On Friday, Sept. 1, 2017, local guitarist Ross Hammond will play a 12-hour concert at Luna’s Cafe as an effort to raise money for the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. In what has got to be one of the most charitable and selfless acts by a local musician in some time, Hamond has a set a lofty goal of raising $2,500 for the Sac Food Bank, an important local asset that provides not only food to those in need, but also clothing, refugee assistance, parent and youth education, immigration legal services and much more. Hammond already has an online donation page set up on Generosity.com where you can (and should) donate now, if you have the means (click HERE to donate). As of press time for issue #246 he had raised $560, which isn’t bad, but he’s got a ways to go, and that’s where you come in (editor’s update: as of Wednesday, Aug. 30, Hammond had raised just over $2,000!). He’ll also have a tip jar out at Luna’s on Sept. 1 at the marathon concert, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Hammond will be joined on stage sporadically throughout the day by fellow local musicians. If you can’t make it, the entire concert will also be live streamed on Facebook, Twitter and Periscope. For more info on Ross, visit Rosshammond.com.

**This write-up first appeared in print on page 8 of issue #246 (Aug. 14 – 28, 2017)**

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in issue #152 (December 2013) in advance of Michael O’Connell’s Comedians with Disabilities Act performance at Sacramento Comedy Spot. O’Connell passed away on June 29, 2016, so we wanted to re-visit this interview to remember one of the brightest stars of the local comedy scene. RIP Michael! You will be missed.

Comedian Michael O’Connell has a simple formula for local comedic domination. “I’m not really making fun of myself, I’m really just making fun of you,” he says. The good ol’ reverse last laugh.

Michael has been fighting Muscular Dystrophy (MD), a disease that weakens muscular fibers and slows locomotion, most of his life. About four years ago, his symptoms became increasingly worse, and he had to rely on a wheelchair for mobility. After losing his job as an auto claims adjuster, Michael sought a renewed endeavor in comedy. He performed at an open mic, absolutely killed it and felt like his true purpose had been found: To use his disability as the base of his shtick, but to also use the podium to educate. “When that first performance was all done, I just was wondering why I had been missing out on this my entire life,” he says.

In the last few years, O’Connell has performed at colleges and universities around the nation, The Laugh Factory in Hollywood, and of course the Comedy Spot and Luna’s Cafe either solo or with one of his comedy troupes. With the help of fellow comedian Keith Lowell Jensen, Michael helped build the wildly popular “Comedians with Disabilities Act” comedy troupe—a group of disabled comedians who travel venues, poking fun not only at their own disabilities but at the people around them who act weird because of their disabilities. “I’ve had people think I’m homeless and throw dollars on my lap because I was just sitting in my wheelchair trying to enjoy the sun and eat a bag of M&Ms!” the soft-spoken comedian says right before indulging me in a stripper joke.

Submerge sat down with Michael near the Comedy Spot to talk about the past four years, the present and why we should all just laugh and find the will to find a way.

Can you remember the joke that broke the ice at your very first performance?
It was definitely the wheelchair lap dance joke. Sometimes people who work at businesses are a little patronizing to you, like they say, “Is there anything else I can do to help you?” in a really condescending way. And I look up at them and say, “Will you just finish the damn lap dance?”

You have MD. What are some of the major symptoms you have?
I was diagnosed at 2 years old, and there are a ton of different types of MD. Doctors didn’t expect me to be around longer than 12 years old and I’m 45 now. It’s a slow progression; I walked regular, then with a cane for a few years before the wheelchair. I have a bad heart, a pacemaker and only about 30-percent lung capacity. Of course it makes stuff I used to do way more difficult.

You have a 30 percent lung capacity and a show called Smokes and Jokes?
It’s a show where I tell jokes over cigars…and I do smoke cigars. You don’t inhale those, but I realize they’re probably still not that great for you. It’s just the last of my vices that I haven’t given up yet. It’s just my thing and let me have it!

How has MD changed your comedy performances?
In the past few years, things have been going downhill pretty quickly and started getting pretty bad. I can’t get out of the house as often or hit open mics like I used to. That sucks because I cannot get out there and connect like I want to, or see all of the amazing new talent I admire from Facebook. I can’t travel, which makes me miss some shows; but I do what I can and try to save my strength for the bigger shows.

Tell me about The Comedians with Disabilities Act.
The Comedians with Disabilities Act has gone national and was raved about in the SF Examiner recently. A lot of the time they have to perform without me. I’m getting a big surgery soon that will enable me to travel more with them and it has to do with bodily discharge…because I’m that dedicated to comedy. I have learned a lot from them, like what to say and what not to say. On the troupe, we have a little person, a blind man and a woman who stutters. We were on Laugh Factory live on the Playstation network for a while, and our shows usually sell out. Each one of the members are unique and hilarious; there is no other comedy experience like it.

