One Member’s Move to Oregon has ZuhG looking northward for future “Field Trips”

With the closing of the ZuhG Life Store in the Downtown Plaza last summer, Sacramento’s esteemed Hall of Fame ska-reggae-funk mashup band ZuhG has experienced a bit of a proximity shift since its lead singer and guitarist Bryan Nichols moved up to Lincoln City, Oregon. Rather than folding under the separation anxiety, however, ZuhG seems to be thriving following Nichols’ move. Their touring capacity has now easily stretched up the Oregon coast and even seeps a little bit into Washington, where they say they’d like to frequent more often.

They haven’t stopped making music, either. ZuhG is set to release their sixth studio album, Field Trip, through a CD release party at Harlow’s on March 14, 2015. They’ll also be touring starting in Sacramento and heading all the way through to Seattle.

Before they could do all that, though, ZuhG had one final mission for February: Saving Private Bryan from his Oregon beachside bliss, and bringing him back to Sacramento to put the final touches on their album via 10 hours of studio mixing and mastering—which Nichols says is about 96 percent done by now.

So the band set out on their mission. But instead of simply going to Oregon and coming right back (like most of us non-musicians would do) ZuhG took a few detours along the way and decided to embark on an unannounced, unnamed spur-of-the-moment mini tour.

“We didn’t name it because it’s so short,” Nichols says of their brief musical excursion. “Usually we’ll make a poster and give it a little name, you know?”

“The Pick-Up-Bryan Tour,” bandmate and fellow guitarist JR Halliday interjects. “We pretty much went to pick him up, we come back and then we go to the studio.”

Fresh off of stops in Eugene, Oregon and Arcata, California, ZuhG played their last show at the Powerhouse Pub in Folsom on Feb. 21, 2015, testing some of their newer songs on the dance-prone audience and even jamming out with a local violinist during their set, before having to wake up early the next morning and hit the Pus Cavern Studios for some final tweaks.

Submerge was able to catch up with Nichols and Halliday before their studio session that Sunday morning to ask them everything we possibly could about Field Trip, their upcoming tour, their newest songs and where ZuhG plans to go from here.

Why did you decide to name your new album Field Trip?
JR Halliday: Just going out on tour, you know? It’s like a field trip where you go to school and you get on the bus and you go off on a little adventure. It’s like little field trips. You know, it’s kind of what we do.
Bryan Nichols: I forget who said let’s make it that. But we were all like, yeah. Because like you said, we go on all our little trips and sometimes our tours are like two weeks long, so we almost don’t call them tours—we just call them trips. It’s like a field trip. Yeah, it’s very much so what we’re doing. You know what I mean? We’re like a group of friends, getting in our bus and going on a field trip. Like, “Let’s go to Eugene, let’s go to Arcata, let’s go to Seattle.”

I know you guys have a song called “The Hits” on your new album, which is about people requesting for you to play hit songs and famous covers. How did that song come about?
BN: So, I live in Oregon on the coast, you know, when we’re not touring. And I play this little restaurant gig a lot on the weekends, just in the corner of a restaurant. Like, people don’t really care I’m playing—I’m just kind of background noise, you know? But so often people will come up and to me and be like, “Hey, do you know any…” and I get the most ridiculous requests. Like Jimmy Buffett. “You know any Jimmy Buffett?” Or, “You know any AC/DC?” And some girl’s like, “You know some Bruno Mars? Or Adele?” Just ridiculous stuff that I wouldn’t sing. It’s like, “Yes, of course I’ve heard of that person before. But no, I’m not going to play an AC/DC song in this restaurant right now.” Nor do I know it… So it’s just a goofy song about that.

Bryan, how has your move to Oregon affected the band’s dynamic, if at all?
BN: I actually think this is working out better. I used to own a store in Sacramento called the ZuhG Life Store. And so after that store closed and just where I was in my life. I felt like I could finally move away and still make the band happen. You know? I would never leave until I felt like that—I mean, the members that we had and the way that we’d get down. So I saw my opportunity to move to the Oregon coast. I got a beach hut… I got lucky in a small little Oregon coastal town and I’m literally on the beach. It’s cool because now it’s opened up this whole realm of us playing in Eugene constantly and Portland and Seattle—just Oregon in general. We’ve just been tearing up Oregon lately as opposed to in the past, we were always going to San Diego and Hermosa Beach. We’re making our way up the coast a lot more, like every tour. So it’s cool because a lot of people when I was first moving there were like, ‘Aw, is the band breaking up?’ And I’m like, “No. Our band is just going to be playing more.”

