Whether you’re on the grid or in the ‘burbs, the greater Sacramento area doesn’t lack in the “things to do on New Year’s Eve” category. Just check out this list of 15 ways to ring in 2015! We’ve got everything from rock shows with metal bands, to stand-up shows with the best local comics, to dance parties with big-name DJs and everything in between. Happy New Year’s, y’all, and remember to please be safe (and smart) out there!

1) Head bang till midnight at the “Sac of Stars” show at Boardwalk featuring Korean Fire Drill, Clockwork Hero, ForNever, Graveshadow and about a dozen other locals! Doors at 7 p.m., no cover charge, 21-and-over, free champagne toast.

2) Dance the night away with a huge balloon drop and confetti galore at District 30 with sounds by Well Groomed. $25 cover charge, party starts at 9 p.m., free champagne toast.

3) Dress your best for a party to remember at Park Ultra Lounge with DJ Peeti V. Watch the ball drop on their LED Wall, get free party favors and enjoy a free champagne toast at midnight. $40 presale, $50 at the doors, event starts at 8 p.m.

4) Enjoy New Year’s Eve in the foothills with slide guitar master Roy Rogers and the Delta Rhythm Kings at Main Stage Theater in Grass Valley! Tickets start at $40 for general admission, show starts at 9 p.m.

5) Bundle up for TBD Fest’s massive outdoor block party at 20th and K streets in Midtown featuring world class DJ and major-festival-level headliner A-Trak! Also performing is Gigamesh, Oliver, Nick Catchdubs, Sister Crayon, CHLLNGR and more! 21-and-over, multiple ticket levels available (general admission starts at $45), Tbdnye.com for details.

6) Love music from the ‘80s and ‘90s? Head to Harlow’s to kick it with cover band extraordinaire Lovefool! Doors open at 9 p.m., $20 cover, 21-and-over.

7) Take the Historic Folsom District by storm this New Year’s with a super-fun dance party at Powerhouse Pub featuring local cover band Take Out! Doors open at 9 p.m., 21-and-over. Bonus: stop into Samuel Horne’s Tavern before the show to check out their amazing beer list!

8) Get down with some mainstream mashups from DJ Rigatony at Starlite’s NYE Celebration! Two floors, pool table and the kitchen will be open until 10 p.m. Guest hosts Lori Love and Miss Lisa. $5 cover, 9 p.m., free champagne toast at midnight.

9) If you want to see some absolutely massive headliners and are not afraid of a little snow and possible sub-zero temps, definitely consider heading to South Lake Tahoe for SnowGlobe, which runs Dec. 29 to 31! Acts like Disclosure, Skrillex, Porter Robinson, Atmosphere, Phantogram and about a million others will keep you warm with their dance-heavy sets! Single day tickets are $99.

10) Why not mix some gambling with your NYE party at Thunder Valley Casino? Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is performing (7:30 p.m. in Pano Hall, $47.75), and there is also a grand opening celebration for their new nightclub, Illusions, where DJ Thomas will spin jams all night (9 p.m., $50).

11) If you’re looking for something different this New Year’s, check out Punchline’s “2014’s Last Laughs” comedy show! Two shows, one at 7:30 p.m. with local faves Ngaio Bealum, Ray Molina, John Ross and more. The late show (10 p.m.) will have Johnny Taylor, Keith Lowell Jensen, DJ Mervin and others, as well as a DJ playing dance music and a free champagne toast at midnight. 18-and-over, $25.40 for early show, $31.80 for late show, Punchlinesac.com.

12) Not into DJs, electronic dance music and/or indie bands? More of a country guy or gal? Ain’t no shame! Grab your boots and cowboy hat and head to Goldfield Trading Post for a “yee-haw” New Year’s with the excellent Brodie Stewart Band! The party starts at 9 p.m., and there is no cover charge, 21-and-over only.

13) Three of the best local party throwers (DJ Larry Rodriguez, MC Ham and DJ Wokstar) are getting together at Fox and Goose to spin some soul, funk, reggae, disco and more! Smoke, lasers, party favors, the whole nine. Cover is only $10, party starts at 9 p.m.

14) The annual Lipstick Presents NYE at Old Ironsides features a live performance from Sunmonks this year, plus DJs Shaun Slaughter, Roger Carpio and Adam Jay. Complimentary champagne toast, midnight ball drop, tons of giveaways. $8 tickets available in advance at Cuffs Urban Apparel.

15) Enjoy a small, intimate gathering in Davis when the rootsy-yet-dancey local group Mumbo Gumbo rocks a NYE bash to remember at the Odd Fellows Hall. Limited to only 225 tickets! Check out Mumbogumbo.com for more info on where to snag those limited tickets.

Want even more New Year’s Eve options? Check out our calendar section here!

The Pride of Lodi, In Oceans Prepares to Play Sacramento

Before the progressive rock group In Oceans starts band practice, they prepare to embark on a mini journey. All six band members pack up their instruments and meet at a cottage, located in the “boonies” to get the creative juices flowing. While jamming in the small cottage, the band has turned their random guitar strums, bass notes, drumbeats and song lyrics into music that can make anyone want to jump around in a mosh pit.