How do you want your audience to see you?
I have a unique niche in comedy as someone in a wheelchair with big motor skills. I’ve gone through a few different phases of how I want to present myself. I’ve gone through dark humor, which was completely not me. I found a comfortable place in finding humor in the little things I go through and the people who are around me when they happen. My goal is to have people laugh along with me rather than to feel sympathy.

How do you poke fun at other people using your disability?
Well, people always want to do weird stuff like tie your shoes. I stopped wearing shoes with shoelaces because people would just randomly kneel down and try to tie my shoes. People often think I’m homeless, which is also a little awkward because I’m usually just trying to sit there and enjoy my surroundings. Also, people like to come up to me just to tell me they know someone in a wheelchair; I suppose it’s their attempt to empathize, and I totally see that.

Does stuff like that ever make you upset?
No! Some people are just too darn sensitive. As a disabled person, I know all of that stuff comes from a good place. I may make fun of all those people, but I definitely see where they are coming from and I appreciate it. There are some angry disabled people out there. I just see a lot of stuff as funny.

How has your experience been working with the Sacramento comedy scene?
Absolutely fantastic. Other cities are just not as funny as Sacramento. I have had amazing mentors and the comedians here are just close-knit and understanding.

How was performing at the Laugh Factory?
I got to perform in Hollywood for several celebrities in the audience whom I will not name drop here, but I will say that they are awesome. After my performance at the Laugh Factory, Dane Cook was supposed to come on. Instead of staying for that performance, I ended up at a place across the street smoking cigars with these celebrities and bonding. Nights were made.

What is the main message of your performance?
My MD is getting worse every day. I want people to know that they have a choice. They can focus on the crap or focus on the awesome. If you can’t do certain things anymore, then find a way around the obstacle; For example, I couldn’t use the shower like I used to, so I installed bars. I have problems in my life, but I could choose to let that define my life or not. No one ever found happiness focusing on the bad things, so just laugh and always find a way.

The Sacramento Comedy Foundation, a local nonprofit organization, will be hosting the fifth annual Sacramento Comedy Festival and they’ve now expanded to a whopping nine different venues. The party kicks off on Oct. 2, 2015, and lasts until Oct. 10 and takes place at regular hot spots like Punch Line Comedy Club, Laughs Unlimited Comedy Club and the Sacramento Comedy Spot. But also the festival includes some non-traditional venues such as the Starlite Lounge, Ooley Theater, Luna’s Café and more. Expect some spirited sets by Myq Kaplan of Last Comic Standing, Mo Mandel from truTV’s Barmageddon, and Rick Overton (actor/writer Emmy Award-winning comedian). There will also be a special Lavender Lights—Gay and Proud show on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at Punch Line Sacramento featuring the hilarious Ronn Vigh (Last Comic Standing). Those who love improv will be delighted that Bay Area group 5 Play will perform two shows in two venues over the first weekend as well. If that weren’t enough, there’s even a Stand-Up Comedy Competition, which will have 60 comedians competing for a generous $2000 purse. Come for one show or buy a festival pass. You won’t be disappointed either way. Check out Saccomedyfest.ticketfly.com to get the lowdown.

Of all the cities in the world, what makes Sacramento unique? Is it the general feel of creativity and communal support? Absolutely. Sacramento doesn’t produce a public, but rather, fosters individuals. What’s so great about that, you may ask? Consider NorCal NoiseFest, an event that started as a two-day, jam-sesh-esque gathering back in 1995, but has now evolved into a three-day festival attracting musicians and noisemakers from all over the country. The first day of the event (Oct. 3, 2014) will be hosted at Luna’s Cafe from 7 p.m. to midnight, and requires only a $10 cash cover from attendees. Days two and three (Oct. 4 to 5, 2014) begin at 2 p.m. and will be hosted at Witch Room with the same cover fee. Norcalnoisefest.com has tons of information on performing bands, the festival history, and much more. Come explore new, up-and-coming sounds inspiring the experimental force behind modern music.

The Virgin’s Guide to NorCal NoiseFest 2013
Written by a NoiseFest Virgin

For the 17th year in a row, Sacramento is hosting NorCal NoiseFest. One of the oldest and most established “noise” festivals out there, it is a yearly gathering of performing artists from around the country who base their entire acts around creating noise. There is no false advertising here; we are talking about noise, as in sound intentionally void of rhythm, melody and structure. Dissonance and chaos are sought.

This year’s festival will feature 40 artists, spanning three days and four locations.
Let me just get this out of the way now. I’ve lived in Sacramento for 25 years straight, and I have never been to a NoiseFest. For shame!

Anyway, to gain a better understanding of NoiseFest, I not only reviewed countless videos and tracks by the artists performing in this year’s lineup, but I also spoke with the only two people in town who have performed NoiseFest every year since its birth in 1995, Lob of Instagon and William Burg of Uberkunst. They have also been highly involved members of the Secret Masters of Noise (those who make NoiseFest happen each year) since the early ‘00s.

In sum, think of NorCal NoiseFest as the “outsider experience,” Lob explains. The presentation is meant to be unique, abrasive and unpleasant.

