Just as we were starting to really fall in love with them, it looks like Sacramento pop-punk band Little Tents is already hanging it up. Guitarist/co-vocalist Lys Mayo (second from left in the photo above) — who plays in other bands like Dead Dads and is really a big part of the local punk scene is unfortunately moving away from Sacramento at the end of September, but luckily for all of us, Little Tents has one last show on Sept. 9 at Blue Lamp with Success from Seattle, Broadway Calls from Portland and locals Bastards of Young. In just around two short years of being a band, Little Tents not only landed a cover of Submerge, but their seven-song debut Fun Colors also found its way onto our “Top Albums of 2015” list (at number four no less!). They were also nominated for two SAMMIES awards, earned a highly coveted slot on this year’s Concerts in the Park lineup opening for Authority Zero and Another Damn Disappointment, and they even made some waves outside of our little Sac bubble by getting on the San Francisco-based indie music blog Thebaybridged.com’s “10 Sacramento Bands to Keep Your Eyes On” list. I was going to try to describe Little Tents’ sound, but I’ll just let Submerge contributor Josh Fernandez do it for me: “Little Tents is pop punk in the way Jawbreaker was pop punk—melodically interesting, catchy, lyrically expressive, yet just hard enough to make your conservative uncle say, ‘What the fuck is this shit?’” I fucking love that description. Anywho, if you personally know Lys or not (I actually don’t, I’m just a fan of all her work) the Sept. 9 show at Blue Lamp would be a good one to come out to. It kicks off at 8 p.m., it’s 21-and-over only and tickets are available for just $10 in advance at Punchandpiefest.com. Learn more about Little Tents at Facebook.com/littletents916 and listen to their super rad album at Littletents.bandcamp.com. Best of luck Lys, thanks for all the sweet tunes!

California is one of the most geologically diverse places in the world, and Sacramento is in the center of it all! There are endless places to explore close to home. To get you started, we’ve put together a good range of easy to difficult hikes, both east and west of Sacramento, and all within a couple hours’ drive. Of course, you’ll want to further research your trip ahead of time and be prepared by packing appropriately. Below are some ideas to get your wheels turning. Special note: The stats provided below have been culled from some great online hiking resources such as Everytrail.com, Eastbaytrails.com, Summitpost.org and Tahoebackcountry.net as well as, most importantly, personal experience from getting out there and walking those trails. Distance ain’t nothing but a number. Get out there and hike! Happy trails!

San Bruno Mountain

Mileage: 3.5 miles via the Summit Loop Trail
Elevation gain: 500 feet
Summit elevation: 1,314 feet
Difficulty rating: easy
Driving distance from Sacramento: about 95 miles west

The lowdown: This hike is a get in/get out breeze, at the top of which await old, dilapidated radio transmitters and a Nike Missile launch site, as well as panoramic views of San Francisco, Mount Diablo and Mount Tam. From the parking lot, the trail leads through chaparral and seasonal wildflowers and meanders gently to the top, which you’ll reach hella quick, affording you time to frolic around or whatever it is you do on a mountaintop. San Francisco and all its rad bars are a short drive from the trailhead—offering lots of great choices for your post-summit watering hole.

Mount Diablo

Mileage: 6.2 miles via the Grand Loop
Elevation gain: 700 feet
Summit elevation: 3,849 feet
Difficulty rating: easy to moderate
Driving distance from Sacramento: about 85 miles southwest

The lowdown: Although you can park a quarter mile from the top, why do that when you can get a great workout and circumnavigate this awesome mountain, exploring its vegetation, geology, and surrounding views? We suggest the Grand Loop as your route to the summit, which is crowned with obsolete radio transmitters that used to talk to Sutro Tower in San Francisco. Mount Diablo is the tallest mountain in its vicinity, providing clear 360 degree views of the Bay Area.

Mount Tamalpais

Mileage: 15.4 miles via Stinson Beach
Elevation gain: 1,500 feet
Summit elevation: 2,571 feet
Difficulty rating: easy to moderate
Driving distance from Sacramento: about 102 miles west

The lowdown: There’s myriad ways to the top of Mount Tam, but we like to start at Stinson Beach. Although it will be difficult to not just plop yourself into the sand and gaze at the ocean, keep going past a gate that will lead you to the Matt Davis trailhead. The trail snakes ever closer to the top while sweeping views of the ocean dazzle you at every turn. On the top of Mount Tam is a fire lookout, on the stoop of which you can sip on your summit beer and take selfies (or climb around its boulders). Take the Steep Ravine trail route back down to see a lush redwood forest, laced with babbling brooks and bridges. This is another summit with a parking lot right near the top, allowing you to be a total lazy ass peak bagger or cut the long trip in half by way of leaving a second car in the near-summit parking lot.

Pyramid Peak

Mileage: 7.4 miles via Rocky Canyon/Southeast Ridge
Elevation gain: 4,083 feet
Summit elevation: 9,984 feet
Difficulty rating: difficult
Driving distance from Sacramento: about 80 miles east

The lowdown: Easily visible from Sacramento on those clear days when you can see all the way to the glorious snow-capped Sierras, this massive mountain is a hard-won peak to bag. Climbing through a lovely coniferous forest and rambling meadows, your thighs will feel like they’re on fire while your eyes stay fixed on what you believe to be the prize. After arduously bouldering to what you think is the top, you will arrive at—gasp—a false summit. You’ll shake your fists in the air, lumber to the real top (aptly named for its pyramid shape made of sketchy talus), and at long last, enjoy an unbeatable eyeful of the grandeur of Desolation Wilderness.