So if anything, maybe the move up to Oregon has helped the band in some ways.
BN: I would say it’s broadened our reach. You know what I mean? We’re playing in other towns, and it’s nice.

I noticed from last night’s show that the band will just keep jamming sometimes, even if the original song is shorter. How much of a live set is pre-planned and how much is improvised like that?
BN: I mean, there’s definitely structure to some of the songs. Like, “Here comes Bryan singing a verse, or here comes a chorus.” But the bridges or the solos, who knows how long they’re going to be? You know? If Andre’s still shredding and he’s got his face on, we know not to go to the next part yet ‘cause he’s still in the middle of it. So yeah, there’s a lot of improv going on. But there’s also structure.

How’s it been after the ZuhG Life Store closed down? Do you miss it?
BN: I like to call it first and foremost a local music store. Like, we had a whole wall of just bands from Sacramento. So we were like a big merchant booth for that. And then it grew into music lessons and local art and shows in front of the store and local clothing companies. So local anything, you know? It was fun. I don’t regret it at all. I never thought I would own a store, and then an opportunity just kind of fell on my lap [and] I didn’t want to pass it up. It was great for the band, too. I like to think so many people in Sacramento just kind of know what ZuhG is or have heard of it because of that store… I had a lot of band members working there and helping out. It was demanding. You know, we were open damn near every day, during the mall hours we had to be open. So we only had a couple days and holidays [off]. It was super fun, and to see it go is sad, but I don’t miss owning a store. Although, I’ll drive by my Oregon coast town and see some building for rent or something. I’m always kind of like, “Hmm, I wonder how much that is.” I’m always kind of intrigued.

Is it possible that another ZuhG store could open up again, either here or in Oregon?
BN: It’s possible one day. I don’t have any plans right now, but I always think about it. And I got some friends who’d wanna do it too—like work there and sell their art and whatnot.
JH: It was very time-consuming, you know? We couldn’t just leave on tour. We had to make sure the store was covered. He was constantly on the phone talking to someone about some random thing for the store.

So, are you saying you’re happy that it closed down?
JH: I personally am. But I didn’t work there.
BN: Yeah, you didn’t do shit.
JH: I was like moral support. I’d show up, make an appearance.

Sounds like you’re more freed up to focus on your music.
BN: Yeah, it was definitely hard. Imagine going on a month-long tour and finding somebody to watch the store the whole time. It definitely frees up some time.

So what’s next for you guys? What’s your next move after this album, and where do you want to take ZuhG in the long run?
BN: Well, we’re always really excited about the festival scene. And we’ve playing a lot of festivals every time the time comes around. So we always focus on playing bigger and more festivals. That’s always it.

Do you see ZuhG going on a nationwide tour at some point?
JH: Absolutely.
BN: We have, and we’re going to again in October.
JH: Yeah, we’re going to Hawaii in August. So we just got five tickets.

Do you aim to be a touring band for the rest of your musical careers?
BN: Yeah. Bigger and better tours, always and constantly. The way I see it, for us to get bigger and go up to the next level, I want to go on tour with a band bigger than us and open for them every night. So I try to position ourselves to where we get to open for those bands, and one of these days one of those bands will be like, “Hey, I like you guys. You should come on tour with us.” I feel like that happens a lot. So that’s what I always try to do as far as getting to the next level. I try to find those opportunities for us, and hopefully it’ll work out.

Would you like ZuhG to achieve mainstream success and be radio-friendly one day?
JH: I think active would be a better word. Even if we’re making a little bit of money or no money, we’re still going to be doing it. We’ll stay play in our band and [ride] in our bus—whatever we have to get us from point A to point B.

Are you guys able to make a decent living doing music full-time?
BN: I got a beach house, man. We’re not rich, but you know.
JH: We all do our own thing, you know, our own little hustle to make ends meet as well…We don’t just rely on ZuhG to make our money and all that. At least us two.

So does ZuhG already have another project on its mind?
JH: Oh yeah. I’m already brewing up ideas upstairs. [Bryan’s] already got a bunch of songs that have been put on the table. But we gotta finish this one first. We started Field Trip before we came out with Calm and Clear.

Seriously?
BN: We had a drummer bail out. When we were recording Field Trip, one of our drummers quit. So then it just kind of turned into, “Let’s record an acoustic album with me and JR and our homegirl singer Jesi Naomi.” That’s basically all that’s on that album Calm and Clear. So we came out with that album because a drummer quit and we had all these acoustic songs.