This embrace of noise is not a new idea. Here is a snippet of history to prove it: in 1913 the Italian artist Luigi Russolo wrote the Futurist manifesto “L’arte dei Rumori” or “The Art of Noises.” In it, he argued that because humans’ lives were becoming inundated with machinery, music should incorporate such sounds into composition. You might consider Russolo the founding father of noise music, 100 years ahead of his time. Apropos, this year’s NoiseFest is marking the celebration of a “century of noise.”

Rest assured, NoiseFest doesn’t cater to any one crowd. Sure, noise doesn’t have mass appeal—lots of people haven’t trained their ears for it. Yet there are pockets of noise enthusiasts out there, young and old,
Burg confirms.

Compare noise to eating pancreas, he suggests. The masses will gag at the mere thought, opting for a McDonald’s cheeseburger, just as they will choose to listen to “music” instead of “noise.” Yet there are some who will gladly dig into a plateful of pancreas over a fistful of fries any day.

As he so poetically elaborates, like a mountain man leads the way into the wilderness, the noisemaker blazes a path for other musicians to follow, sometimes decades later.

“Somebody had to go there first, and they generally had to go alone,” he adds.

Consider NorCal NoiseFest the once-a-year gathering of those mountain men and women.

Female-Led Performances

W00DY is a solo performer hailing from Boston, Mass. She excels at vocal manipulation, particularly stretching and contorting her voice, layering and looping fragments over subtle tones. Her performance may leave you feeling airy, and at other times feeling like you are swallowed in a spiral or a maze. You may be tempted to think she is channeling Bjork at times, minus the music. This will be her first time playing NorCal NoiseFest. Catch her performance on Friday, October 4, 2013 at 10:30 p.m. at Luna’s Cafe.

Beast Nest is the solo project of Sharmi Basu, a Mills College student who is pursuing her master’s in electronic music. Her sound will creep up on you, gently guiding you to another dimension through a blanket of feedback. Fluttering R2D2-like beeps, whizzes, zaps and dial tones will simultaneously emerge, crossed by ethereal notes tracing scratchy hums. According to Lob, “Basu has delivered some of the most psychedelic ambient performances that NoiseFest has had in the past.” Beast Nest performs Thursday, October 3, 2013 at 10 p.m. at Naked Lounge.

Name Game

Music festivals are hard. When you have a lineup of 40 to choose from, how are you possibly supposed to narrow down your options? For those who just can’t make up their minds, try this: just check out the bands with the, uh, most unusual names. Never mind that several of these names suggest pain.
1. Amphibious Gestures
2. Stress Orphan
3. Randy McKean’s Wild Horsey Ride
4. Dental Work
5. Pulsating Cyst
6. Endometrium Cuntplow

17 Years and Counting

As mentioned before, there are only two acts that have performed NorCal NoiseFest every year since inception: Instagon and Uberkunst, both local. Uberkunst is Burg’s project, and “always a spectacle sacrifice to NIAD (noise instrument analog device),” Lob says. Uberkunst’s crew typically consists of 10-plus bodies. Previous performances have included power tools, masks, screaming, destruction, torture machines and spiky outfits with a Road Warrior aesthetic. Instagon, on the other hand, performs with a different ensemble for every single show, with Lob leading the way. When it comes to NoiseFest, Lob typically assembles a handful of performers who each feed their sounds into a mixer set while he selects which sounds to amplify and overlap. One year that meant nine people making noise with jewel cases and contact mics. Odd, provocative, conceptual noise guaranteed. Uberkunst performs at Sol Collective at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, October 5, 2013 and Instagon plays at Bows and Arrows at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 6, 2013.

Who Will Burn the Most Miles To Get Here

1. Thirteen Hurts from Pleasant View, Colo.
2. Dental Work from Traverse City, Mich.
3. Stress Orphan from Washington, D.C.
4. Blipvert from New York, N.Y.
5. W00DY from Boston, Mass.

Sights to Behold

Coat hanger hooks, rubber bands, wires, chop sticks, popsicle sticks, broom straws… What more do you need? Not much, if you are making handmade cranks to play in the Crank Ensemble. These instruments are literally works of art that are then used to create noise music. Mastermind Larnie Fox orchestrates the rigid clicks and pops simultaneously into a steady progression—think clock music. You will want to see these guys up close on Sunday, October 6, 2013 at Bows and Arrows, starting at 2:30 p.m. Meanwhile, Michael Amason is known for his ongoing “Noise Tattoo” project, where he tattoos himself through an amp stack. According to Lob, “You will hear every needle mark!” Catch him at 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 5, 2013 at Sol Collective.