The Lodi, Calif.-based group is ready to share their five-song EP Earthwalker with music fans everywhere. Submerge caught up with vocalists Stephen Parrish and Matt Miller over the phone after a day of practicing for an upcoming gig.

“We just came together and made this awesome collaboration of magic. We’re really stoked to see what people think about it,” Parrish said.

During the year and a half they’ve been playing music together, the group has created a unique rock sound. “Our music [has] extremely progressed and we got our signature,” Miller said. Each band member (Parrish, Miller, guitarists Ryan Hinch and Jake Knutson, drummer Jesse Reeves and bassist James Garner) played a vital role in making their EP sound stage ready.

“Music-wise we make sure everyone puts in their stance. Everyone has different stuff: funk, mainstream, experimental, we all [have] our different little traits,” Parrish said. “That’s why we’re glad that everything came together in this EP.”

“Everyone brings their own influences,” Miller added. “What we aimed for is something that a lot of people can relate to.”

Even though the music was just released in the beginning of June, the band has already received positive feedback through social networking sites, gaining more than 4,000 likes on their Facebook band page. And if you decide to like them on Facebook, you can expect to see them interacting with almost every fan through status updates, comments and likes. Even though they are gaining strong momentum in the small city of Lodi, their music is spreading across the United States. The Facebook page tells them that they have tons of fans that live in Seattle who are waiting for them to take their show north of their hometown.

“We would like to take a trip up to Seattle and walk around the streets and see if anyone knows us there,” Miller said.

The band also caught the eye of Jonny Craig, lead vocalist for Dance Gavin Dance, after playing the 2010 Battle of the Bands Ernie Ball stage at Warped Tour. “He came up and talked to us afterward and he was pretty impressed with our set, so that was a nice little booster for us,” Parrish said. Both members agree that they hope to play Warped Tour again but are now focused on prepping for upcoming gigs, including a headlining show at the Ace of Spaces in downtown Sacramento.

“It’s our first show in Sacramento. I think it’s my first show out with the band in Sacramento, besides the Boardwalk,” Miller said.

If you decide to catch their first headlining show in town, be prepared to find yourself jumping around the stage one minute then laughing the next, because these rockers like to act “goofy” on and off stage. They take the music very seriously but seem to go with the flow for everything else that jumps in their way–even when deciding upon their band name, they just chose it as a “safe” name and hoped that it would catch on with people that listened to their tunes. They even joked that they could be called the “Fluffy Farts” as long as it would catch on.

“We paid for a guy to go to Sizzler, and he gave us the rights to the name [In Oceans],” Miller joked. “We just want people to listen to the music really.”

The members of In Oceans are the type of rockers that anyone would want to hang out with and tell a few jokes with after their shows. Especially in their hometown, they chat with fans and eat tacos at the local Jack-in-the-Box. “We sign the receipts,” Miller said. “I’m just kidding, we don’t sign the receipts, but if they want us to sign the receipts we would love to.”

They also like to have fun during their mini road trips to different shows. They play rounds of their own version of a word make-up game, where they improvise and start to rap in the car. “We start to freestyle. It gets insane,” Parrish said. After the band finally arrives at their destination, they have a pre-show ritual of huddling together backstage to get revved up to take the stage. “The whole focus is on playing a good show and keeping the energy up,” Miller said.

“I like to put on a show that we would like to go watch,” Parrish added.

According to both vocalists, “fun, crazy, extravaganza and awesomeness” are a few of the things that a member of their audience can expect from one of their live performances. Residents in Stockton might have caught them playing a high-energy show at one of their favorite venues called Empire Theatre, an old movie theater that houses film screenings and live shows. But outside of local venues, they hope to place their music in as many ears as possible. “Hopefully something crazy happens with it because it’s something everyone definitely needs to hear,” Miller said. “We love anyone and everyone that listens to our music. Come out to a show and see; it’s going to be a party.”

In Oceans’ new EP, Earthwalker, was released June 1 and can be purchased on iTunes. If you’d like to keep abreast on the band’s latest happenings, or maybe find out where they’re eating tacos, friend them on Facebook at Facebook.com/inoceansband.

Sacramento’s Not Your Style to Release Pop-Punk Debut In Season

Make no mistake about it: pop-punk as a revolutionary genre of music is quite dead. Even as a marketable way to sell skate decks, or dunks, or hair gel, it’s a goddamn apparition. But–and this is a big but–this is not to say that there aren’t times when you can relish in the finer glimmers in the flashes in the pan. Most everyone who digs pop music can appreciate the hook-y sensibility and heart-wrenching gloom of an old Saves the Day record, or a (A) New Found Glory EP. Where was I the first time I heard Blink 182’s Cheshire Cat? On Airport Road in Redding, Calif., after school on the way to Circuit City. See how that works? Those who experienced Lagwagon can’t tell fans of Panic! At the Disco about it and expect them to listen; just like those who wiggled to the spastic skate-punk of Descendents couldn’t expect Lagwagon disciples to “know” what it “really meant to rock!”