I guess it’ll feel good to get this one out of the way then, huh?
BN: It’s been an idea for a long time, yeah.

Don’t miss the release party of Field Trip at Harlow’s on Saturday, March 14, 2015. Groovincible and Dank Ocean will be joining ZuhG for the 10 p.m. show. $10 cover, 21-and-over.

Local rock act The Three Way looks to make noise on the Sacramento scene with the release of its debut album

It should have been difficult to catch up with a band with this much momentum.

Since their current lineup solidified back in January 2012, The Three Way has wasted no time in cutting broad swathes of dirty rock ‘n’ roll through the regional scene, from the downtown grid to Placerville and beyond. They’ve incited spontaneous table-dancing at sandwich shops in Rocklin, jammed in the midst of bar-fights in Portland, Ore., and have blown out more than one sound system along the way. Meanwhile, they’ve found the time to record a four-track EP (punchily titled Fourplay), an entertaining music video, and now a full-length album.

Luckily for me, I don’t have to crowd surf to get to these guys today. It’s a balmy Sunday at the tail end of March, optimal cafe weather, and The Three Way and I are planning to make an afternoon out of it. We end up at a sidewalk table outside of Crepeville on L Street, enjoying a few lazy sips of coffee, carrot juice and chamomile tea before drifting into our little chat.

To my right is Andrew Mundy, the drummer of the group. We toast with our matching carrot/orange blends before he upgrades to an IPA. Across from me is Joel Case, who currently supplies bass, vocals and occasional piano. On the left is Justin Forcione, lead vocalist/guitar, who’s reclining in his chair, wearing a leather jacket and bandana. He initially strikes me as a young Sons of Anarchy type, and as it turns out, he often gets around by motorcycle. I ask him what it’s been like to ride it in the hard rain we’ve been having. I imagine it feels like being the Terminator; he admits it kind of sucks. That’s the kind of impression I get about these guys—they’re all very down to earth, but aren’t shy from being badasses as part of their regular routine. Whether it’s Case’s knowledge of six or more instruments, or the fact that Mundy laid down the drum tracks for their first EP with a broken collarbone, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I want to know more about the strange beast that is The Three Way.

The band’s story dates back to early 2011, when Forcione and Case were regular faces at the House of Hits in Arden, a 24-hour rehearsal facility for local musicians to practice, trade talent, and rock into the wee hours. The two clicked musically when Micah, a mutual friend in the insomniac milieu, began inviting them to jam sessions.

“Most of the people he recruited were eccentrics,” recalls Case. “One of them played a homemade instrument consisting of frying pans and drinking glasses. But one day, he said he met a guitarist named Justin. After he mentioned him a few more times, we scheduled a jam, followed by another, and another. They were great sessions. I knew instantly that I would love for it to become a project, although it wasn’t ripe yet.”

Some of this ripening, oddly enough, took place in a vineyard. Between the first suggestion of the project and the group’s first actual gig in March 2012, frontman Forcione spent eight months working on a grape harvest at a winery in Virginia, contending with the heat and the hornets with “stingers as big as horseneedles.”

When Forcione returned, the The Three Way hit the ground running, and after the first drummer departed the group following their inaugural performance, Mundy, who had been an audience member, was eager to join.

“It’s the band I’ve been waiting for,” he remembers, “…that stripped down rock ‘n’ roll feel that’s so open and allows for everyone to let their style of playing show through.”

Since then, the group has been unstoppable, popping up at Marilyn’s on K, Starlite Lounge and Ace of Spades, capturing new fans with every gig. They’ve joined up with members of ZuhG’s “cosmic family” for touring and festivals, and recorded their latest work with the collective’s J.R Halliday.

The group has played shows in the ZuhG Life store that once graced the Downtown Plaza. As they recall, that gig was beset by a plague of mall-cops with noise complaints. The band even blew out an entire circuit board at the annual ZuhGFest. As it turns out, their light, carefree attitudes may gel with the family’s laid-back vibe, but their music is another matter altogether.

The Fourplay EP brims with this brand of blow-the-doors-off energy. Tracks like “Crazy Legs” and “Electric Tambourine” burst with southern-inflected rock styles, hard folk and even trace elements of traditional jazz. Their raw power (and widening array of influences) continues throughout their new material, where everything from swing (“When You Get Tired”), power pop (“Something Better”) and dirty blues rock (“Slow Girl”) gets into the mix.

I begin to ask about this undercurrent of hybridization running through their undeniably hard-rock ethos. As Forcione explains it, everything goes back to the “three”: “Everything is three ways,” he says.