Acts You Will NOT Want to Stand As Close As Possible To

1. Uberkunst
2. Overdose the Katatonic
3. +DOG+
4. Striations
5. Pulsating Cyst

Acts You Will Want to Stand As Close As Possible To

1. Endometrium Cuntplow
2. Michael Amason
3. Dental Work
4. Eurostache
5. Jeff Boynton
6. Nux Vomica

Bring Earplugs

If you plan to watch Los Angeles act +DOG+, the last performance at Luna’s Café on Friday starting at 11:30 p.m., keep these things in mind. Static noise. You may feel like your head is under a nail gun, beneath the blade of a chopper or pressed against the blare of a dial-up connection. Your eye might start to twitch. Or maybe that’s just the caffeine. Likewise, if you check out /The Nothing at 5 p.m. at Sol Collective on Saturday, know what you’re getting into. You will feel like you stepped into an insane asylum, or someone’s nightmare. It will sound tortuous. You might think it’s a perfect way to scare away every child for Halloween this year. Thought I can’t confirm it, Lob also suggests earplugs for Blue Sabbath Black Cheer (11 p.m. Saturday at Sol Collective) Thirteen Hurts (7:30 p.m. Saturday at Sol Collective), and M22 (9:30 p.m. on Friday at Luna’s Café). I’d take his word for it.

6 Bands Not To Miss And Why (Lob’s Picks)

1. Faults: A local Sacramento noise/jazz trio featuring L.H.Shimanek, Kevin Corcoran and Chad Stockdale reunited, they have not played live in more than five years. They may not play out again. Do not miss it.

2. Overdose The Katatonic: In Lob’s words, “There is only one Jim Trash, and we have him for the weekend. Sonic brutality unleashed in a coffee house; sometimes he throws out toys!”

3. Amphibious Gestures: Lob says it best: “Space aliens from the sea with super sonic audio waves to invade your ears and mind. You think I’m kidding, but…”

4. Pedestrian Deposit: These guys have been on a U.S. tour recently and “SLAYING crowds everywhere,” according to Lob. Need proof? Check out the social media trails.

5. Blue Sabbath Black Cheer: Lob calls them a “tribal rush of power and madness” consisting of percussion and electronics. They don’t get out here much, but when they do, they are said to leave a massive impression.

6. Randy McKean’s Wild Horsey Ride: This is a duo featuring saxophonist Randy McKean and electronics artist Wes Steed. McKean produces sound and Steed captures it via live analog processing, and they play together with the sounds generated. Supposedly it is nothing short of amazing.

Norcal Noisefest takes place Oct. 3 through Oct. 6, 2013. For a complete list of events, go to Norcalnoisefest.com.

It’s that time again Sacramento, bust out your ear plugs because NorCal NoiseFest is turning 16! The annual Sacramento event which spotlights the sound-art genres of noise and experimental will take place from Oct. 5 through 7, 2012 at multiple venues. Friday, Oct. 5 will be at Luna’s Cafe (1414 16th Street) starting at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 6 will be at Sol Collective (2574 21st Street) starting at 3:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 7 will be at Bows and Arrows (1815 19th Street) starting at noon. If you’re looking to get tickets your best bet is definitely the all-weekend pass, which is $40 and includes access to all shows, a T-shirt, a compilation CD, a button and Sunday brunch at Bows! Individual show tickets are $10 at the door with free earplugs. Visit http://norcalnoisefest.brownpapertickets.com/ to purchase online, or hit up Phono Select or Midikat Boutique to purchase in person. More details can be found at http://norcalnoisefest.com/.

Organizers hope the second Sacramento Comedy Festival will make California’s capital a destination for comics nationwide

There is only one place where you can see 120 comedians in nine days. And we aren’t asking you to travel to San Francisco, Las Vegas or New York for this epic week. All of the comics are going to make their way to the Capital City to try and make your stomach hurt from laughing. The Sacramento Comedy Festival is ready to make its second appearance in September but this time with a lot more laughs to go around. You can catch local and out-of-town stand-up comedians, improv groups and sketch comics at Luna’s Café (in cooperation with comic Keith Lowell Jensen) and the Sacramento Comedy Spot from Sept. 7 through 15, 2012. The mastermind behind the giant laugh fest is Brian Crall, a veteran comic and owner of the Sacramento Comedy Spot, whose goal is to make Sacramento the next destination for great comedy.

In 2005, Crall created a comedy club that was easily available and affordable for comics in training and audience members. “We decided from early on that we are going to be different from any other club and we are going to be accessible for people,” Crall said over the phone. “They don’t have to spend a lot of money and they are going to get a good quality product.”

The Comedy Spot, located in Midtown, is a hot spot for stand-up comedy, sketch comedy and improv, drawing in big crowds. The club is home of the Anti-Cooperation League Comedy Troupe, In Your Facebook (where comics poke fun at your profile), The Syndicate (a sketch comedy team), Lady Business (an all-women improv team) and a Top 10 podcast who will all be performing at the festival.

“People come from out of town and they love our stage,” Crall explained. “They always compliment us on our professionalism and the quality of the local comedy groups, especially ones that the Comedy Spot produces.”

After more than seven years of running the Comedy Spot, Crall decided to create a comedy festival that can call Sacramento home. One way that Crall is spreading the comedy love is by inviting comics from all across the country to see what Sacramento has to offer.