Mount Ralston

Mileage: 7 miles
Elevation gain: 2,735 feet
Difficulty rating: moderate to difficult
Driving distance from Sacramento: about 88 miles east

The lowdown: A real booty-blaster but to a lesser degree than Pyramid, this trail similarly leads through a gorgeous pine forest peppered with glacial erratics and delicate alpine meadows past tree line. Then, the final ascent has you huffing and puffing up steeply inclined talus until you reach your granite throne! The view of Lake Tahoe and the surrounding stone wonderland is worth the hard work, and is a place we like to call CHURCH!

Pacific Crest Trail: Donner Pass to Benson Hut
Mileage: 5.5 miles to Benson Hut via PCT/Donner Pass
Elevation gain: 1,800 feet to Benson Hut
Difficulty rating: moderate to difficult
Driving distance from Sacramento: about 100 miles east

The lowdown: A great hike whether or not you are able to snag a reservation overnight at the Sierra Club-managed Benson Hut. But how we like to do it is to hike to the hut from Donner Pass along the world famous PCT, spend the night in the shadow of Anderson Peak in the magical backcountry dwelling, then bag Granite Chief and Tinker’s Knob on your way to the Squaw Valley Tram, where you’ll bum a ride down to the parking lot (you’ll need a car parked at both trailheads). On the way, you’ll pass through places that will make you want to have a The Sound of Music moment, twirling and singing in the flowers, no matter how hard you are.

Pacific Crest Trail: Mount Judah Loop and Donner Peak

Mileage: 5.5 miles
Elevation gain: 1,700 feet
Summit elevation: Donner Peak: 8,019 feet; Mount Judah: 8,243 feet
Difficulty rating: moderate
Driving distance from Sacramento: about 91 miles east

The lowdown: This is one of our favorite high country quick and dirty hikes. The Mount Judah Loop affords not only 2 miles on the famed PCT but two-for-one peak bagging with stunning views of Donner Lake and the surrounding Sierras. The first mile follows switchbacks along the PCT, then breaks left to Donner and Judah peaks. The Summer trail use paths are easy to follow but the trail often has snow in early summer and can be a true backcountry adventure. (Call Sugar Bowl to check trail conditions in the early season.) Don’t forget your summit beer and a sweater, it can be chilly in the high country even in the summer months. 

Mount Tallac

Mileage: 9.6 miles
Elevation gain: 3,255 feet
Difficulty rating: difficult
Summit elevation: 9,735 feet
Driving distance from Sacramento: about 105 miles east

The lowdown: Mount Tallac is a true beast of a mountain that towers over the Lake Tahoe basin. The hike enters Desolation Wilderness and does require a free day-use permit that “may” be found at the trailhead. Permits are often out. We recommend a visit to a local ranger station to get a good map and a stack of permits for you car, cause you will surely be back! The hike starts near Camp Richardson and follows along the ridge above Fallen Leaf Lake. You’ll pass Cathedral Lake—enjoy the view and take a break at the lake, because the real work is about to begin. Mile three has a heart pounding 1400’ of elevation gain. Once you reach the ridgeline you are hiking into a FALSE SUMMIT. Power past it, for soon the real Tallac Peak enters your view. The heart-wrenching final half-mile pays off in spades with unforgettable views of the Sierra Nevada and major trail cred.

**This article first appeared in print on pages 24 – 25 of issue #188 (May 25 – June 8, 2015)**

If you’re heading to The City by the Bay any time between Feb. 20 and March 1, 2015, chances are you’ll encounter some of the radness that is Noise Pop! Easily one of the best festivals on the West Coast, Noise Pop throws amazing events all around San Francisco for over a week, bringing together eclectic musicians, artists, filmmakers and more. Some of the more sought-after shows are already sold out (Caribou for two nights at The Fillmore, Best Coast at Bottom of the Hill, Surfer Blood at Rickshaw Stop, Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World at Swedish American Hall, all sold out already), but tickets are still available for tons of rad stuff, like the official Noise Pop Pre-party on Thursday, Feb. 19 at California Academy of Sciences with a DJ set by Allan Wilson from Sacto faves !!! (Chk Chk Chk), as well as Dawn Golden and Awesome Tapes from Africa. If you act fast, you can also still get in to see the amazing New Brunswick, New Jersey rock band Screaming Females’ West Coast album release show at Hemlock Tavern on Saturday, Feb. 21; Flight Facilities and Touch Sensitive on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at The Regency Ballroom; Craft Spells on Feb. 25 at Great American Music Hall; Geographer and K Flay on Feb. 27 at Fox Theater; and The New Pornographers on Feb. 28, also at Fox Theater. Visit Noisepop.com/2015 to view all events, buy tickets ahead of time and plan your Noise Pop schedule.

It’s that time of year again! Red Bull Flugtag is an awe-inspiring mesh of aviation and lunacy. Following in the footsteps of the founding fathers of flight, 33 teams will hurtle their human-powered aircrafts down a 30-foot ramp and attempt to slip the surly bounds of Earth. Inevitably all of them will succumb to gravity and crash into the chilly waters of the Bay, but for brief moments, some of them may actually succeed. Hangars will open at
11 a.m. and “flights” are scheduled to run from 1 to 3:30 p.m. with an awards ceremony to follow.

Sizzling Sirens teach Sacramento how to shake it

Silky bustiers, black feather boas, strings of pearls and a random pair of motorcycle handlebars made of PVC pipe are painted silver and lay on the floor. A gold vintage sofa rests near two racks lined with handmade costumes, including bras stitched with imitation cash and coins. Beneath a clutter of buttons, jewelry and a tower of sewing knick-knacks appears to be a desk–a typical day at the office, if you’re a Siren. This is the headquarters of Sacramento’s only active burlesque troupe, the Sizzling Sirens, a team of 10 women ranging in ages 19 to 43 years old, each radiating with a flare that is uniquely her own.