Every member brings something substantially different to the table. For himself, Forcione hits on the concept of the power trio as his part of The Three Way vision: classic groups like Primus, ZZ Top and even The Police that can create magic with the perfect balance of energies. Add in a healthy addiction to the blues and outlaw country artists like Johnny Cash, and you get a sense of this rip-snorting side to the group.

Mundy’s hard-hitting style is informed by his love of punk (The Misfits, Bad Religion, Alkaline Trio) and other extreme genres, and The Three Way affords him the chance to deploy some of these styles while showcasing his versatility. He also showcases a pretty impressive rock attitude. For the EP, he talks about having to take his arm out of a sling before every recording session, as if it were some sort of holstered weapon rather than a broken appendage.

For Joel Case, the musical DNA takes even sharper turns. He was raised on jazz, aided by a beatnik father who had lived through the ‘60s Haight scene in San Francisco and, with his mother, formed a household that was indispensable for the musically inclined Joel. Upright piano, clarinet, saxophone, flute, guitar, ukulele were always on hand. When asked if he brought some of this dense, Charlie Parker/Art Tatum-infused background to his current act, he remarked, “I think I bring the mentality of a jazz musician, if not the sound. I love it when Andrew and I find exactly the right beat… I watch him as closely as if we were in a jazz rhythm section together.”

With this wealth of ideas and stylistic divergence between the three, it’s amazing they can create music with such a powerful cohesion. The explanation? “We vibe alot,” Case says. The others nod in unspoken agreement.

For The Three Way’s album party on April 12, 2014, Case plans to join one of the opening acts, playing jazz piano accompanied by standup bass and drums in order to showcase his love of (and expertise in) the genre, and to provide a killer warm-up for the explosive set to come.

While all three seem content for the time to glean some well-deserved R&R in the breezy café setting, the conversational switch to the release gig stirs up a renewed excitement. “This show’s gonna be the shit man,” beams Forcione. “We’re pulling out all the punches. We’re playing some old, some new and maybe some sneak peaks to the next album after this one.”

The group had mentioned an eagerness to move ahead with recording some of the many new ideas that bode well for their future release. The three are all on a collective head-trip of pure rock ‘n’ roll creation, and the April 12 event represents another significant milestone in getting to that promised land.

“You can probably expect me to drop a few sticks, possibly spill a couple beers, and you can definitely expect to have a great time,” Mundy says of what to expect at the show. One more thing newcomers can expect: The chance to see a warm, welcoming and ambitious local group that keep their horizons far ahead, and their limits far behind.

Check out The Three Way’s release show at Midtown BarFly on April 12, 2014. They’ll be accompanied by the eclectic, funk-inclined Island of Black and White, blues/country purveyors The Soul Shine Band, Hans Eberbach and an array of other local talents. The price of admission ($10) will also get you a copy of the album.

A quick shout-out and congrats are in order for our hard-working friends at the ZuhG Life Store in the Downtown Plaza. They will be celebrating their second anniversary of selling local music, art, clothing and more with a free, all-ages concert outside the store on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 starting at noon. Performing will be Dylan Crawford, Awkward Lemon, JR Halliday, Michael Tobias, The Nickel Slots and Adrian Bellue. There will be sales inside the store and plenty of friends and family hanging out having a good ol’ time. The after-party will go down that night at Pour House starting at 9 p.m. and will see more live performances by Jesi Naomi, Brian Rogers, The Old Screen Door, Mac Russ and more. That event is 21-and-over and will be $7 at the door. For more information on the store, visit http://www.facebook.com/zuhglife.

Mall walkers had reason to pause during their power walks last Sunday at the Westfield Mall. And no, it wasn’t to watch Santa Claus taking photos with crying babies or ice skaters taking falls at the rink. They paused to see the first Non-Drummer Drum-Off. The event is exactly what its name implies, people attempting to drum like Taylor Hawkins from Foo Fighters but they end up sounding like Animal from The Muppets. In fact, the only qualification of the drum-off was that you were supposed to suck. Even the Facebook event page said if someone was caught practicing before the show, then they would have been automatically disqualified.

Just like American Idol, the non-drummers had to face judges, listen to a sarcastic host and battle to win a prize. The eager non-drummers were going head-to-head for a chance to win a new drum set. At around 3 p.m., a small crowd gathered around a mini stage and bleachers on the second floor of K Street mall in Downtown Plaza that stood in-between the retail stores Express and ZuhG Life (organizers and sponsors of the event). When the show got rolling, most of the audience members ended up being random holiday shoppers, curious workers, or mall walkers who wanted to see what all of the ruckus was about.