“If we are going to make Sacramento a destination, we have to have a reason for people to come here in the first place, and people love performing in festivals,” Crall said. “We have people coming to Sacramento to see what we do, then they will start spreading the word and let people know that we have a great scene and that this is the place to do good comedy.”

Not only does the Festival draw comics and audience members to the Capital City for comedy but it’s a great way to put a spotlight on talented local comedians. A few of the performing local acts include Keith Lowell Jensen, Ngaio Bealum, Michael O’Connell, John Ross, Queenie TT, Carlos Rodriguez, Chazz Hawkins, Kristen Frisk and the improv group Mayhem from ComedySportz.

One of the local talents to be featured in the festival is Nick Pettigrew, the co-producer of Critical Hit, a geek-centric comedy variety show that was created at the Comedy Spot.

“I’ve been a geek my whole life and I love doing comedy, but it was hard doing geek-orientated stand-up but not finding an audience for it,” said Pettigrew over the phone. “So I wanted to create a show where I can make my own audience.”

Another great local to be showcased is Cheryl the Soccer Mom, whose style of comedy does not seem to match her innocent name. A few years ago, Cheryl was a legitimate soccer mom who would drop off the kids at practice and lived in the suburbs. But at a comedy club Cheryl has a hilarious and sometimes dirty stand-up routine.

“It depends on the audience. If it’s that kind of show, I can totally go there,” she said. “Not always but pretty often.”

Even though her soccer mom days are nearly over because her oldest child is leaving for college soon, her comedy career is quickly taking off. She has recently filmed a show for Nickelodeon and has been invited to participate in the World Series of Comedy in Las Vegas. Without the support of local Sacramento comics, getting started in the comedy world would have been tough, she said.

“When I started out all of the Sacramento comics were so helpful and so welcoming. I can’t imagine getting a better start in any other city,” she said. “There’s the typical [comedy] politics that you find anywhere but overall the support for new comics is really strong and support for each other, we’re happy for each other’s success.”

The Sacramento Comedy Festival is not holding back support for the out-of-town comedians. Multiple comedians have been invited to perform in the 25-show festival by Crall himself. A few of the traveling comics (improv and stand-up) include Joe Klocek from the Bay Area; Matt Gubser and Priya Prasad from Oakland; Andrew Holmgren from San Francisco; 70-year-old comedian Sandra Risser from Concord, Calif.; and Brent Gill from Denver. Former Comedy Spot cast member Jeff Sloniker will also be performing at the festivities.

Leeman Parker, Sacramento native and member of improv group Bro Squad 5 from Hollywood, Calif., performed at the comedy festival last year and anticipates the upcoming shows. “The place was packed, and it was a really cool atmosphere to do a show,” said Parker about the Comedy Festival last year.

A first time performer in the festival but veteran stand-up comic, Kurt Weitzmann, who has been seen on Comedy Central, MTV and multiple comedy stages in San Francisco is also scheduled to perform for this year’s fest.

“I’ve always loved the Sacramento comedy scene. I’ve always thought it was really good people that came out of there,” said Weitzmann. “I’m just glad they’re doing it. I think it’s a great idea. I think every city should have a comedy festival. It’s not hard to do, everybody loves comedy.”

Everyone does love comedy, but I’m not sure if putting on a comedy festival is as easy as it sounds. Brian Crall along with the help from Mignon Foster, who is in charge of the logistics of the show, has been planning this festival for over a year. They have been working on making the festival bigger and decided to extend the festival to eight days.

“We just started off very simple last year. We did four days, and we tried to pack in as many things as possible but it was a lot of fun,” Crall explained. “We didn’t do a lot of publicity last year, it was just more of a trial run year…but this year we are going all out.” As soon as the 2011 laughs were over, Crall and Foster got straight to work on an encore. They have created an original logo for the festival, a website and have been screening tapes from comics across the country who wanted to participate. After all of this work, Crall is hoping for a big turnout.

“We want as many people to come out and get a good sampling of what we do, and we have put a festival pass together that allows you to see every show at the comedy festival for $55, when we have 20-plus shows that’s a pretty good deal,” he added.

The Sacramento Comedy Festival will kick off opening night with a ribbon cutting ceremony and music from the local rock group Dog Party. After that for eight days, you watch stand-up comics and improv groups from across the country brave the stage, you can geek out with Nick Pettigrew and listen to Cheryl the Soccer Mom’s MILF joke. With every laugh that comes out of the festival, Brian Crall will be one step closer to making his goal a reality in making Sacramento a destination for comedy.

We don’t have the space to list all the acts who will be performing at the Sacramento Comedy Festival. Good thing for you, ticket prices are affordable enough that we won’t have to. You can go see them for yourselves. The fest runs from Sept. 7 through 15, 2012 and for just $55, you can see every show. Go to http://www.saccomedyfest.com/ for more info and to purchase tickets.