It’s for the reasons above that Not Your Style’s relatively tardy arrival to the pop-punk canon can be dismissed. Because inside all the premeditated naysaying hard-wired into critics who are interested in moving past frigid forms of expression, there lies that concession that every take is a new scene.

Not Your Style is resurrecting sunny melodies in Sacramento, and back-dropping them with crunchy riffs, four-on-the-floor rock drumming and saccharine-sweet lyrical imagery. It’s a formula that vocalist Laith Kayyali says has been honed over the last two years through heavy writing, recording and building a name for themselves. With a stated goal of becoming “the world’s greatest pop-punk band,” Kayyali and bassist Kylan Kegel laid the foundation of Not Your Style after the demise of their former alt-rock band, and a search through Craigslist to round out the crew.

“We wanted to take this more seriously and put a lot more time and effort into this band,” explains Kayyali. “We didn’t really go in with a lot of expectations. Things kind of just took off beyond anything we thought would’ve happened.”

After a couple of drumming substitutions, the band recorded their debut EP, …In the Conservatory with the Wrench, with Sacramento producer/engineer Jay Trammell after only six weeks together. The EP found its way into the hands of Mark Gilmore at 98 Rock, and around the same time, their song “Not a Star” was entered into a local contest for a set at the upcoming Rockalottapuss metal concert at Sleep Train Amphitheatre, to open for Judas Priest, Whitesnake and Saliva, among others. The band won the opening gig by popular vote.

“We were in a little over our heads, but we enjoyed every second of it,” remembers Kayyali. “Compared to the other bands, we didn’t have much business to be there. We were a brand new pop-punk band, playing with metal gods Judas Priest and Whitesnake. Obviously, that didn’t crush our spirits.”

That same resiliency led the band full-steam ahead into their second recording session with Trammell, to record the It’s Treason Then EP, with a much more refined focus on waving the pop-punk flag…unwaveringly.

“Our writing definitely matured,” says Kayyali of the second EP. “Our first session wasn’t as ‘pop-punk’ as our newest stuff. We sat down, and established we want to write fun, upbeat pop-punk songs, so our newest songs have followed that. We didn’t really put a timeline on it, but we’ve at least established what we’re trying to be.”

Kayyali reports the band is more interested in its songs translating well to the live setting. But that doesn’t mean the band’s debut full-length In Season is anything less than a sonically enjoyable listen. NYS spent all of November 2010 at Fat Cat Studios fine-tuning their sound, and grooming their new drummer–ex-Resolve to Burn skin man Ray Sisco–for what’s easily their biggest achievement yet. They’re currently gearing up for their official CD release show, set for Friday, Feb. 18, 2011 at the Boardwalk in Orangevale.

Blasting from the main speakers that night will be samples of Kayyali and Company’s affection for peppy riffs, big choruses, rapid-fire drums and lots of “whoa-oh” harmonizing. “Last Forever”–probably the most single-worthy track in this self-released collection–tunes up the schmaltzy cues of early Anberlin, replete with hook-heavy bridges and perfectly pitched vocals. “Hakuna Stigmata” clears the way for double-bass-as-brigadier metal-lite, with heaping helpings of layered choral effects and a never-ending lead guitar that showcases the fretwork of the ax men. The result of these and their companion tracks–diverse despite themselves–reinforces the band’s devotion to their goal. What was that again? Oh right: to be The World’s Greatest Pop-Punk Band.

Even the band’s name seems to suggest that they’re letting you in on a ruse–that though music listeners at large may sigh a collective “neeeeext” upon news of the pop-punkiness of the band, they’ve got a response to that covered by their very moniker. You lose. But, as Kayyali explains, that’s really not the case.

“[Not Your Style] fit our idea of what we wanted the band to be,” says Kayyali. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and we know pop-punk isn’t the most widely accepted genre, especially in an area where pop-punk bands are few and far between. So it really works on all levels.”

As for the critics, the hipsters, the ever-present posh police, don’t expect NYS to bow to anything aside from the resonance of a timeless melody or a potent pop guitar progression.

“We always wanted to be known as one of the best live bands in the area,” relates Kayyali. “We feel pop-punk gives us what we need to make that happen. The genre definitely isn’t what it used to be, but we’re hoping to change that. I’d love to hear more criticism about our genre, band and what we’re trying to accomplish. Hopefully critics will watch our live show and enjoy it no matter what we’re playing. With criticism, we can only get better.”

Jonny Craig is front and center on his solo debut

Jonny Craig is a name many of you might be familiar with. The now Lexington, Ky.-based singer is currently frontman for Rise Records’ indie core sextet Emarosa. However, now that he has a bit of down time from his regular gig, he’s decided to start from scratch, so to speak, with a brand new project—his first ever solo album, A Dream Is a Question You Don’t Know How to Answer.