The judges, including Matt Mingus from Dance Gavin Dance and Kevin Martinez from Tha Dirt Feeling, had to rate the non-drummers on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest) and on “charisma and performance.”

The bad drumming started off with Charleeé Wheeler from the local band ZuhG and his attempt to hit the drums like a rock star. Most of the contestants were familiar faces because they were from local bands or people who are active in the Sacramento community, such as Steph Rodriguez from Sacramento News & Review, Alexander Ayers from Prieta, a local photographer named Dennis, Michael Sean Flanagan, Dean Haakenson from Be Brave Bold Robot (who accidentally broke a drum stick while playing) and even our own Jonathan Carabba gave his shot behind the drums. After almost every performance, the host of the event (Blake Abbey from Musical Charis) would make funny, sarcastic remarks about their performance such as, “It’s so bad I want it to keep going,” or, “It wasn’t even entertaining to watch.” After Bryan Nichols, owner of the ZuhG Life store, gave his all playing the foreign instrument, Blake said, “I would rather listen to a whole Nickelback album than listen to that again.” Although the show was not exclusively awkward drumming, the audience members got to enjoy riffs from the professionals like Matt Mingus.

But the show stopper went to a small audience member who was eager to get a whack at the drums. When Blake asked if anyone from the audience would like to drum off, a young boy named Liam not only raised his hand to volunteer but stood up on the bleachers to be seen and heard. After he pulled a rampage behind the drums, he received a perfect score from the judges and huge cheers from the audience. And every time the host would mention his name he would stand on top of the bleachers and give an arm wave of victory. When he found out that he won the contest, he told his proud mom that they are going to need a “bigger truck” to carry his new gift home. Although little Liam arrived as a casual mall visitor, he left as a drumming champion.

Dean Haakenson

Wes Davis

The Non-Drummer Drum Off
Westfield Downtown Plaza Mall, Sacramento – Sunday, December 4, 2011

Jesi Naomi

Steph Rodriguez

Dennis “the photographer”

Jonathan Carabba

Doug Riggs

Michael Sean Flanagan

Alexander Ayers

Liam

Blake Abbey

Matt Mingus

Jesi Naomi finishes up her first album with The Trippers

For Jesi Naomi, energy is everything. If you focus your energy on the things you desire, and release that energy out into the world, you will attract the things you want in life.

So once she had her mind set on playing music back in 2009, she took some advice from her aunt. She began telling everyone she knew that she was going to become a musician.

Next thing you know, the singer/songwriter was singing ballads at Capitol Garage. Then she met local indie band Bell Boys at Fox and Goose downtown during an open mic night, and they helped her learn the tricks of self-promotion. Later she met local jam band ZuhG, of which she is now a member.

When Naomi is playing solo, ZuhG members JR Halliday, Bryan Nichols and Kevin Martinez comprise her backup band, altogether as Jesi Naomi and the Trippers. In March she will go on a two-month “For the Love of Music” tour, performing both in ZuhG and as a solo artist.

Two years into the music scene, the 24-year-old is now preparing for Jesi Naomi and the Trippers’ debut album, Earplay, to be released in January.

Earplay is seven tracks of blues and soul combined with psychedelic nuances and djembe, saxophone and ukulele thrown into the mix. It was recorded in the span of around three months by Joe Johnston at Pus Cavern.

The album opens with “Kosen Rufu,” which is the title of both the intro and outro tracks. It is also a guiding theme of the album. Broadly defined, it is world peace through individual happiness, a concept stemming from Buddhism. As a practicing Nichiren Buddhist, this concept is paramount for Naomi.

“[Kosen Rufu] is world peace by making each person have their individual peace,” she explains.

Certainly this applies to the song “Change Train,” which Naomi wrote for her mother, who was an alcoholic.

Her mother’s attention was constantly split between her children and the bottle, and Naomi remembers thinking, “If I write this song, I want her to find her change train. If I sing this song as many times as I can, she’ll get better.”

A year later, after performing the song show after show, her mom told her she had gone sober.

Though school had never been Naomi’s thing, it is what brought the Chico, Calif., native here to Sacramento. Naomi thought she was going to make music videos for a living. She was enrolled at Sacramento State as a media/marketing major.

Yet reading, comprehension, spelling, memorizing was the sort of thing she felt detached from. Whenever she hit a burn out point, she would think to herself, “Forget this. I’m gonna go paint.” Up to this point, painting had been her artistic release.

