It’s an immediate sensation the first time you listen to “One More Time” by Daft Punk. Past the hype, past the ubiquity of the song and past the 15 years since, there’s a feeling in the song of escapism: that the past was solely composed of these never-ending nights of sweat-soaked revelry, and the future is anything you want it to be. Tim Bernhardt of German house band, Satin Jackets, wears the comparison to that iconic French band proudly, and acknowledges that the artistic similarities go deeper than a preference for tasty vibes and on-stage masks.
“Daft Punk in the mid- to late ‘90s had a huge impact on anyone who listened to house music back then,” Bernhardt says. “Kids didn’t have the smartphones to take video or get texts saying, ‘Oh there’s another show here or there.’ Back then it was simpler in a way and frankly they were the best parties I’d ever seen. We just partied the hell out of it.”
It’s nearly impossible to listen to Satin Jackets’ disco and funk-tinged lead single, “You Make Me Feel Good,” without reminiscing about some bygone romance or watching a summer sunset with some good friends. This is partially due to the brilliant guest vocals done by Los Angeles band Scavenger Hunt, but the smooth and crisp production behind it is really what makes you want to party the hell out of it, like it’s 1999 all over again.
This seems to be the international consensus as Satin Jackets has racked up nearly 10 million plays on Spotify and has attracted the attention of Majestic Casual and Hype Machine. The band is gearing up for a tour of the United States and Mexico in May on the strength of their debut album Panorama Pacifico, but Bernhardt still seems surprised by the single’s success.
“People email me all the time talking about where they listen to it: jogging at the beach, working out, driving, studying,” Bernhardt says. “The song really touches them, it does its job. It makes them feel good.”
Bernhardt started Satin Jackets about five years ago as a side project from his normal producing duties. He began to receive some booking inquiries for various shows, so he reached out to a good friend of his, Den Ishu, to handle the live performances. Bernhardt writes the music and Ishu puts the song stems into the Ableton mixing software, takes along some synthesizers and other effects, and rearranges them all for the club while performing in the special “Mr. Satin Jackets” mask.
“People get closer, marveling at the character in the mask and it creates this new level of relationship between the audience and the performance,” Bernhardt says. “It’s not about being the star or Dennis or Tim, it’s about the music.”
The anonymity also allows Bernhardt some small perks like not being hassled by fans, and even being able to go to his own shows unnoticed.
“Sometimes I go incognito. I mingle with the crowd and no one even knows. I can be a part of it without the spotlight on me. It’s something I really enjoy doing,” Bernhardt says.
For Bernhardt, it’s always just been about making the music he wants to make—no touring, no fame, just the opportunity to share what he loves to do. And what he loves to do is make some dance hall bangers with shimmering, beautiful pop hooks.
Beyond the Daft Punk comparison, Bernhardt points to most of the ‘80s and ‘90s German deep house scene as an influence on his music. Producers like Trevor Horn and labels like Strictly Rhythm and Henry Street Music inspired him to create this style of music and so now he’s meticulous about paying homage to his idols in just the right way.
Bernhardt will take anywhere from weeks to months buffing certain tracks to a glistening sheen: the beats, mixing, arrangement, even the vocal hooks that might be coming from the other side of the world. It’s a painstaking process, but Bernhardt still enjoys the collaboration.
“We bounce ideas back and forth over the Internet and it takes time to develop, but at the end of the day the hook, the chorus, has to be on point. And I’m always happy to let the vocalist do what they’re best at. If some vocalist has some great lyrics, I’m not the guy to change it around a lot unless they really need to be changed,” Bernhardt says.
Australian, Belgian, English, Greek and American musicians all have credits on Panorama Pacifico, so it’s no surprise that Satin Jackets has toured more than 30 countries, though Bernhardt is still content to keep the show confined to a DJ booth.