Submerge spoke with Craig before sound check for his Nov. 23 show at The Door in Dallas.

Has having to start over with a new project reignited your passion for the music—having to rebuild a fan base with your own music?
In a way, it kind of sucks trying to go back and build a fan base, but then again, there’s not so much pressure. Like, “Oh, I’ve really got to nail this one, because everyone’s watching.” It kind of gives me a chance to go back and breathe a little bit and not be so worried about everyone’s opinions. Only I’m the one that matters. The backing band, if I mess up, they don’t care. Instead of having six opinions, you only get one. It makes it a lot easier for someone who fronts a band. It’s like, “There’s only one person writing this stuff; it’s you. So just relax, have a good time.” All you have to do is make sure your band is in place, and you go with it.

From what I’ve heard of the album, there seems to be a lot of different styles from song to song. Were you looking to branch out and try different things?
Like I said, we wrote skeletons to the songs, and then I sang over them. I just sang what I heard on the tracks. And then we were like, “This song’s a little funky, let’s put some weird guitar behind it or piano.” That’s how it really got decided. It was just me singing what I heard, and then it went from there. After we had the skeletons and the melodies down, then we did all the real guitar work and all the stuff that made the album—like the fillers.

So it sounds like a lot of it came together in the studio then”¦
Yeah.

Is that a lot different from how you’ve worked with Emarosa and Dance Gavin Dance in the past?
No, man. I just really like to go off the head when I record. I don’t like to over think melodies, over write things. I just like to go in and bust shit out, and think about it on the spot. If I don’t like it, I’ll start all over and find something new. I like to be 100 percent—I wouldn’t say improv—but not so organized. I like to relax and think to myself, “Hey, I want to go in here and do whatever I hear, because I’m going to trust myself. Instead of being like, “Oh, this needs to be catchier,” you know?

Before you mentioned that with this project, you don’t have to consider other opinions, just your own. Did that give you more leeway to explore the kind of stuff you were hoping to, like maybe stuff you weren’t able to do before with your music?
That’s the best thing about it. I didn’t go in writing anything. I didn’t go in expecting it to be, oh, like, “Let’s write an acoustic album,” or, “Let’s write a pop-y hip-hop album.” I just wanted to get in there and see what we could come up with. It was all about whatever came to my head. I hate people who over think everything and are so critical about what they play and how it sounds. I want to have fun singing. I just wanted to make an entire album just like that and show people that it can be done without stressing, and without really having much of a care except that you love music.

I watched the video for “I Still Feel Her, Part III” while getting ready for this interview. Was that a concept you came up with yourself or was it a director’s idea?
That was my idea.

Is it pretty true to the lyrics?
No, it has nothing to do with the lyrics. It’s a private meaning for me, and I’m not going to give it away.

It was pretty racy in the beginning with the two women making out half naked on the bed. Have you caught any flack for that?
No, you know, it’s whatever. Controversy is my middle name.

It doesn’t seem like something you shy away from.
Yeah, you know. I like to have fun. I like to do what I want, and I don’t care what anyone else does”¦ I just think a lot of people put up a front. Obviously, people aren’t as perfect as they portray. Like, they want to be in this band, and they want to be responsible and be role models for kids and stuff. I make music for myself, and I shouldn’t have to hide who I really am, because I make music to keep myself alive. I’m sorry that I might not be the best role model for someone’s child, or I might not be the best person for someone to look up to, but I want to be myself. If people say, “He drinks too much, or he does this or that.” I’m not going to hide who I am just so I can be bigger”¦ It’s just not who I am.

Writing music, I’m sure, you put a lot of yourself into that also”¦
The funny thing is, I never hid behind anything. And if you can’t grasp who I am or what I’m about, then that’s your problem. I guess that video—without giving too much away—is just me being like, this isn’t something I care about, people saying I drink too much or party too much”¦ I’m not going to get into it. It is what it is.

Jonny Craig will played The Boardwalk in Orangevale on Dec. 1, 2009 with Tides of Man and Sleeping With Sirens.

Thursday, The Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter
Boardwalk “¢ Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009
Words & Photos Russ Wonsley

Looking at the lineup for last Thursday night’s show at Boardwalk, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had heard of The Dear Hunter from close friends but had never taken the time to listen to them. With such a buzz surrounding them, I was interested to have the opportunity to see them live. When The Dear Hunter had finally finished setting up their equipment, I saw that I was in for a unique performance. Three keyboards littered the stage with dozens of effect pedals covering the floor around them. A tall, bearded man took the main microphone; and from the first note he sang, I knew that this band had a buzz for a reason. There was one point when all the members of The Dear Hunter were harmonizing with each other on stage. It was refreshing to hear vocals done without the aid of a tuning program.