Ross Hammond discusses his new album with The Ross Hammond Quartet and His New Muse

Interviewing Ross Hammond on a Friday afternoon while his wife was out of town meant a secondary task of taking his 18-month old daughter, Lola, for a stroll around the 17th and L block of Midtown.

Lola led the way, while Hammond and I discussed his upcoming Ross Hammond Quartet record due this month. As we strolled and pointed out flowers, dogs and trucks (Lola loves trucks and buses), it became apparent the little blondie was responsible for changes and inspiration in her father she’ll not understand for years. The record, Adored, and Hammond’s artistic growth displayed on the album would not be possible without her.

Our walk began in the alley outside Old Soul Coffee. We did roughly three laps of the block and if we stopped the question was posed, “Lola walk?” In answering, Lola formed her first contribution to the interview tape “Lola walk.” Many of Hammond’s responses were fractured with quick “stay close” requests, but we eventually got down to brass tacks. The immediate information to hash out: Who are the players in the Ross Hammond Quartet?

The ensemble came together mostly through the intricate web of the jazz scene involving booking, travel and of course, collaboration, although Hammond first came to know each member from owning their albums. Whether on stage or in the studio, he said he had several surreal moments that left him pondering, “How did I get here?” The Quartet comprises Hammond on guitar, Vinny Golia on saxophone, Steuart Liebig on contrabass guitar and Alex Cline on percussion. Hammond said he’d known Golia from booking him a gig at the Cool Cat Gallery on 24th–back when it existed–and Cline in a similar fashion. Cline is the twin brother of legendary guitarist Nels Cline, who’s currently playing lead guitar in Wilco. “It’s freaky, dude,” Hammond said regarding the Cline brothers. “They’re identical and both really tall.”

As for Liebig, “I don’t know how I met, Steuart… I guess through the scene.”

He played three to four gigs, including the In the Flow Festival in Sacramento last year, with the members, planting the seed for the quartet. After he’d enlisted the three musicians for a studio session in Los Angeles, the makings of an official ensemble came to fruition.

When it came time to name the project, Hammond was surprised by the other members’ suggestion of naming the quartet after him. At 34, Hammond is the youngest member of the group while the rest were born as far back as the ‘40s. It is a humble and impressive gesture coming from three renowned L.A. jazz musicians who have each had ensembles bearing their namesakes.

“For lack of anything better that’s what it is,” Hammond said. “I’ve never had a quartet before. I also feel like I couldn’t replace any of those guys and still call it the same thing.”

Recorded at Newzone Studio and engineered by Wayne Peet, the album was tracked in six hours with only a few songs needing alternate takes. It’s a feat that speaks to the veteran musicianship of Hammond’s quartet. Hammond would play the riff he had in mind for a song and the ensemble would offer a nod or “OK”–no further tutelage required. He said after each track, it was understood that it felt good and they would move on to the next song.

“Playing with these guys it’s just about staying on the wave,” he said. “You don’t have to give them much instruction at all. I think one of the instructions I gave Vinny was, ‘OK, as soon as this song starts you have to come in like an elephant,’ and that’s what he did.”

Adored is carved from a foundation of folk songs with the title track being a lullaby Hammond sings to Lola at bedtime. Hammond said three of the songs are lullabies he sings. After she’d go to sleep he would figure out the notes and write out the lullaby. The writing is at its most encrypted on “Maribel’s Code,” in which the melody is an intervocalic code built from Lola’s initials: LMH.

“Most of the stuff I write has either a dedication or an idea, be it political or romantic,” Hammond said. “I’m never just like, “oh this is a cool riff, I’ll call it…’”

Three years ago when I first interviewed Hammond, he shared a similar sentiment. The inspiration behind the album title An Effective Use of Space came from a saying his wife frequently used. He said it’s one she still uses to this day. Hammond listed his wife as still his deepest muse, but the birth of his daughter is the primary source of inspiration behind Adored.

The immediacy of the recording is palpable, but it’s done in maturity. Hammond said the difficult task in preparing the music was giving the songs a collected feel, but without being united to the point of bleeding the songs together. Adored roars in, spastic and angry, with “Adored” but as “Sesquipedalian” mellows out it introduces the soft lullaby of “She’s My Little Girl.” Consider the album to be much like Hammond’s day-to-day with Lola; awake at 6 a.m. and full of energy, a settling in period, a mid-day walk with small fits of exuberance and crankiness, a lullaby for a nap or the night’s tuck-in. It is all lovingly expressed in the sea changes of Adored.

“Alex [Cline] told me he doesn’t think you mature as a musician until after you’ve been a dad,” Hammond said. “The gist of it was you stop trying to impress people and focus on filtering this feeling you have and this beautiful thing and turn it into a song. Your muse is different. The goofy songs aren’t there anymore. Having a kid forces you to grow up and you grow up in everything. If anything it’s more purposeful now.”

With the particulars of the album discussed and rocks and leaves in our pockets courtesy of the tyke, Hammond asked Lola, “Wanna go swing? Lola swing?” She offered her second sentence of the afternoon; a sharp “Lola swing.” With that, they strapped into a bicycle and road off to the park.