A little vaudeville filled with theatrical satire and brought to life with provocative striptease and choreographed dance numbers defines burlesque entertainment in the simplest terms. But when Jay Siren founded the company in March 2008, she envisioned this classic genre of performance art with a couple modern alterations. Siren started teaching her first round of classes at The Press Club later that year, eventually gaining more students and at the same time finding some of the first members of Sizzling Sirens.

Since its infancy in 2008, the Sirens have built a reputation within the local music scene and around town by performing alongside bands like Agent Ribbons and Goodness Gracious Me in addition to corporate parties and events. What’s more, the gals now have a regular live show each month at Harlow’s centered around a theme, and if they ever need a live band, they turn to the veteran jazz musicians of the Harley White Jr. Orchestra for support.

“I think the greatest misconception about burlesque that we run into all the time is, ‘Where’s the pole?’” explains Jay, her off-the-shoulder black T-shirt revealing tattooed leaves spreading down her right shoulder. “For us, burlesque is burlesque-fusion. The way that we do it is a little bit different than the way that you see most burlesque presented nowadays. We take elements of everything that we love about the culture, genre and history and make it our own, mixing past and future ideas. A striptease is part of it, but in the sense of using your costume as a tool to engage your audience as though it were a prop.”

Since moving the Sizzling Sirens troupe into a gray, Victorian building on J Street last April, an idea to form a Performance Series of classes, catering to those interested in learning the art of burlesque with the opportunity to perform alongside the Sirens, was created.

Indiana Bones, Georgia Fire and Sass Herass are all present during this afternoon’s Burlesque 101 class, a one-hour introduction course into the Sirens’ world of burlesque-fusion open to the public. Each woman planted on the wooden floor of the small dance studio routinely stretches her legs and arms before claiming her space, waiting to warm up with the day’s basics.

“Alright Sass, teach us some class,” says Jay clapping her hands together like an athlete ready for the next play.

Herass, wearing hot pink spanks that read, “Dance all night,” across her bum, complete with black fishnets, tall black boots and a tilted fedora, is the instructor leading the workshop this week.

Ginuwine’s “Pony” blares from the studio’s sound system and the Sirens begin loosening their hips in a circular motion to the music. Each woman follows Herass’ lead as she keeps time out loud through the steps of the warm up. Now with Etta James’ “W.O.M.A.N” changing the mood of the workshop within the small Midtown space, the four slowly bend forward to stroke the frames of their shapely legs with both hands before gracefully lifting their arms in the air like ballerinas. Using one hand, the Sirens trace the outlines of their faces, then across their chests and eventually following the curves of their bodies. Every move the same, yet differently interpreted through the personality of each Siren.

The newest member to the troupe, Fire, watches her moves in the mirror, her limbs naturally following the flow of the lesson as Bones practices pinup faces while dancing, her short red hair ornamented with a big, white bow. Jay’s once straight black locks begin to curl as the warm-up progresses, sweat glistens down her throat as she attacks each move full out. Herass, who has taught dance over five years, emanates hip-hop in each move she teaches.

“One of our biggest things that we try to reiterate is to honor your spirit and your character,” Herass says. “It’s something that I think is really important, especially with women, we are made to feel like we are supposed to fit one cookie cutter mold and burlesque is about taking what you have and accentuating it. We’re not trying to hide, or diminish anything, just being proud of who you are and what your body is and just adoring yourself. And, that’s something that I’d really like to share with everybody else.”

Through the classes Sizzling Sirens hold every week, whether its Burlesque 101, Cardio Burlesque (which is exactly how it sounds), or the Performance Series, the Sirens believe any and everyone, with the right instructor, can learn everything from how to properly shimmy to how to incorporate props into the steps, adding a personal tease to the routine.

“I would like to stress that most people come in with absolutely no theater or dance experience and they have a blast. You seriously do not have to have any dance experience to enjoy the classes. Literally, everything is all-levels. You can walk in, gain an understanding and find a challenge and enjoy it. Truly, you can enjoy this without ever having done it before,” explains Jay, fanning herself at the close of class.

And it’s true according to Fanny Coquette, a 43-year-old Siren joining the cast last August, who took her first class with Sizzling Sirens on a dare from her husband and looks forward to February’s “Good, Clean, Dirty Fun”-themed performance at Harlow’s.

“It’s just fun. It’s fun to step outside of who I am and be 100 percent who I am,” explains Coquette. “When you get older and have a family and have a regular job, there aren’t very many venues to push that line of ‘I don’t care what you think of me.’ So, it’s a great venue to relax and have fun and not worry about what other people think.”

Together Sizzling Sirens witnessed members from the first cast come and go, but have continued to grow in numbers as well as expand their reputation outside of Sacramento, performing at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco during its monthly Hubba Hubba Revue series, named one of the Top 10 Burlesque Shows to see around the world by the Travel Channel.

“I’ve never seen a group of 10 women get along and support each other creatively and emotionally,” says Jay. “Through the process of burlesquing together and learning how to create together, we’ve all become friends.”

Sizzling Sirens Burlesque is located at 2419 1/ 2 J Street. Hour-long Burlesque 101 and Peel and Reveal classes are taught on Sundays (at 1 and 2:30 p.m. respectively). Cardio Burlesque is taught Tuesdays from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. For more info on their Performance Series Workshop, go to Sizzlingsirensburlesque.com. If you prefer to watch the girls in action, check them out at Harlow’s for their “Good, Clean, Dirty Fun”-themed performance on Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. 21-and-over only. You can also catch the Sirens the first Friday of every month for Fishnet Fridays at Dive Bar.