But somewhere along the way she discovered the pianos in the music rooms at school. Then a guy by the name of Richard Martin started listening in on her practicing piano and pushed her to learn scales.

“That’s where it all started,” she remembers. “I just needed a little direction.”

That Christmas her younger brother taught her how to play the guitar, something she thought she would never be able to do, mostly because the thought of memorization intimidated her. But memory is just a muscle, she can now say with confidence, and what’s more important than memorization is feeling the music. And she has come to realize that she’s got music coursing through her veins.

“Music is in my blood,” she says earnestly.

You could say Naomi is following in her father’s footsteps. He played drums in a band called Pole Cats back in the day and went on tour when she was still in her mother’s belly. Though he’s no longer in a band, he played drums on the track “Hold Me Nice” on Earplay. It is the first song Naomi ever wrote, back when she was learning how to play piano.

She often catches people by surprise when she reminds them that it’s only been two years since she started playing music.

“There’s no better way to learn than to just get thrown into the deep end and hope to swim,” she laughs.

Yet when she is performing it is as though she’s been a musician on a stage all her life, as though that is where she is meant to be. She wields a sense of confidence and power that is hard to come by in a performer.

Offstage Naomi is warm and easygoing. Sitting in the practice space behind the ZuhG Life store, she sips on Earl Grey tea and speaks effortlessly about her music in a conversation that lasts a good 45 minutes. She wears an enchanting smile on her face and responds coolly in a bluesy tone.

Make no mistake that this is a woman with self-respect.

In a way, Naomi says, women have it easier in the music world because they are more marketable. The notion is that they just have to look good.

“That in turn makes it harder for a woman to really put out her true soul,” she says.

“I’m not going to go up there and wear some skanky outfit and not know what I’m singing,” she continues. “I want the music to shine, that’s pure beauty to me.”

Still, she’s been approached by the occasional creep for the wrong reasons.

There was one, she recalls, who made himself out to be the big-time producer who would get her work noticed.

“I thought I was going in to make a demo tape, [but] it wasn’t like that,” she says. “Thank God my mom raised me to know about those kinds of things.”

She went her separate way, with her mind in one place. It’s all for the love of music.

And despite the few exceptions, Naomi says she’s received a wealth of support from her male colleagues.

“I feel like I get a lot of respect being a [female musician], especially if I respect myself,” she says.

If that is the energy Naomi puts out into the universe, certainly that’s what she’ll receive.

Jesi Naomi and the Trippers will be putting forth positive energy at Marilyn’s on K Jan. 7, 2012 when they celebrate the release of Earplay, a seven-song EP. There will be a $10 cover, which will include a copy of the CD. Also playing will be Brad Relf, The Bell Boys, James Cavern and Monkey Flower. Show starts at 8 p.m.

The 2011 Submerge Holiday Gift Guide

By Submerge Staff

Every year it happens: the holidays come and your shopping list grows and grows. You’ve got your family, friends, significant others, co-workers and more, all equally deserving of a thoughtful, cool and unique gift from you. Whether you’re short on ideas or just looking for some inspiration, Submerge is here to help. We’re proud to introduce our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide! We’ve got all sorts of neat stuff in here; everything from Spy ski/snowboard goggles designed by local artist Skinner to a handmade necklace by Rad Geometry made with local salvaged wood. Need something for mom? Check out the Dropp Bowl by Menu, available at Lumens. It’s a bowl that looks like an action-suspended splash of paint. How clever! How about something for your dad, uncle, boyfriend/husband or anyone else who’s hopped on the San Francisco 49ers bandwagon? Check out the 49ers Reyn Spooner Hawaiian Shirt (there’s Oakland Raiders ones too), available at Swanberg’s for Men. It doesn’t matter whether you give a little or give a lot, it only matters that you show you care.

These stylish plates from Mexico by artist Abraham Linden are available at Spanglish Arte and would look great either on a wall or dinner table. Prices range from $29—$39, sets available.

This handmade salvaged wood necklace by Shane Bellmer of Rad Geometry, available at Bows and Arrows for $32, would look great on your wife, girlfriend or, if you have a hip mom, on her too. Every Rad Geometry piece is unique, just like every woman in your life.

Ski resorts are already starting to open, and it’s supposed to be another La Niña type winter, which means snow. Lots of snow. (Editor’s note: where the hell are you, snow?!?) To look extra fly on the hill this year, get your hands on the Spy Trevor Goggles designed by local artist Skinner, available for special order at Ground Zero Clothing and Boardshop locations for around $80.