“We’ve been experimenting with the idea of touring with me playing the keyboard on stage, maybe incorporating a vocalist or percussionist. But a band at a concert venue is a different thing. We don’t want to lose our roots because we both came from club music and dance parties. Satin Jackets is more pop, but we never want to lose our connection to the dance floor,” Bernhardt says.
This anxiety seems wildly unfounded as it’s difficult to imagine Satin Jackets playing anywhere, and not turning it into a dance party. This is the kind of music designed for listeners to get lost in: a mix of M83’s “Midnight City” groove, the vulnerability of Nicholas Refn’s Drive soundtrack, and a bit of lust for life and love.
“How can you describe it other than feeling it? There are the key moments you had when you were going to parties, the experiences you had listening to music as a kid or a youth, of course these things you pick up and keep in your heart forever. These are the things you strive to recreate as an artist,” Bernhardt says.
For some, the synthesizer signaled the beginning of the end for “real music,” or music played with a guitar or a drum kit, but Satin Jackets is an example of an artist making very real, personal music with electronic instruments. The beats may be looped, chopped or screwed but there’s a very real human element if you read between the lines, and Bernhardt can point to it simply.
“It’s something that just feels good. It makes you happy. Gives you these little goosebumps and it’s a moment when you forget about everything else and you’re just there in the moment. In its essence, somehow, I think that’s the idea of house music.”
Satin Jackets will be keeping the good vibes flowing and the dance floor crowded when they come to Sacramento for THIS Midtown on May 14, 2016. Strap on your dancing shoes, grab a beer, and come lose yourself in the groove. The event takes place on 20th Street in between J and K Streets. For more info, go to Facebook.com/thismidtown.
Ron Finley, known as the “Gangster Gardener” from South Los Angeles, has seen firsthand what urban gardening can do to change a blighted neighborhood. “When you put beauty in a place that has none, that’s a game changer,” he states in a new documentary called Can You Dig This. The film, from executive producer John Legend (yes, that John Legend), tells the inspirational story of four unlikely gardeners discovering what happens when you put your hands in the soil and “plant some shit.” Sacramento’s very own Yisrael Family Urban Farm is happy to present a special one-time screening of Can You Dig This on Thursday, March 24 at Guild Theater in Oak Park. Tickets are only $11 but you need to reserve them by March 14. All ages are welcome. In fact, you’re encouraged to bring your young ones so that they might be inspired to get their hands dirty at a local urban farm. Find out more at Yisraelfamilyfarm.net or Facebook.com/yisraelfarm and secure your seat at Gathr.us/screening/14282. Come learn about the urban gardening revolution that’s happening in cities across the nation, including right here in Sacramento.
Everyone Wins on Game Day
Duke’s Plates and Pints
510 La Sierra Drive, Sacramento
It’s near the end of Seahawks/Vikings NFL playoff game on a Sunday afternoon and the bar is scattered with fans. About every 10 minutes or so—in between eating or drinking—you can hear the occasional “OOOHHH!” from the bar, after a good or bad play. There were no complaints to be heard at Duke’s Plates and Pints because the Sunday game was on the big screen and happy hour was all day.
Located on La Sierra Drive, near Watt Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard, Duke’s Plates and Pints is ready to cater to any football fan, hungry patron or happy hour hound. Duke’s is a casual bar that is small enough for you to grab a quick bite by yourself but big enough to meet with your crew on game day.
Though it’s a low-key hangout spot, Duke’s has a surprising number of craft beers on tap. It’s easy to get pretty excited with their craft beer selection, with more than 20 beers on tap, bottled sours, hard ciders, and don’t forget wine. You can start off with a golden ale, work your way up to a hoppy IPA, then end with a chocolate stout. And if you want to experience more beer tasting like I do, you get to choose from different sizes: half-pint, pint or pitcher. It’s not only a good place to watch the game on Sundays, but they also have a relaxing patio where you can drink beer, chat and bask in the sun with your buds. Their all-American food menu is full of wings, fries, salads, burgers, sausages and sandwiches. Most plates range from about $9 to $11, giving you a full meal and maybe even some leftovers.