Up next was The Fall of Troy, and their performance was everything I expected it to be. Thomas Erak (lead vocals, guitar) burst onstage with high energy and fast guitar riffs. He jumped up and down the stage and pulled the whole venue into the performance. It was thrilling to see a musician keep riffing while fully engulfed in a crowd of screaming fans. The set list ranged from familiar favorites to songs that had just been released on their newest album, In the Unlikely Event, on Equal Vision Records.

Then, the New Jersey post-hardcore group Thursday finished off the show with a solid performance. They started off their set with solid songs such as “Division Street” and “For the Workforce, Drowning,” and the crowd echoed Geoff Rickly’s (lead vocals) every word. It was apparent that Thursday still has a strangle hold on post-hardcore fans, even after being involved in the scene since 1997. With complimenting reviews backing up their newly released album Common Existence from Epitaph Records, it looks like we can expect Thursday to keep a strong grasp on the genre for many years to come.

Sacramento Punk Legends The Secretions Are Set to Release New Record

The year was 1991. The grunge movement, in all its flannel glory, had fully engulfed the country thanks to bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam; the Governator was just the Terminator in Terminator 2: Judgment Day; Will Smith was just the Fresh Prince in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air; and two young punk rockers attending Sacramento State, Mickie Rat and Danny Secretion, would meet and form a band. “I would have to walk through the University Union and I would get my coffee and go to class and I would always see this guy wearing all black no matter how hot it was,” Danny recalls of Mickie Rat during a recent conversation outside Benny’s Bar and Grill. “Long-sleeve black shirt, black pants and motorcycle boots with these big metal plates on the front and he had kind of a Mohawk devil-lock. It was pretty awesome.”

Mickie was aware of his intimidating appearance and even admits that he was known as the “scary punk guy” around campus. The two would see each other often, but never really spoke until their paths crossed one afternoon under dreary circumstances. “We actually started talking at a funeral,” says Mickie, who at this point had already started a band. “Our original guitarist was the program director for the student-run radio and he passed away. I had seen [Danny] in the studio; we had shows near each other. We didn’t even really start talking until then,” says Mickie.

One thing led to another, Danny was invited to jam and The Secretions were born. “We still have cassette tapes of those practices and how we started every song with, ‘One, two, three, four!'” Danny says.”

The two recall that in those first days of practice, ending the songs in sync was not as easy as starting them. “Usually we would start out the song together but the ending would always end up disintegrating,” remembers Danny. “The guitar would stop, then the bass, then the drummer would just keep playing.”

Fast-forward 18 years and the two are still making punk rock music together. “We don’t know how to do anything else,” says Danny. “I think the thing that’s really helped attribute to us not throwing in the towel is coming to grips with the fact that we’re not going to be huge and famous.”

Money and fame aside, The Secretions are a very successful band. They’ve toured the country many times and released a handful of records, but more importantly, they’re great friends who love playing music together. “My goal was to always be in a band with friends,” says Mickie. “That’s pretty much what it’s always been about for me. I’ve been lucky enough to do that. I mean, some people are like, ‘Oh I’ll hire a bunch of guys to play my music.’ That’s never worked for me.”

What has worked for The Secretions for nearly two decades now is booking smart tours: Gigging every other month as opposed to every weekend to avoid over-saturating the market; recording and releasing high energy, addictive punk rock records; and connecting with their dedicated fans, appropriately dubbed Secretins, more deeply than most groups these days. The band—which currently consists of Mickie Rat (bass, vocals), Danny Secretion (drums, vocals) and Paul Filthy (guitar, vocals)—truly has withstood the test of time. With a new record, entitled GREASYHOTMEATCHEEZY, due out in July, a slew of tour dates including two appearances at the Insubordination Fest in Baltimore, Md. in late June, two Sacramento release shows (July 3 at the Blue Lamp and July 20 at the Boardwalk) and a two-week West Coast run with The Bugs, they are not showing any signs of slowing.

Where did the name GREASYHOTMEATCHEEZY come from?
Mickie Rat: Paul’s girlfriend.
Danny Secretion: We were driving to Fresno to play a show; it was like a Friday night so we had all just gotten off work, went home, cleaned up, drove around and picked up everyone. We pulled over to get some gas and something to eat and I just asked, “What do you guys feel like eating?” And she just blurted out, “Greasy, hot, meat, cheesy!” It was just one of those things. On the inside of our van there is just Sharpie tags all over and written up there is “GREASYHOTMEATCHEEZY” and we just circled it and were like, “That’s a great album.”
MR: It’s a running joke, somebody will say something disgusting and you’ll be like, “Oh that’s what our next album is going to be called.” She also kind of did that to goof on me because I’m a vegetarian and I’m allergic to dairy so she was like, “Hm, what are all the things you can’t eat?”
DS: Yeah, Mickie can’t eat too many things that are meaty or cheesy.
MR: But I like hot things and greasy things.