Adored by The Ross Hammond Quartet will be available Feb. 27, 2012. You can preorder it now at Rosshammond.bandcamp.com/album/adored and also listen to the title track. Hammond and co. will throw a CD release party on the very day of its release at Luna’s Café in Sacramento.

Keith Lowell Jensen takes off with a new stand-up CD

A comedian walks into a bar and says—well, he says lots of things, actually. The comedian is Keith Lowell Jensen and the bar is actually a juice bar: Luna’s Café, to be exact. Jensen’s new stand-up CD titled To the Moon was recorded live at Luna’s Café back in April of this year and features an hour of Jensen’s signature lowbrow, indie comedy. Jensen is typically known for his atheist, Christian-bashing humor that has grown in popularity due to the success of the Coexist? Comedy Tour that Jensen is a part of. The tour is a motley crew consisting of a Muslim, a Christian, a Hindu, a Jew, an atheist and a Buddhist. Jensen, along with fellow Coexist? comedian Tapan Trivedi, founded the tour after realizing their shared affinity for blasphemy.

To the Moon finds Jensen rocketing his material to new heights, touching upon anything from having a kid to the costumes in porn. Jensen gets introspective too, poking fun at his experience of attending continuation school as well as the constant confusion of whether or not he’s gay. But the most poignant moment on the CD is the closing track, a nine-minute story describing a childhood memory in which Jensen was duped by his older brother first into sitting in a pile of German Shepherd feces and then making his own deposit in a can, all to the dismay and laughter of his mother. What starts off sounding like a poop joke ends up being a window into the early developmental influences of a talented, comedic mind.

Standing at about 6 feet tall, with low maintenance attire and a unique voice that’s been described as “Muppet-like,” Keith Lowell Jensen is a true performer. He got his start in his early 20s when he was put on stage as an MC for the infamous Spike and Mike Festival of Animation, which reached the height of its popularity by showcasing shorts by such industry greats like Bill Plympton, John Kricfalusi, John Lasseter and Nick Park, just to name a handful.

“That to me is when I started doing stand-up.” says Jensen about his beginnings. “I could have said longer, because I was a ventriloquist in the fourth grade.”

From there his love of performing took him in the direction of sketch comedy, which would put his MC personality on the back burner. But for Jensen, being pulled away from stand-up to do sketch was all part of the process to becoming a better comedian. Biographies of other comedians that Jensen grew to love all had one thing in common: some kind of sketch comedy experience. Jensen wanted that experience too. So in 2001, Jensen formed the sketch comedy troupe I Can’t Believe It’s Not Comedy and focused his attention on writing, acting and directing.

“I just fell in love with it,” reminisces Jensen. “And not just performing it but when you write and direct something and someone else performs it; it’s a really satisfying feeling.”

ICBINC has performed all over Sacramento and also found its way up north to Seattle and down south to Los Angeles. The troupe, although currently on hiatus, is still in existence and all but one of the members is part of the original cast.

During the course of performing heavily with ICBINC, Jensen still found time for stand-up when he could.

“I did it once in a while to keep my chops up.” says Jensen.

Jensen made the jump back into stand-up when his friend and fellow comedian Brent Weinbach needed his help with booking a gig. One of the comedians on the bill, Tapan Trivedi, asked Jensen to share the bill with them and he agreed.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to talk about, it had been so long. So I did half the show on homophobia and half the show on religion.”

That night, his atheist comedy was born—and not long after, so was Coexist?. Trivedi and Jensen assembled four other comedians for the tour and what followed were gigs at some of the top comedy clubs on the West Coast including the Hollywood Improv and San Francisco’s Punchline. What also contributed to the success of Jensen’s atheist brand of humor was his use of YouTube as a means to broadcast his stand-up to a larger audience. Fan bases around the world have popped up, especially in Sweden, where his Swedish last name rings bells with the locals.

Since the conception of the Coexist? Comedy Tour, the past two and half years have been a learning process for Jensen, who has been extremely focused on his stand-up, always looking to improve upon his jokes and build upon the foundation that was formed from doing years of sketch.

“Sketch gave me a freedom in stand-up to play characters a little bit more, to change my voice when I’m giving the words of another person or in quotes within a joke. I think sketch certainly helped me with pacing,” he says.

For Jensen, the writing and performing process is ever changing and spontaneous. Some of the material on To the Moon was written the day it was recorded. Depending on how the crowd is that night, Jensen can add or subtract material at a whim.

“It’s just an interesting part of this art form; it’s so fluid and it’s such a back and forth with the audience. There are very few art forms where you put it in front of the audience and you go back and forth and you keep molding it and changing it according to how it sits with them,” says Jensen.
With a tour schedule that has brought him attention outside of Sacramento and the Internet at his disposal for promoting his stand-up, its seems that at this point in his career it would make sense for Keith Lowell Jensen to move to where there’s more work and a bigger market. But making the move to somewhere like Los Angeles just isn’t in the cards. In fact, being from Sacramento is part of his brand, says Jensen.