Make any kitchen counter look cooler instantly with the Dropp Bowl by Menu, available at Lumens in various colors for $65.

Help the baby-bearing couples on your list keep their little nugget looking clean and professional with the Business Time Onesie from Sacramento-based Ana Apple Designs, available at Never Felt Better Vegan Shop for $28.

The music festival enthusiast on your list will surely appreciate this Roll Up Fleece Lawn Blanket, available for $15 through locally based website Festivalfunkjunk.com. Whether they’re tired at Treasure Island or partied out at Outside Lands, they’ll be happy to lay their heads down on this.

Cute folk-art mirrors from Spanglish Arte would look great hanging from a Christmas tree or on a bathroom wall. Made in Mexico from recycled aluminum, prices range from $12—$36.

Bay-Area NFL teams are kicking ass this year, so help your dad or uncle or husband/boyfriend look like a true fan with these San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders Reyn Spooner Hawaiian Shirts, available at Swanberg’s for Men for $73.

Two local boys, Brian Lee and Chad Nelson, needed a way to tame their wild mustaches and so Cowboy Comb was born. Packaged in a cardboard matchbox style case, this bad boy can handle any beard or ‘stache you throw at it. It’s available in pink for the ladies, too, and is great for bangs, flat ironing and more. Available at Anthony’s Barber Shop for just $5. Yeehaw!

You might need to learn how to tell time again with these uber-stylish Nooka Watches, available at Legacy Boutique, but at least you’ll look really cool doing it. Sleek, minimal, hip, unique and intuitive, these watches make a statement without flashy bling. Prices range from $100—$150.

Delightfully soft and knit in 100-percent vegan bamboo yarn, the Fujita Circle Scarf available for $70 at Never Felt Better Vegan Shop will keep you (or someone on your shopping list) warm and cozy all winter long. The fabric is double layered and cabled on both sides, a sturdy scarf indeed.

Music is the best gift, and it’s even better when it comes from local artists’ CDs available at ZuhG Life Store. Jam-y and groovy? Try Arden Park Roots’ Pipe Dreams or ZuhG’s Free Love. Sing-along? Try Musical Charis’ Ace of Space. Hip-hop, metal, pop–they’ve got it all. It’s the best representation of regional music available on shelves anywhere in town.

Your parents will love it, your friends will love it: the Menu Wine Decanter is simple and sleek. It has a broad base to ensure proper aeration and a precision pouring lip to avoid unsightly drips. Available for $80 at Lumens.

This vintage ‘70s brass and bone carved bangle, complete with crosshatch and starburst carvings, is available for just $13 through Bows and Arrows’ Etsy site. Although this piece is one-of-a-kind, they have other vintage bangles as well.

Cool one-of-a-kind wallets by Kitten Camaro are a great gift idea. And for just $14 available at Never Felt Better Vegan Shop, they are easy on the pocket book, or, uh, wallet.

A couple great Sacramento shops are celebrating their first anniversaries soon and deserve a shout-out: Heart Clothing Boutique, located at 1903 Capitol Avenue, will celebrate their one-year on Oct. 8 from 3 to 10 p.m. with a fashion show, live music, a free photo booth, raffle prizes and more; and ZuhG Life Store, located upstairs at the Westfield Downtown Plaza Mall, will celebrate their one-year with a show at Harlow’s on Nov. 12 featuring Monkey Flower and, of course, ZuhG.

-J. Carabba

J*Ras of SouLifted strikes out on his own with City of Trees

At first glance, J*Ras is a tall, friendly and relaxed looking guy with long brown dreadlocks. But after meeting him, you quickly learn he is a hardworking musician who takes on the roles of DJ, singer, rapper, multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter, husband and father. The hip-hop and reggae lover from SouLifted who has been in the music industry for more than a decade is ready to unleash his first solo album, City of Trees.

Meeting up with him downtown at the ZuhG Life Store seemed like the perfect place to get to know J*Ras, since we were surrounded by music and art by local artists.

Your new album is City of Trees. I’m guessing that it’s about Sacramento?
Yeah, it’s a reference to Sacramento. That’s one of the tracks on the album… It just has to do with Sacramento kind of being overlooked and it’s really a good place to be. I don’t live in Sac right now. I moved to Grass Valley up in the hills. But I was born in Sac, went to Sacramento State, and I got to show love for Sacramento.

