Music

The first track on Fake It’s new EP, The Family Name, starts out with something you wouldn’t expect: a somber, sobering piano instrumental. It’s a reflective, moody piece you’d expect to hear on someone’s “rainy day sounds” playlist on Spotify, not coming from a group of 20-somethings making “guitar-based rock…

Alice Bag remembers her very first performance with The Bags—one of the first punk bands to emerge from the Los Angeles area—which she co-founded and fronted. During my recent interview with the legend, she reminisced about how this performance helped define how she would decide to live the rest of…

With a dash of sugar, a sprinkle of spice and a hearty mix of classic rock and punk, Japan gave rise to the bubblegum pop trio Shonen Knife in 1981. The all-female band from Osaka performs in stage costumes, and has always been unusual; but despite the group’s peculiarity and…

The Pressure Lounge, a local “modular” funk band whose shifting lineup churns out a unique mix of hip-hop, punk, pop and, of course, funk, will be releasing their debut EP and hosting a release show at the MOMO Lounge (2708 J St). Their frontman, Joshua Krage, formed the band in…

I felt a sense of dread in the hot summer air on the drive out to Lincoln’s Thunder Valley on a recent Sunday afternoon. On this drive, troubling thoughts of the recent mass shootings that had taken place in our nation swirled. I should have been filled with anticipation because…

What used to be an old fruit-packing warehouse on the outskirts of Mansion Flats in Midtown Sacramento has over the last couple years transformed into one of our city’s most vital hubs for experimental music and art events called The Red Museum. Located at 212 15th Street, The Red Museum…

**These photos first appeared in print on page 29 of issue #297 (July 31 – Aug. 14, 2019)**

The never-ending workday drudgery of 9-to-5 gets old fast, especially in this Sacramento heat. So when work is a slog, the sun won’t seem to let up and you’re in need of a pick-me-up, Two Rivers Cider Company (4311 Attawa Ave., Sacramento) has the perfect thirst-quenching, humpday refresher: Reggae Wednesdays….

You can always tell when an artist has studied jazz, even if their current output is as far away from the genre as can be. Seminal punks Bad Brains’ tracks, for instance, are usually prime examples of that classic, hardcore sound. Every so often, though, they’ll end the tracks with…

Ask any young band only a few years into their career to brainstorm the end-all fantasy scenario of classic rock gods with whom to share the stage, and the Stones would likely top the list of contenders. It’s a fantasy made real for Vista Kicks, four childhood friends from Roseville…