Ricky Reed infiltrates pop music as Wallpaper

Anyone who’s ever started a band knows that the music business can be a tough and arduous road–even if you don’t have any aspirations beyond playing a few gigs and getting paid in free beer. If you stick with it, though, the rewards can be pretty awesome. Free beer, for one, is always good, but you could become a bona fide super star–or you could find yourself on any number of the rungs on the ladder of success in-between. If you’re looking for an example of sticking with it, look no further than Ricky Reed, the man behind Wallpaper, an Oakland-based electro-pop act. Reed started the project in 2005 as a sort of satirical look at pop music. Ironically enough, he now may be poised for some level of pop stardom in spite of himself.

With the release of Wallpaper’s latest album, #Stupidfacedd, Reed got the attention of MTV and even had the album’s single, the title track, played on the premier episode of this season’s The Jersey Shore. Maybe not the most auspicious venue to get his music heard, but it certainly opened some doors.

“Obviously, you have to be willing to deal with massive amounts of rejection. You have to be able to handle that,” Reed told Submerge over the phone from Los Angeles. “But when all these things came up, they were big and they felt good, but everything feels big and good the first time.”

Before his most recent breakthroughs, however, it was the small victories that kept Reed going.

“The first time that I played at The Press Club in Sacramento and had three to four attractive girls in the crowd, I thought I was winning,” he said. “The first time that I sold out Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco, I thought, ‘Wow, I’m doing it now.’ That’s the great thing about being a musician. As long as you work hard, in theory, things will get better, and every little milestone just feels a little bit better than the last one did.”

Reed’s recent successes have made him something of a sought-after commodity in the pop music world. Recently, he collaborated with Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo to write Cee-Lo Green’s new single “Anyway.”

“We took one shot at it, then took another shot at it, and the second shot knocked it out of the park,” Reed said. “Working with Rivers is crazy. I grew up listening to Weezer, and he’s a really special dude for sure.

“[Cuomo] came with an idea, and we just sort of built it outwards and it turned out great. He’s a class act. That’s the term to describe Rivers.”

When Submerge caught up with Reed, he was in Los Angeles, one night before heading to Las Vegas to play a show at Haze Night Club at Aria with Far East Movement. In Los Angeles, he was diligently working in the studio writing and producing. While he couldn’t divulge all that he was working on, Reed did tell us that he was putting the finishing touches on a new Wallpaper track. He shared some of the details on that and favored us with other words of wisdom in the following interview.

I saw that yesterday on your Facebook page you posted that you’re leaking a new Wallpaper song in a week or two. What’s that track about?
I can say that it’s sports related–jock jams. That’s all I can say about that.

Do you have an all-time favorite jock jam?
Oh dude, all-time favorite jock jam. There are so many good ones–from Gary Glitter… I really like whoa oh-oh-oh-oh whoa oh-oh-oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh whoa oh-oh-oh-oh… Whatever that one is [the aptly titled “Whoa Oh Oh” by Zombie Nation]. That’s a good one. You know what else is a good one? I’m pretty sure they put it on one of the Mortal Kombat themes, you know, “Gonna Make You Sweat” by C+C Music Factory. That was a weird time in music when pop house music was on the radio. Imagine being at a fucking Oakland Raiders game with all your tough cholo bros, and it’s like [singing], “Why waste your time? You know you’re gonna be mine.” The fucking ‘90s, bro. It was fucking unbelievable.

The ‘90s had all kinds of crazy things you’d never hear on the radio now. Like, Soundgarden was a pop band in the ‘90s.
Oh, I know, dude. You’re not going to hear “Spoonman” unless Dr. Luke produces it. I’d love to hear a Dr. Luke remix of “Spoonman.”

So on the scale of jock jams, would you say the song you’re working on is closer to C+C Music Factory or “We Are the Champions” by Queen?
Oh wow, I would say if you could merge those and sprinkle in a “Whoomp! There It Is” kind of flavor. That kind of “Whoomp! There It Is” energy I try to bring to all my records. I would say that “#Stupidfacedd” and “Fucking Best Song Everrr” definitely have a good dose of “Whoomp! There It Is” woven into them.

You’ve got the live show coming up at Ace of Spades in Sacramento. I was reading that your live show has two drummers and at least two other vocalists. Is that something you’d like to incorporate into the studio–having a bigger band?
In the studio, I just try to make the best songs however they want to be made. The live show, we’re trying to produce something special for people in that environment. There’s not a lot of carryover.

We’re going to do something even bigger and crazier for the Sac show. It’s going to be the debut of a new Wallpaper live set. It’s something nobody’s seen yet. We’re doing it that night and on New Year’s Eve with Kreayshawn in San Francisco.

Are you keeping that under wraps?
I want to keep that somewhat of a secret, but I will say that our live act is usually a four-piece setup, but the Sacramento show will be our first performance as a five-piece for those shows.

I listened to your album a couple of times through, and the first time, I definitely picked up on the beats and the energy, but the second time around, I was paying attention to the lyrics, I picked up on some really good lines in there, especially in “#Stupidfacedd” with that bit about the awkward silence. Is that something you throw in just to see if anyone’s paying attention?
You could definitely say that. I think my lyrical philosophy is just try to get people to pay attention to anything, you know what I mean? Like, hear something and realize you just heard it. Pop music is wallpaper. If you ask somebody what was the patterns or the colors on the walls of the rooms they’d been in today, of course they wouldn’t know what that is. They wouldn’t be able to answer you. That’s what pop largely feels like to me. People just run around with their thumbs up their butts, not paying attention to anything.