What else can you tell me about the record? How does it compare to past releases musically and lyrically?
DS: Musically I think it’s on par with everything else that we’ve done, it’s nothing too complicated.
MR: I think a lot of people are shocked because I’m more singing than yelling. There’s some different songs. Usually if I write a pop-y song that sounds kind of smoother and I sing kind of pretty on it, I’ll save it and not put it on the album. I’m getting to the age where you just stop giving a shit. A lot of those songs I didn’t want on the album, but then I was like, “Eh, what the fuck do I got to lose? Let’s just put them out there.” The opening track is like three-and-a-half minutes long, which is like the longest song I’ve ever written.

Yeah, that’s like three normal Secretions songs!
MR: Usually I write stuff that’s a minute-15, that’s like my average song length. I kind of wanted to write this rockin’ Joan Jett and the Blackhearts kind of song.
DS: It’s a fun song. That was the big risk that we took was putting a song that was so different from the others at the beginning.
MR: Yeah I really didn’t want to put it first either but eventually they convinced me.
DS: We were just like, “No, this one has to start it.” It’s one of those things where it’s going to make people listen to it. The next song is just classic punk all the way through.
MR: There’s some different kind of stuff on this one.
DS: It’s just a fun album. We’ve got the songs pretty much telling off certain people. That’s always been what we do, just kind of poking fun at people.
MR: It’s what we do best: pissed off punk rock.

You’re doing a listening party at Capitol Dawg. Whose idea was that?
DS: That was Mickie’s idea.
MR: It’s one of my favorite places to eat. I always hang out and talk to the owner. My girlfriend and I actually went there for the first couple of weeks and nagged the hell out of him to get garlic fries because he didn’t have them yet.

So I have you to thank for my stinky breath after I eat those, eh?
DS: The reason why he didn’t have them was really cool. He didn’t want to do garlic fries, because Jack’s next door had garlic fries and he didn’t want to disrespect them.
MR: But Jack’s has terrible fries, the only reason they are good is if they put garlic on them. A fry must stand alone, by itself, before you put anything on it. I am a total fry aficionado. If a fry doesn’t taste good with nothing on it then I don’t want to eat it.

You guys have a widely renown connection with your fans, a listening party seems like a good way to keep that strong. Have you done anything like this before?
DS: We did it last year at the Javalounge. I think prior to that it had been much more informal, maybe just inviting friends over to our house to get drunk and play our new CD. For Faster Than the Speed of Drunk we did something a little more formal, we had an actual listening party where we told everyone to come on over to the Javalounge and we played the CD. This year we thought about doing it again and Mickie had the idea of doing it at Capitol Dawg.
MR: We’re going to have a special hot dog recipe for the evening; it’s going to be the “Greasy, hot, meat, cheesy.” I somehow convinced the owner to do the 88-cent Pabst long necks for that night. He usually only does that on Mondays, but he’s agreed to extend it to a Thursday.
DS: Oh, that could be bad news for us!

What is this Insubordination Fest all about? Are you pumped to be a part of it?
DS: It’s a big festival, I think this is the third one; it’s basically Lookout Records mid-’90s: bands like the Mr. T Experience, The Queers and The Parasites. They just have this huge festival with all these pop-punk bands back East.
MR: It’s put on by Insubordination Records.
DS: This year the surviving members of The Dead Milkmen are going to reunite and play. Lots of other huge bands will be there. We play on the Friday night just as the Secretions. Then on Saturday we’re backing Wimpy Rutherford, who is the original singer for the Queers, so we’re going to be doing like all the old Queers songs.

That seems like kind of a big deal for you guys!
MR: It’s a huge deal.
DS: It was one of those things where I was talking to Wimpy about the possibility of him playing and us backing him up. I let the guys know, and Mickie didn’t want to get his hopes up.
MR: I was like, “I’m not going to hold my breath.”
DS: Then when we finally got the OK when Wimpy was given a slot and he said, “I want you to be my backing band, learn the songs,” then I let the guys know.

You guys recently did a video shoot for the song “Back in the Day Punk.” Will it include footage from your recent Club Retro show?
DS: Yes, we worked with our friend Rob Young, aka Rob Fatal. He’s a local DJ here in town. He’s an awesome filmmaker, and he’s absolutely punk rock. He’s very fast about how he films things; he’ll have you do everything about five times until he gets what he thinks is just right and then moves on to the next thing. We filmed the first part during the day at our friend Tom from the No-Goodniks’ house and that was a good time. Then we played at Club Retro later on that night and we played the song three or four times. And he just filmed the kids and filmed us. If you want to get people to really go crazy during your set, put a camera right in their faces. Everyone wanted to be on camera for that. We had a trampoline on-stage for people to jump out into the crowd.
MR: It was for stage diving assistance. In full disclosure, we stole the idea from Sloppy Seconds. It looked like fun.
DS: The first kid to do it was this kid named Tony Silva; he’s from Woodland, Calif. Mickie wrote a song about this kid because he’s from Woodland but he takes the bus, because he doesn’t have his drivers license yet, to Sacramento to go see punk shows. So all these kids complain about, “There’s nothing to do, this scene sucks.” And you got this kid taking the bus to pay a cover to go see a punk rock show.