The happy hour schedule is normally Monday through Friday 3–5:30 p.m., but if it’s game day on Sunday, happy hour is all day. But now time for a play-by-play on how much grub this happy hour hound can get for only $20.
Their happy hour menu consists of carnitas tacos, pork sliders, pretzel sticks and $1-off pints. When I went to order, I fell out of luck with the happy hour food menu, because they were out of pork until the end of the day, so I was forced to improvise my game plan.
I started off with two half-pints of beer, first the Amador Brewing Company’s Deep Hop Red for $3, then the Boulder Beer Company’s Shake Chocolate Porter on nitro for $3.50. I figured it would be worth it to try two craft beers for the price of one. It’s hard to beat a good hoppy red ale on tap and a chocolate porter is one of my favorite beers to drink in the winter. I see it almost equivalent to ordering a hot chocolate but cold and with more alcohol.
Next up, I ordered two pretzel sticks (only $1.50 each). The soft pretzel sticks were not at all what I was expecting in my head, they were so much better. They were served coated with parmesan cheese and big chunks of sea salt. It melts in your mouth when you take a bite of the warm, soft, doughy pretzel. Pretzels are one of my favorite snacks to have with beer, but these put normal snack pretzels to shame.
Next was the main course, the dish I was looking forward to eating the entire time and when it was served all I could say was, “Woah.” With a name like “Macho Nachos,” there was no way I was going to pass that up. Served in a giant bowl, these nachos were smothered with shredded cheddar cheese, green onions, tomatoes, chili and shredded chicken. No matter how full I was, it was hard to stop eating the salty, cheesy indulgence.
For a grand total of $21.70, I got to pig out on two half-pints of craft beer, two pretzel sticks, and epic cheesy nachos. Duke’s Plates and Pints is a casual spot for game day and a great spot for trying new beers on tap. Grab a friend, a beer, a burger and wind down at Duke’s for the best few hours of the day, happy hour.
In the mid- to late ‘80s, D.R.I.’s Crossover album comes out, Slayer’s Reign in Blood was annihilating everyone and the “Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez was finally behind bars. All over California, skateboarding and thrash metal were influencing young punks like Jeff Salgado and his friends, who would eventually start Psychosomatic.
Today, the band members live in Sacramento, and they’re really doing it. With more tours ahead than anytime in the past, they are a testament to “stand by your band.” Or van, for that matter.
Salgado is the band’s founder and vocalist/bass player. He looks like the older, metalhead dad at the skatepark, who’s really patient and encouraging, but looks sort of alarming to the other parents because he has long hair.
I met up with Salgado last Friday. His role as the band dad felt apparent right off the bat. He annotates most of the things he says with how excited he is, and how grateful he is for opportunities that have been presented, and that stuck with me. The band dad is in charge of morale; he has the grey hair to prove it.
“It’s been non-stop since June,” Salgado said. “When I’m not working or spending time with my family, I’m working on the band … We did a video, contacting people … And when you’re booking a tour you have to touch base with people. You don’t want any of your dates to fall through, and if they do, you have time to scramble to make something work.”
Salgado sees the band as finding its stride now more than in the past, with a solid, committed lineup, a new record, even Psychosomatic skatedecks.
“It’s a new birth, a new band. Since then, we got the right pieces as far as band members go, and it just clicks like it never has before.
So it does feel like a new band and we’re all equally excited.”
Part of Psychosomatic’s shifting dynamic is due in part to Toby Swope, who had been the band’s drummer since 2001, taking on a new role as the band’s lead guitarist. Swope is also new drummer Jared Klein’s half-brother. Dan Mills rounds out the group on guitar.
“In the past we had members that were not 100 percent committed, now we do,” Salgado explains. “I am so grateful that I have these guys to play with me. I told them, ‘Don’t just play in this band; own it. Make it your band.’