You say that, but Wallpaper’s music is obviously in that pop vein too. Is this one of those instances where you can be more rebellious inside the system than you can be outside the system?
I think you can stand on the outside and hurl rocks at it, or you can be the Trojan horse. I’ll leave it at that.

I wanted to ask you about the song you did with K Flay. I’d seen her play at a random club a while back. It was one of those instances where you go out and you don’t even know who’s playing and end up really enjoying it. I was wondering how that song came together and if you wrote it with her in mind.
Yeah, well I knew that K Flay was as broke as me… [laughs]. I wrote that record, and I knew it needed something. I think I met her just before that, and it was just the right timing. I thought, “This is perfect, why don’t you get on this?” She did a great job representing herself on that record, but she contributes to the song in such a great way. She’s just super talented and has also become a really good friend of mine.

Like you said, when you’re coming up you have to deal with a lot of rejection, but I’m sure that now that you’re making some headway, some of those nos are probably turning into yeses. How does that feel when that starts happening? Is it off-putting at first?
That was definitely the case. This sensation I feel pretty often is that I’m putting one over on people, you know? I know that my shit is dope, and I stand behind it, but also with how the rest of this stuff is, the rest of this stuff that you guys are signing off on–the powers that be–do you really think that you want to sign me? Are you really sure? Because I’m going to be a big problem for you guys.

In 140 characters or less…

It’s probably trite by now to remind you that fans just don’t consume music the way they used to. That doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. We still enjoy putting on an album and ingesting it en masse, but it’s also fun to put the iTunes on shuffle and let fate decide, troll YouTube for new music videos or share play lists via Spotify. So for this year’s Top 20, we decided to mix things up a bit. Instead of just albums, we included a music video, EPs, live shows (even a comedy album snuck in there). Here’s our favorite music moments of this past year, in tweet-friendly format.

20. Jason Webley (live show)

Beatnik Studios, Sacramento
Oct. 30, 2011
When the man on stage thrusts his torso into a giant red balloon and gets the entire audience drunk enough to link arms and sway, you know it’s a good show.

19. Thee Oh Sees
Carrion Crawler/The Dreamer
In The Red

Each song rocks, and it’s short and catchy enough to listen back to back, and back. They have mastered a sound, exemplified here. Loud fun.

18. Keith Lowell Jensen
Cats Made of Rabbits
Apprehensive Films

Possibly the local comic’s best work to date, if this album/DVD doesn’t have you rolling on the floor, check your pulse, you might be dead.

17. Mastodon
The Hunter
Reprise

Mastodon ditches spacey prog metal for gnarly bruising metal/rock hybrid and makes us wonder why they haven’t tried it sooner.

16. Mike Colossal
The Psychodelic Soundsations of Mike Colossal
Glory Hole Records

From dub to dusty breaks Mike earns the name Colossal.

15. Red Fang
Murder the Mountains
Relapse Records

Metal heads dose heavy riffs w/ stoner-core harmonies, crushing drums, subtly brilliant solos & bring serious balls back to rock ‘n’ roll.

14. The Generationals (live show)
Sophia’s Thai Kitchen, Davis
July 16, 2011

The small porch in Davis provided the perfect environment to fall in love with every up-beat strum from The Generationals.

13. Cousin Fik
Hacksaw Ben Thuggin
Sick-Wid-It Records

Hacksaw Ben Thuggin. Period. Fik is a rapper for real. From Halloween concepts, to catchy anthems, his words are precise and full of vigor.

12. St. Vincent
Strange Mercy
4AD

Under-appreciated experimental rocker Ann Clark dropped the most schizophrenic, bipolar mélange of musical porridge ever stirred into a commercial triumph.

11. Death Grips
Exmilitary
Third Worlds

No one expected Oak Park to birth the ingenious production and vocal aggression of Death Grips. Nor expected it to tear down stages worldwide.

10. Youth Lagoon
Year of Hibernation
Fat Possum/Lefse

Eight tracks of chiming synths and fragile vox swelling into magical crescendos. Trevor Powers gives a taste of hibernation at its best.

09. The Nickel Slots
Five Miles Gone
Self-release

Local country-tinged rockers spin 15 songs and something for every mood. Engaging, memorable songwriting at home in any genre.

08. DLRN (music video)
“…Fallen Heroes” (feat. Iman Malika)
Faux Real Productions

Classic Sacto shots in this Faux Real Productions video. Light rail, top level on a parking garage, in front of downtown murals, real nice.

07. Raleigh Moncrief
Watered Lawn
Anticon

A solo debut that amalgamated the producer’s credentials with midnight recordings of glitch hop in the kitchen.

06. Appetite
Scattered Smothered Covered
Crossbill Records

Appetite’s Teddy Briggs masterfully created this rich, dense album that’s nearly impossible to define. Weird pop-folk that dabbles all over.

05. Typhoon
A New Kind of House
Tender Loving Empire

Big band indie rock devoid of cloying twee impulses. Sprawling yet hauntingly intimate. A rare EP that doesn’t feel incomplete.

04. Theophilus London
Timez Are Weird These Days
Reprise

Irresistible neo-retro hip-hop from a fashionable Trinidad-born, Brooklyn-based MC. A “rap” album hipsters and indie-kids can agree on.

03. Feist (live show)
The Warfield, San Francisco
Nov. 14, 2011

Take the gentle vocals of Feist, acoustic guitars, special guest Little Wings, and it might equal the most intimate show of the year.

02. Ganglians
Still Living
Lefse Records

Sacramento’s psych rockers produce yet another gem, keeping that Beach Boys sound meshed with unexpected twists, ballads and tribal rumbles.

