, Oct. 6, 2008 Upon entering the dimly lit Harlow’s Restaurant and Night Club last Monday, I was delighted to see that Two Sheds had been booked as the last minute opener for Mates of State. I immediately noticed that it was not only Caitlin and Johnny Gutenberger…

Great Expectations Crank up the volume and feast your ears on a musical smorgasbord that definitely requires a full concert hall. The native Sacramento band MC Rut combines the talents of singer and guitarist Zack Lopez with drummer and backup vocalist Sean Stockham. Lopez’s angsty lyrics explode on a canvas…

Vagabond Heart In a manner of speaking, Tom Gabel has come full circle. Long before his Gainseville, Fla.-based punk band Against Me! gained wider notoriety with its latest album (and first major label release) New Wave, Gabel played solo under the same moniker. Now, the singer/songwriter stands ready to release…

Crest Theatre, Sacramento Sept. 20, 2008 Arriving 30 minutes before the show started, I was surprised to see almost every seat in the Crest Theatre taken. I love Musiq Soulchild, but almost every time I dropped his name to someone, they’d never heard of the R&B singing soul man. So,…

Chase Moore was born in Melbourne, Australia into a very musically inclined family. His father played and taught piano while constantly recording and producing music right out of their home. Naturally then, Chase began making music at a young age but his move to Sacramento in September 1994 exposed him…

The Maturation Process Isolation has its perks. Looking to avoid distractions and work on his music, singer/guitarist Kevin Murphy left Bellingham, Wash. and headed north to Ketchikan, Alaska. Holed up in an attic, the young songwriter—not even of legal drinking age at the time—began working on tunes with a four-track…

Emerging from Under the Umbrella of Moguls to Fulfill His Own Blu Kolla Dreams R&B artist Bobby Valentino has set out to make a name for himself as a musical mogul and has no intention to “Slow Down.” Valentino holla’ed at Submerge while touring through the American “backwoods” of South…

Singer Christopher Fairman Shows that Darkness Can Be Beautiful Listen to local musician Christopher Fairman’s upcoming new release, 85, 87, and allow Fairman’s smooth, strong vocals to meld with guitarist Nick York’s haunting, melodic riffs. Fairman’s brooding voice is just slightly reminiscent of singers like Ryan Adams and Nick Drake,…

Panic at the Disco Broaden Their Horizons Las Vegas rock band Panic at the Disco isn’t afraid of change. Even though the band’s 2005 debut, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, has topped charts, sold millions of copies worldwide, earned them an MTV video music award for Best Video and…