I know that Jared’s really happy to play with his little brother.
“Toby can do anything musically, he’s just unbeatable,” he continues. “He just did a North American tour with Revocation, he’s written 90 percent of the guitar parts and music on this new album.”
Sacramento’s BuriedinHell Records is releasing Psychosomatic’s newest album titled Clicking Sound of a Hammer Pulled Back, an effort Salgado sees as darker and more serious than previous recordings.
“We’re older now, we’re more mature,” he says. “It’s serious and darker, whereas the other albums were more wider range with the skateboard-party feel. This one is more reclusive, and serious. There’s one song at the end where I really went deep in my own insecurities, and I put it on a song where I had never done that before. It shows that I’m not just a shell of hardness, I have vulnerability, which I don’t like to express. But in doing so, I felt better about the song.”
The album is a jarring meld of metal and punk in a simple format that can be appreciated by fans of other albums, like Hoods’ Pray for Death album or Diseptikons’ Solutions Supported by the Angry.
Taking shape in the fertile soils of Salinas, the band played locally, mostly parties, traveling to bigger cities to play to more people. By 1998, they all made the move to Sacramento where they soon found footing in the local music scene.
“We were just a bunch of skate kids back in the day that started a band. We had played the Bay Area, but we had never played in Sacramento, so we didn’t know what to expect. Coming from Salinas, you had to drive to Santa Cruz at a minimum to see a good show. Otherwise, it just seemed like we were playing parties, and it wasn’t worth it; we had to get out of there. I was 28 years old, and I came here with pretty much nothing but my band equipment. I had to start over from nothing, and it was totally worth it,” Salgado recalls.
These are not some, fly-by-night, wango-tango boys. These guys have been ripping the heaving bowels out of the soft center of California with their thrash metal assault for nearly 30 years, with four U.S. tours, soon to be five, as well as several other package tours yet to be announced.
Thirty years worth of driving to local shows and numerous tours can destroy any one van, or two, or three. It takes a certain kind of love to keep the same van purring warmly.
“One of my best friends is a diesel mechanic, so he services it every time we go out,” Salgado says. “The Ford van is nothing to him, he works on diesels, so this is like cake to him. He can figure out anything having to do with the van, so we’re lucky.”
Over time, the desire to make things more functional in a tour van may lead to some modifications. One common tour van amenity add-on is a wooden bunk/loft which can serve as a sleeping platform and storage shelf.
“We had a loft at first, but it ended up being a hassle more than anything, getting the gear out. So what we ended up doing was getting a trailer, so we can spread the gear around. If you’re driving a full U.S. tour, you’re gonna be spending a lot on gas anyways. We keep it really simple and basic, and accessible anywhere you need to be.”
Before he left, I asked Jeff if there was something that the 2015-him would tell the 1988-him just starting a band, and he said, “Get over your personal shit, and work your ass off. Period.”
This is fitting advice for any budding musician, or artist in general, from someone a little older. Get your shit together.
Psychosomatic are headlining Blue Lamp Sept. 18, 2015, for their tour kickoff/CD release, with Kennedy Veil, Jack Ketch, Solanum and xTomHanx. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased through Bluelampsacramento.com.
Remember, when you were a kid, how awesome it was having a flavored snow cone or shaved ice while wandering around an amusement park or fair on a blazing hot mid-summer day? Well, kind of awesome.
It was really great for the first few bites, and then the neon colored FD&C Red 40 that is blamed for a host of health problems started its descent to the bottom of the container; meanwhile, the ice at the top, now snow white, had all the fun sucked out of it. You ended up eating plain-ass ice, and then bottom-feeding on the nauseatingly saccharine syrup, and you were ultimately rendered a sticky mess. At least the debacle cooled you off and gave you a temporary sugar high.
There’s a right way and a wrong way to do things in some cases. Shaved ice is one of them, and usually it’s done the wrong way. Osaka Ya, Sacramento shaved ice veterans, get the picture and have a line backed up 10th Street all summer.