01. Kill the Precedent’s EP release show (live show)
Harlow’s, Sacramento
Aug. 6, 2011

KTP made Harlow’s feel like a house show! “Flight” theme featured hot stewardesses and (drunken) pilot outfits. Plenty of moshing ensued.

Best Coast, Wavves, Hunx and His Punx, Royal Baths
Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011
The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco

Hot off the “Summer is Forever” tour, pot-smoking indie rockers Best Coast and Wavves headlined a sold-out ballroom last week for the Noise Pop Festival in San Francisco. The Regency Ballroom is usually a classy venue that is fully decorated with elegant chandeliers and shiny hardwood floors. But on the last Saturday in February, it was quickly turned into a foggy, sweaty, deafening atmosphere, fully equipped with rowdy fans and pot-smoking aliens.

But before the headliners took over the stage, the show began with a mellow start. Openers and San Francisco locals Royal Baths showed off their eerie guitar riffs that echoed around the fog-polluted ballroom, causing a few occasional rock nods from members of the audience.

Soon after, Hunx and His Punx got the Noise Pop party started with their bubbly, body-moving beats. Perhaps it was because the punk band gave off similar vibes to watching the Rocky Horror Picture Show and listening to The Ramones at the same time. Or maybe it was the way the eccentric frontman of the group, Seth Bogart, would strut across the stage and flirt with the audience in his skin-tight leopard-print leggings.

“It really smells like weed backstage. I’m not joking,” Bogart said after he asked the crowd if they were ready for the night’s headlining bands.

When it was time for Wavves to take the stage, the venue was suddenly turned into a raging beach party when band members Nathan Williams and Stephen Pope threw out inflatable beach balls and green aliens.

Ironically enough, moments before Williams incited the sea of audience members into a rock frenzy, he warned the crowd to not hurt an already injured audience member and told everyone to “take a chill pill.” From every corner of the ballroom people could be seen jumping, moshing or yelling the lyrics right back to the band.

During the set, Williams took notice of a white sheet that was floating in the sea of people. It read in black messy writing, “Bluntz after show,” and was decorated with colorful cartoons of green aliens and a blue dinosaur smoking joints.

Before they broke into the song “So Bored,” bassist Stephen Pope grabbed the fan-made sheet and tied it around Williams’ neck over his black Misfits tee, just as a superhero would wear a cape.

Wavves decided to end their punk spree with their hit “Post Acid” that turned the crowd into jumping animals. To end the final note of the song, Williams launched his guitar straight toward the drum set and casually walked off stage.

Afterward, Best Coast walked out to make their second return to Noise Pop, but this time as a headlining band and in front of hundreds more faces. The band started off playing the first few tunes with careless ease until they had trouble starting off one of their new songs.

“I smoked too much weed today,” said frontwoman Bethany Cosentino with a smile and her guitar at hand. So the band decided to skip the song altogether and soon realized that the other members, (bassist) Bobb Bruno and (dummer) Ali Koehler, had different set lists all together. But that didn’t slow the indie rockers from continuing their summer-loving set.

Best Coast pleased the crowd and played through most of their songs that are on their debut album, Crazy for You. Even though the fans were packed indoors like sardines, it felt as if they were taken to the sandy beach to rock out.

When Cosentino broke into the song “Boyfriend,” a young man in the audience was caught lip-synching every word of the song, almost in a trance while he watched the headliners perform within feet of him.

We all know summer can’t last forever. But Best Coast and Wavves brought the warm, carefree feelings of summer just for those few hours during Noise Pop.

Janelle Monáe channels her inner robot on her full-length debut

Janelle Monáe is nothing if not polite. Is it her time spent in Atlanta, Ga., immersed in Southern hospitality, or excellent coaching on behalf of her publicity machine? In the end it doesn’t matter. She says all the right things and she’s a joy to speak with, as she talks in a modest, syrupy tone. She closed our brief interview by saying, “I don’t take your support for granted.” Along the way in her bourgeoning career, the rising star has gotten support from a wide variety of heavy hitters in the worlds of hip-hop, R&B, pop and even indie rock. Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, Sean “Diddy” Combs and even Prince, the man himself, have all spoken words of praise in regards to Monáe, whose sound dips from the wells each of these artists and more draw from. For an artist who says she’s hoping to bridge gaps with her music, it would seem that she’s off to an excellent start. Written along with the Wondaland Arts Society, a collective of artists Monáe founded with Chuck Lightning and Nate “Rocket” Wonder, Monáe’s debut full-length album The ArchAndroid begins with a soaring orchestral intro before slamming into the sultry sci-fi funk of “Dance or Die,” featuring fringe hip-hop hero Saul Williams. Outkast’s Big Boi makes an appearance on “Tightrope” (a term that appears throughout this sprawling concept album based on the 1927 Fritz Lang film Metropolis). “Tightrope” is as typically radio-friendly as Monáe gets on her debut long-player, but still retains her flair for dramatic sounds and movements that never feel forced or overwrought. Indie dance rockers Of Montreal, who Monáe will set out on a co-headlining tour with this September, also make an appearance on The ArchAndroid, contributing–if not dominating–“Make the Bus,” a Beatles-esque space rock number.

It’s not just the diversity of collaborators that has been catching ears of music fans and bigwigs alike, but the breadth of styles Monáe effortlessly stitches together. “Come Alive (War of the Roses)” has the spit and snarl of ‘70s punk, and Monáe isn’t afraid (or incapable of) letting that music take her beautifully smooth voice down a bumpy, ugly road. Basically, The ArchAndroid should turn just about as many heads as it causes those who just don’t get it to scratch theirs.