What’s the song called that you wrote about him?
MR: It’s called “Tony Silva Rides the Bus.” It’s on our new record. He’s a really nice guy, but he’s kind of a klutz and always ends up hurting himself, you know the bad luck stuff always happens to him.
DS: Well, he was the first one to use the trampoline. I motioned to him with my head as I was playing the drums like, “Tony, go!” So he runs offstage full force, just jumps on the trampoline, soars into the air and the crowd parts like the Red Sea. He had gotten so far out he didn’t have the time to level out so he could land feet first, so he pretty much did a big elbow drop on the ground. It was captured on video by Rob and we’ll see if it makes it in the video or not.
MR: After our set he comes up to us and was like, “Yeah it kind of hurt, but I got right back up because I didn’t want anyone to think I was a pussy!”
DS: If anyone deserves a song, it’s Tony. I don’t know if we’re going to be bringing the trampoline to the Boardwalk though, because that’s a pretty tall stage.

Preview The Secretions new record, GREASYHOTMEETCHEEZY, at Capitol Dawg on July 2. Catch them live at the Blue Lamp on July 3 and at the Boardwalk on July 20. For more information visit myspace.com/secretions or secretinlifeline.blogspot.com

When success implodes a band, it’s a tough pill to swallow for everyone involved. Climbing the rungs of regional notoriety can be fun if accomplished over time; but if you’re Mozart Season, and the ladder was as slippery a slope as it was in the band’s formative year, you can almost hear the thud before the fall. After catapulting their traditional NorCal screamo into an arc of sold-out shows in the greater Sacramento area, opening for national headlining acts, and parading their verve for an increasingly rabid mass, the bottom fell out and left the group tattered somewhere in El Paso, Texas, on their first tour. Splintered and salvaged, Mozart Season has endured more lineup changes than they’d care to mention, and more false-starts than Liu Xiang at the Beijing Olympics. But there’s hope around every corner, and thus Mozart Season has chalked up their losses, and finally focused on making up for lost time. The band will release their first recording since 2006 with the Apotheosis EP, an invasive, though somewhat innovative, new disc that swelters under the pangs of drooling metal, with only hints of the melodic underwriting of their previous efforts.

The band will be back in shape, new lineup in tow, Saturday, Jan. 17 at the Boardwalk, playing alongside Dance Gavin Dance and Consider the Thief. Vocalist Nate and bassist Troy were kind enough to give Submerge an update on their new EP, their past and their future.

What was the impetus for the band to reunite after the breakup?
Nate: It all started with wanting to play a reunion show for fun. Once we all started jamming again, we really began to realize just how much we missed playing music. We wrote a new song after about two weeks or so of playing together again and decided that we wanted to get back together. A year later, we’ve got an EP done, the most solid lineup we’ve ever had, and are working at proving ourselves to anyone who has ever doubted us

How supportive has the scene in Sacramento been with regard to you making the decision to reform?
Nate: Well, the two shows that we’ve played have been awesome! But that’s only two shows. I think we still have a lot of work to do to gain back what we had going for us. We were all very humbled by the breakup, and we’ve been thrilled with the response to our new music. We just hope that we can keep playing music for a long time and constantly get better.
Troy: The reception of our new music has been incredible. New fans, old fans and even people who formerly disliked us have now embraced our new sound and it’s been amazing. This is only the beginning for us, though; we want to make our mark in Sacramento and then on an even bigger level.

Explain the consistent lineup changes in the band. What might you point out as the reasons for the constant shift in personnel over the years?
Nate: For some it’s been commitment issues, and for others it’s been because of wanting to better their lives in other ways than music like college, careers or other bands. The band now is stronger than ever. We’re seriously attached at the hip. We are friends before we are band mates, so it works out way better. We respect each other and work well together. When we all started to play together, the chemistry was there. It’s by far the strongest and most solid lineup we have had and none of us are going anywhere.

Do you feel like your almost immediate regional success has helped or hindered the band?
Nate: It’s definitely helped the band. We weren’t expecting such a quick response to everything we’ve been working on and we have so much momentum from it that we’re not going to let anything stop us. We plan on touring the West Coast as soon as possible and playing regionally so we can push this new album.
Troy: We haven’t let anything go to our heads. Although we do have a lot of regional success, we are pushing ourselves constantly to get better and better.
What would you say is the band’s new modus operandi? Or what would be your new philosophy for the continued evolution of the band?
Nate: “Party Hard, Work harder.” We realized that this takes a lot work, and we’re going to prove ourselves in ’09 and for the years after.