“It’s an unusual identity to be from somewhere like Sacramento, and to be proud of where you’re from and not feel the need to switch it up and go down to L.A. I don’t want to be an L.A. comic, I’m a Sacramento comic,” says Jensen.

Sacramento is lucky to have Jensen, who is more than qualified to be an ambassador for the River City. He’s practically a household name in the arts community, and for good reason. This past March saw the release of his documentary, Why Lie? I Need a Drink, a hilarious look at panhandling from a homeless and non-homeless perspective. The non-homeless perspective showcased Jensen in various costumes with a multitude of signs bearing clever phrases like, “Large bills OK, can make change.” It premiered at The Crest Theatre and had quite a successful run; look for a DVD release this September. And if a tour, a CD and a documentary weren’t enough, Jensen authored a book titled The Atheist Survival Guide: A Humorous Guide to Getting By in a God Fearing World that is slated for release in November.

Considering the breadth of his undertakings, it may seem like there’s no rest in sight for Jensen. However, he might have to take a break after all with the arrival of another important something—a baby girl due in October. With the success of all his other endeavors, fatherhood should be a walk in the park. Or should I say, a trip to the moon.

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, with a darkness that permeates throughout all seven tracks—powerful, lilting melodies with the occasional romantic ballad thrown in (hey, he is only 23).

Let’s not forget that the CD was recorded in just four hours, in a session that was equally surprising to Fairman, York and producer David Houston. Although Fairman had been mulling the tracks over in his mind for months, he had no idea when the day would come to record. But the muse is a fickle creature, and one day, it struck.

“I had a really bad day, and for some reason I just knew it was the day to record,” he says. There’s nothing like recording an entire album practically straight through to turn your day around. “It was a good day. But afterward, I was pretty mentally drained,” he remembers.

Songwriting seems to be Fairman’s forte. He says that although he’s dabbled in music since the age of 8—including piano, violin and saxophone—none of those instruments really spoke to him.

“I didn’t feel like I could express myself enough,” he explains. “I decided to play the bass, which just made me want to play the guitar, which is where I ended up. I really probably only played the guitar to write songs.”

The new album marks a personal triumph in regards to Fairman’s writing, as he explains, “I think it’s the first time that I feel really good about being a writer” I was able to really let go and I could write about things I would be afraid to write about before.” You’ll hear poetry in the music, with the melodies carrying you to a place where you forget you’re even listening to words. “I write every song differently. I’m a big fan of poetry, but I don’t consider myself a poet.”

The cover art on 85, 87 was painted by Michael Pitcher, one of Fairman’s best friends, and serves more than just decoration. Fairman points to the painting as being one of the main inspirations behind the entire album.

“The painting was a big part of a year of my life, because I was writing songs and he was painting his painting, and then he gave it to me for my birthday, Fairman says. “It really feels like a year of my life all really came together.”

Song choices on the album were largely a result of that connection to Pitcher’s painting. Fairman relates that he had 18 songs to choose from, but made the decision to whittle them down to the seven songs that were the darkest. “I kind of purposely wanted to go darker because the painting is pretty dark,” he says.

Although Fairman is still young, he seems keenly aware of both his own emotions and the emotions of others. And although his music may be dark, it isn’t entirely autobiographical. “I feel like I took a year of my life and condensed it, like someone writing a novel might do. Not every character is about them,” he explains.

Fairman has also built a lengthy resume in a relatively short time. His first taste of music production happened with the band he formed while in high school, Fairman and Friends, which included pianist David DeMuri and drummer Jon McHenry. They released their CD, Patiently Waiting, in 2004. In 2006, Fairman put out a solo EP. Then, later that year, he released his full-length album Born Broken, a slightly jazzier and more pop-like album than his newest release, and including a variety of different musicians and instruments—listen for cello and violin in the background of certain tracks.

Beyond simple evolution, Fairman’s musical abilities have matured while working with so many different musicians, allowing him to embrace his many sides. “I think that back in my first band I wanted to do this jazzy rock kind of thing, and now I have separate things. I have this solo thing that is kind of dark, really moody, airy stuff. I also have a band called The Stilts and that is a mix of a pop, rock and psychedelic band.”

He calls The Stilts his “rock band”; when Fairman’s going to play at Old Ironsides, he is accompanied by Nick York and Mike Farrell on guitar, Matt McCord on drums and Chris Vogel on bass. If he’s going to Luna’s Café, that’s when he goes solo, with Nick York’s guitar riffs to carry him through.

Although Fairman still waits tables now, it’s safe to guess that he won’t need a day job for much longer. “I see music as a business,” he says, explaining all the work he’s put into his musical career thus far. “There’s just so many things you have to do to actually put on the show, especially because I like things to be good.” In the meantime, we should definitely plan on hearing the name Christopher Fairman in the Sacramento area for quite a while. “John McRea, the guy in Cake, told me that the way to make it is to keep going until you can’t do it anymore,” Fairman says.