Monáe has all the pieces in place to transcend the title of rising R&B star. Not only is she remarkably deft at genre bending, but she also has her sights set on making film and graphic novel components to accompany The ArchAndroid. Though she speaks openly about the writing of the album, she prefers to play details about these upcoming projects, and even her upcoming tour with Of Montreal, close to the vest.

“The element of surprise is very important to me,” she says.

Given the unlikely course of her career so far, more surprises are surely in store. However far she goes, it is our hope that Monáe maintains the graciousness that is becoming her signature.

“We started off working in a basement in Atlanta, Ga.,” she says of her and her collective’s modest beginnings. “To start the Wondaland Arts Society and to see that we creatively have been in control of everything is a huge deal, because artists want that, and we fought for that for a long time. We plan on opening up more doors for other artists, just in terms of having a different blueprint to look at for inspiration. We’re very thankful, and we’re very humbled. We’ll make mistakes, of course, but we will take risks so others may take risks.”

I’d read that The ArchAndroid album had been inspired by the movie Metropolis. What about that movie inspired you to write an album?
There was a quote at the beginning that said, “The mediator between the mind and the hands is the heart.” Immediately, I said, “That’s me.” I’m the heart. I want my music to be the heart, because it represents unity. It brings people together. That’s what I’m about, and that’s what this music is about. It’s creating music that bridges the gap between the haves and the have-nots, and the oppressed and the oppressor, the minority and the majority, and the androids and the humans. That’s what inspired me about that quote.

The connection we have now with technology is as great as it has ever been. Is that an aspect that played into your writing?
No. As an artist, I’m very thankful for technology. I’m thankful for sites like Myspace, Facebook and Twitter because I was able to talk directly to the people when I was putting out independent work in music. I am a lover of technology. I think it’s cool to have nanotechnology, which advances every two years and becomes smaller and faster. I do believe we will live in a world with more advanced androids, and I always pose the question, “How are we going to all get along together?” Are we going to fear them, or teach our kids to be fearful? Are we going to oppress them? Are we going to repeat history and try to enslave them? How are we all going to get along? I connect to the android, because the android represents the other. I feel like we’ve all felt like the other at one point in our lives.

The country seems to be very polarized, but like you were saying before, you like to express unity in your music. Listening to the album, there’s a lot of different genres represented. Does that universal sort of approach make you feel like an outsider?
No… There are a lot of other artists and people out there who are like myself in that they have a very diverse palette of music. We grew up in the iPod generation. I don’t think any of our iPods are just hip-hop or classical music. My iPod ranges from Jimi Hendrix to Judy Garland to Rachmaninoff. I’m able to digest all that in without feeling uncomfortable to listen to. My musical taste is very diverse, and I think all of our musical tastes are becoming that way because of the iPod.

It’s interesting to hear you say that, because The ArchAndroid definitely has an album feel. With iPods, a lot of people have that shuffle mentality, but on your album, the songs flow from one into the next. It wasn’t very single-driven. Was it important to you to preserve the album as an art form?
Sure, this is an “emotion picture,” and there’s an arc to the story. We wanted the listener to listen to The ArchAndroid from the beginning to the end and take in the transformative experience. The album will, I believe, transform you to become a more diverse music listener because of the range that’s in the album. But we also crafted together songs that can stand alone. They all depend on each other, but they all stand alone. You don’t have to know anything about the concept. We made sure the songs were just jamming by themselves.

Given that it is a concept album, did that lead to a lengthier writing process between you and the Wondaland Arts Society?
It was a balancing act. Everything is a tightrope. You have to pick and choose where the concept comes in. We created other outlets, like the graphic novels, for people who want to know more about the concept and Cindi [Mayweather, Monáe’s alter-ego in The ArchAndroid] and the android community and what comes next. We’re also going to have visuals with a very strong narrative that will play into the concept. We didn’t try to do anything different just for the sake of doing things differently. We didn’t try to make sure, politically, that things were correct either. We just kind of followed our hearts and did what felt good.

How would you categorize your working partnership with Wondaland Arts Society? Are you all on the same wavelength? I’m sure you all bring something different to the table when you sit down to create.
It’s a very diverse group, but at the same time, we’re all standing up for the same cause–individuality and helping us all to celebrate our differences. We’re all artists who run the label, from graphic novelists to screen writers, performance artists to musicians, visual artists, you name it. We really want to help preserve art. We love coming up with new ideas, and we have a strong belief that the imagination can inspire nations. Music is our weapon at this time. We plan on releasing more artists into the world, like Deep Cotton is up next. They’re going to come out with sweets very soon. We leave our egos at home. We can speak our own minds and voice our opinions, and no love is lost. We go with the best idea.

You mentioned the graphic novel component, and I’m a big fan of comic books. Is that something you’re having a close hand in? What books did you read that really inspire you for this album or just in general?
I co-wrote the graphic novel with Chuck Lightning. He’s my writing partner. The illustrations were done by Chad Weatherford. We loved Octavia Butler’s Wild Seed. That was a huge inspiration for me. Alfred Hitchcock was also a huge inspiration, just the way he wrote things out. We’re a fan of comic book companies like Dark Horse and DC, of course. We’re hoping to put out something just as quality-oriented.

It will be well worth the trip to head to San Francisco to see Janelle Monáe perform at the Outside Lands Festival on Aug. 15, 2010.

Tycho

Tycho and the Command Collective look to the next decade of Sacramento Electronica

Sacramento is a cowtown; we cannot escape that fact. Living in a city disrespected by the rest of California keeps us out of the Hypemachine, to a fault, but it’s also a benefit. Our artists move to San Francisco and blow up, resulting in press that neglects to mention origins prior to the Bay Area. Ambient electronica darling Tycho is one of our lost children. But not lost entirely as Tycho, who in a brief interview, enlightened me to the reunion of a lost scene he once helped cultivate in his true hometown.