You are a very talented guy: a vocalist, a DJ, rapper, producer, basically everything. Did you have all of those roles with your new album?
Yeah, in the new album, I produced the whole album and I play the majority of instruments. There are guests from SouLifted: Brian Fleshman helped to produce some of the tunes, Steven Leonard played some of the guitar and bass. So, we did add some those elements from SouLifted. But I played pretty much everything on all of the tunes, even turntables. [I] do a lot of the vocals, besides some of the backing vocals. And there are some other guests on the album, including Prezident Brown, who is one of my favorite reggae artists, Soulmedic and Jahworks the Revolutionary. We do have a few guests on there but mainly this is just something that I’ve been working on for the last couple of years.

Do you have a certain theme that you are going for in the album, a certain meaning behind the lyrics?
We’ve always carried a positive message in the music. And with SouLifted, we’ve always had the music to lift you up. It’s conscious music with a message. It’s not just about the things that you normally hear in hip-hop music or even reggae. It’s things that you’re going through and how we struggle and how we overcome those things. One of the songs is called “Champ for Life,” and it’s really just a reflection of life and what’s got me here now. It kind of tells a story of where I’m at now. I guess the theme still would be conscious music that does have a message, a positive message for the people.

Do you have a target audience?
What I’ve always liked is that at our shows we always get people dancing. Whether they’re little kids that are 2 years old or the 80-year-old grandmas. And that’s what it’s all about, is getting the people involved. I work with the Auburn Hip-hop Congress as well, and it’s all about trying to help with the youth and giving the youth positive music that they can listen to. Not just the hip-hop that they’re hearing on the radio or the things that are out there easily accessible for them. It’s about giving them something with a message. Mainly our majority of listeners and my majority of listeners are college aged, a little bit of older. But the music is for everyone for sure.

What were some of the challenges working on your solo album–going from a big band to just you?
One of the main challenges is doing it myself and being so critical of my own music. Instead of being able to have that input from everybody to make it that collected thing. But that’s also given me the freedom to make it exactly how I want it. So some of those challenges also become strengths of the album. Mixing and mastering, just some of those fine tuning things, were probably the hardest challenges. It was so hard for me to be happy for where the album was, making it perfect.

What made you want to work on your own album?
I’ve played in multiple bands from Heart Life and Soul to SouLifted. I’ve always written my own music, and I have so many songs that haven’t been recorded because I focus so much energy on the band… I love that collective energy of the people when we unite. It’s just stronger and I love it, so really just kind of realizing where I am now and seeing what I need to put some energy into this solo album so I could really get it out there. I’ve been doing a lot more solo shows myself touring more and just trying to get the music out there. I knew that this was the next logical step in the progression. And having the ability to work with some of these reggae artists and other artists that I aspire to work with on my solo stuff [has] kind helped me push it and get the album out.

Do you see more solo work for your future?
Absolutely, we have a lot of projects going on, which is great and we are doing a lot of collaborations. Right now, I’m working on an album with Soulmedic and a lot of music with him. He is a great reggae artist out of the Nevada City area and Hawaii–he is kind of half and half. I’m also doing a tour with some of the artists from Thizz Nation, which is kind of funny, because it’s totally anti what our music is about. But they’re trying to bring that consciousness and educate some of the people and their audience. We got to try and reach every target audience we can. So, I’ll definitely be pretty busy doing some solo work, but I also hope to include some more SouLifted shows. And doing a lot of collaborations with artists, a lot of hip-hop artists in Sacramento and working with the Auburn Hip-Hop Congress right now a lot too.

I’ve read that you have been performing since 1999… over 10 years!
Yeah, that’s when I actually threw my first show. I was 15 years old and I got approached because we had been doing parties, where we just pull out in the woods and set up our turntables and generator. And so the word got out. We had a little hip-hop crew when I was still in high school and one of the local bars actually asked us to throw a show and that was in May in 1999. That was the first show that I threw myself, made the flier and all that, cutting stuff out, old school. It’s come a long way since then and we put a lot into it. I’m real happy with where I’m at now and where it’s moving along.

What is the best part of performing live?
The energy from the people. Just the feeling that I get from performing, it’s not like anything else. I know I’m meant to be doing that when I’m up there… And I love getting the people involved and the energy and getting that love back from all of the love that you put into the music.

J*Ras will celebrate the release of his solo album City of Trees at Sol Collective on April 29, 2011. Lady Grace, Task1ne and many others will also be on-hand. Expect special guests and some big surprises. The show is all-ages and gets underway at 8 p.m.