What sort of artistic resonance does the title of your new album, Apotheosis, have for the band? Is it a metaphor for the resurgence of the group?
Nate: It’s definitely a metaphor for the resurgence of the group. Mozart Season has been to hell and back, and we don’t have much to show for it anymore because we disappeared for a year. Some of us realized a year after we broke up that it was the biggest mistake of our lives. We felt discouraged, beat down, like no one would ever take us seriously again. We knew if we got back together, it was going to have to be different. We had to be doing it for the right reasons and we had to be writing music that we would want to listen to in our cars, or on our computers or wherever. We have just been taking every challenge and bump in the road head on and as fast as we can.
Troy: We took the name Apotheosis from a part of “the hero’s journey” [an excerpt from Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces] I remember learning all about it in high school and it seemed appropriate for our situation. As we had heard it defined, the Apotheosis is where the hero’s ego is disintegrated in a breakthrough expansion of consciousness. Quite frequently the hero’s idea of reality is changed; the hero may find an ability to do new things or to see a larger point of view. And that is exactly where we found ourselves while writing this new album. The band had broken up for a year and come back with a new idea of reality and what we wanted to be doing musically and that’s portrayed through our new sound.

In what direction did you attempt to push your musical spectrum on your new album?
Nate: We didn’t go into it with any direction or idea of what the album was going to sound like. That was our problem in the past. We were always trying to fit the screamo mold because that’s what people seemed to love. We had all sorts of issues trying to get this album done and those feelings of frustration I think definitely shaped the outcome of this EP. Losing Joel [vocalist], we lost our old sound completely, so this EP is just a mixture of what everyone new to the band and the veterans brought to the table during the writing process.
Troy: When we started to write this album, we had no set plan as to what our sound was going to be. While it’s nearly impossible to be “original,” we wanted to stray away from fitting into any specific “sounds like” category. We wanted to break away from the old sound and produce a more mature album, and I think we did just that. The old music was written nearly three years ago; our skill as musicians and songwriters has gotten far better since then and I think that shows.

From Concept to Creation

With numerous critically acclaimed albums already under their belts, Mukilteo, Wash. progressive rock trio The Fall of Troy are gearing up for their next release on Nov. 28. Phantom on the Horizon is a 37-minute-long collection of work divided into five chapters. Previously known to fans as Ghostship EP or Ghostship Demos, this album is a new take on old material.

Submerge recently caught up with Erak as he prepped for the tour from his home and talked about everything from the concept behind Phantom…, to message board trolls and his love for certain Sacramento bands.

How do you guys prepare yourselves for a tour like this?
Our bass player gets back in town from San Diego today and we’re going to start practicing. This tour is a lot different from the other tours we normally do, because the other tours we normally do are a mix of songs that span three or four records’ worth of material and on this one we’re going to be playing the new record front to back.

Tell me about the story behind Phantom on the Horizon.
It’s a fantasy story that has a lot of parallels; it’s very open to interpretation, though. I’ve been working on it for the last four-and-a-half years, as long as we’ve been working on the songs. It’s about a sailor that is on a ship with a crew of guys and they encounter a ship from another dimension, and he kind of gets trapped on that ship and encounters a lot of things in all these other dimensions that he passes through. I’m thinking about writing the whole short story out like maybe in a couple months and maybe try to put that out in one way or another.

How did an idea like that come about? Are you guys into comic books or sci-fi or what?
Our drummer is a sci-fi nerd, but I’m just a writer, you know? I play music and I write songs, but I used to write a lot of short stories and poetry and stuff like that. I guess it just kind of came from the love of writing and art; you know what I mean?

Yeah, it makes perfect sense for you at this point in your career to put the two together: the story and the music finally together to create a “concept record.”
Right. It’s also not your run-of-the-mill concept record, either. It’s very open to interpretation and you can kind of take whatever you want from it, and that’s kind of the way I like things. I don’t think anything with music should be too black and white; there should be some color in there. That’s what art is; it’s what it is to you. It shouldn’t be just straight up like, “This is what it is, and this is how it is!”

Are there any new tracks included that weren’t on Ghostship EP?
Well, in between every song there is a segue that we actually took from a long session of improv that we just rolled tape on. Everything totally flows together. There has never really been a good recording of “Part II” and there’s never been a recording of “Part III.” It’s just very mature, and the songs are in their entirety now as opposed to being demos of them.

I read some message boards online where kids were getting kind of pissed at you guys and saying things like, “They shouldn’t re-record those songs, they will fuck them up!” How would you respond to them?
Um, “Fuck you!” [Laughs] Quite honestly, fuck them, and they don’t know what they’re talking about because those demos were never even made to be heavily in syndication in any way, shape or form. They were demos we did when I was 19 years old that were supposed to just be for us and they got out. I mean, this record crushes those demos.

If you’re going to sit on the Internet and bash anything, go outside or go read a book or go to a concert or listen to a record. Do something other than sitting on a message board or Myspace all day.

I guess they’ll find out, won’t they? There’s always going to be haters, man. The haters are going to hate.

You’ve toured with two of Sacramento’s more notable acts, Tera Melos and Deftones, on different occasions. What’s your take on Sac? Have you spent a lot of time here?
Oh yeah! The whole Northern California area we are pretty familiar with and have a lot of friends. There is a lot of good music going on in Sacramento. You know, Hella and stuff like that; there is a ton of good shit. Yeah, I love the Deftones, and I love Tera Melos.