“We used to have this thing called Command Collective,” Scott Hansen said. Hansen is Tycho, and Tycho is on the rise in national exposure with the Coastal Brake 12-inch on Ghostly International. Hansen was raised in Fair Oaks and lived in Midtown for eight years, where he made his first two (and a half, somehow) albums. Circumstances lacking relevance to this story resulted in Hansen moving to San Francisco, but he spoke with candor of his fledgling years in Sacramento designing Tha Fruitbat’s album art, Blue Bell compilation covers and Command Collective show posters.

“Doing those show posters and compilation covers were the impetus to my whole style,” he said. “I talk about it like it was a big deal in my career, at least in my head, but I don’t know how much of an impact it had on the random people who went to the shows.”

The early Noughties were ripe with enthusiasm for electronic music. A new millennium aroused hope of flying cars and space-age fabrics that would dress us down in shiny suits. Electronic music, devoid of organic instruments made of brass, wood, sheep intestines, gourds and bones, was an evolutionary step providing temperance to our insecurities about relying on advanced technologies as the providers of aural fascination. Unfortunately, for some, watching a nerdy dude stand at a laptop, nodding to his push-button performance lacked the visceral visual aesthetic of rock star power poses and frenetic shirtless drummers drenched in sweat.

Opinions varied, but according to reports, there was a consensus that between 2002 and 2004 Command Collective shows at Espresso Metro were “the scene.” For those who lived for it, it was a window of fortunate times. For some outsiders trying to understand the emerging scene, attention spans were tried with grueling self-indulgent sets.

“It was a pretty loose deal,” Hansen said. “It wasn’t like we were a group making music together. The reality of it was we were the only electronic musicians in Sacramento. We might as well play these shows together rather than open up for a bunch of rock bands.”

Command Collective was Dusty Brown, Evan Schneider (who operated as Tha Fruitbat and formed the groups Hysteresis Loop and Two Playa Game), Park Avenue (now known as Lifeliner), Tycho and Chachi Jones. DJ Mupetblast was the resident DJ of the collective, filling in the downtime between sets at the Metro. “Donald [Bell, Chachi Jones] and Tycho put [the collective] together to reel in all the top dudes from the different crews that were doing beat shows,” Schneider said. The collective focused on IDM, jungle and ambient sounds. There was a dance scene, that cannot be ignored, but it was another scene entirely.

Schneider began in ’98 with his band Hysteresis Loop. He and Dusty Brown came up together as operators in the drum and bass scene at raves and underground venues. Later, Schneider and Dain Fitzgerald, known as DJ Mupetblast, had Synthetic Sundays, a weekly (later became monthly) night of electronic music at The Press Club.

Schneider said the impact of Command Collective as a voice for the electronic scene resulted in the inclusion of an electronica award in The Sammies. The addition was prompted by a biting letter from Bell to the editor, who responded to a negative review of a Metro show. “He was the writer in the group,” Schnieder said. “It was great that he used his skills to volley some back at the critics.”

Several factors contributed to the dissolution of Command Collective. The Rave Act limiting the underground shows, a dwindling support of electronic music by venues, promoters and fans, the revivals of rock and folk as respected genres and the collective’s members’ lives changing. Chachi Jones moved to San Francisco for a six-figure editing job, and Hansen had his journey to pursue as well. Everyone carried on, but the name slowly dissipated with the scene.
“It felt like things died a couple years after it got started,” Hansen said. “Metro got sold, which was one of the only venues sympathetic to our cause at the time. People knew about those shows and it was a really cool centralized location. After that [closed] the whole movement lost steam.”

As for the “dude at a laptop” performance criticism, Schneider said it was a crutch of the era adapting to change. “When you’re someone who started with racks of samplers, synths and shit and you finally get a laptop with all that built inside of it, you do have a whole studio onstage. It’s just hidden,” he said. “It also wasn’t very affordable for any of us to do a sick multimedia show.”

Therein lies a vital adaptation by electronica, the inclusion of visual aids to pull your attention away from the man at the laptop. Tycho’s live set is ripe with live tweaked visuals based around his graphic design. Schneider said he tries to bring a “video guy” to his bigger shows as well.

When Hansen blogged on his ISO50 design Web site about the Sacramento Electronica Music Festival, he did not hesitate to mention the partial reunion of Command Collective; partial because Chachi Jones is not playing. The SEMF could be the first step in a resurgence of the scene and Schneider feels the climate is right for it. “Everybody is stoked on the post-Command Collective stuff,” he said in regards to Tycho. “The scene has expanded as far as people making more diverse music. Most of the indie rock and IDM people have heard of Tycho. I’ve been to Seattle and have people know who Tycho and the Command Collective are.”

When Hansen attends shows that Dusty invites him to, he gets the occasional scene supporter of yore regaling him with “I miss those days” comments. Besides nostalgia for the tight-knit scene he once cultivated, Hansen said he misses Sacramento in general. Schneider said with the name garnering a buzz, he hopes for an integrated scene once again. He mentioned Sister Crayon and CityState as the fresh talent emerging that could bring new life to the scene. “My exposure to the scene now is whatever Dusty is doing,” Hansen said. “From what I’ve heard from Dusty, things are on the upswing again.”

Catch Tycho along with a long list of performers at the Sacramento Electronica Music Festival from Jan. 28-30. For a full lineup and more information, go to www.sacelectronicafest.tumblr.com