Enter Vampire Penguin, another ice master. But it’s differentiated from Osaka Ya, in that rather than wait in line and take a snow cone to-go, you can sit in an air-conditioned, cutesy establishment while you enjoy your artistically crafted “shaved snow,” which has all the frills and flavor of an ice cream sundae.
Vampire Penguin first opened its doors on Stockton Boulevard in South Sacramento on Halloween 2013. It quickly garnered copious popularity and needed to spread its flightless wings further to feed the need Sacramento had expressed for VP’s addicting and vegan-friendly shaved snow (they also carry a smattering of other little treats such as macarons).
So in January 2015, locations opened in Davis on G Street and in downtown Sacramento on K Street. Shortly thereafter, the Elk Grove location opened in mid-February. Another location is slated to open in Berkeley soon.
Submerge photographer Evan Duran and I hit up Vampire Penguin’s downtown location on our way to the first pool day of our unofficial summertime, the temperature having exceeded 80 degrees. It was a perfect day to sample the snow. We poked around the lengthy counter area to see all the goods, scoped the menu and decided on four different items to share.
The Twix was a mound of chocolate shaved snow, topped with graham crackers, caramel sauce and chocolate sauce. Mexican Candy was an all-the-flavors mouth party of mango shaved snow, piled with fresh watermelons, rich caramel sauce and a salty chili spice mix. Cookies and cream shaved snow, crushed graham crackers, Oreos, marshmallows, chocolate syrup comprised the S’moreos dish. Subtly sweet and bitter at once, the Snow Tiger was made with Thai tea and milk tea shaved snow, paired with oreo crumbles and a condensed milk sauce.
The snow itself is unlike any shaved ice I’ve ever tried. It’s closer to sorbet, sherbet or ice cream in texture. Even my 9-year-old son, an ice cream connoisseur, said it tasted just like ice cream. To me it’s the missing link between shaved ice and sorbet—fluffy yet dense, and very much like eating newly fallen snow.
Paolo San Luis, who co-founded Vampire Penguin with his brother Leo, weighed in on what Vampire Penguin is all about, what it’s been like to see skyrocketing growth of the company and where the Vampire Penguin is headed for its next act.
How did you come up with the menu and concept for Vampire Penguin?
Shaved ice has been around for a long time. What I hated about it was the ice would always be crunchy and the syrup would always pool up at the bottom. We thought, why not infuse the flavor in the block before you shave it, and then shave it finer so it’s not crunchy? And so we ran countless experiments, tried out numerous combos along with fresh fruits and other toppings to come up with inspired presentations. The concept and menu just naturally evolved as we grew. Each combo actually has a backstory, but they are all scattered in little manifestos and will take some digging to find.
Where does the name Vampire Penguin come from?
I always think of our shaved snow as a hybrid between ice cream and shaved ice… So we thought since we were in the shaved snow business, penguin will be a good name because penguins live in snow. But since our shaved ice is not really “shaved ice,” we thought it would be funny to make the penguin a vampire, making the idea of a penguin cute, but not cute (because vampires are also badass), just like our shaved ice is shaved ice, but not really.
How do you make the shaved ice? Its texture is unlike any shaved ice I’ve had before—almost like ice cream!
Proper technique and execution, and lots of trial and error!
The Mexican Candy is my favorite. What was the inspiration for such an awesome and unconventional mix of flavors?
Love Mangonadas! We thought it would be cool to deconstruct it and translate it to shaved snow.
How do you foresee Vampire Penguin growing in the future? Expanding the menu, more locations, etc.?
I definitely want to keep growing, covering all of Sacramento before the end of the year. Our Berkeley location is opening in about a month and half, and we are looking to cover the Bay Area as well. Menu-wise we have new flavors coming out around summer, like black sugar, lychee and mocha. I also want to expand on the desserts side of the business, branding popular baked goods and putting our own twist on them.
How would you describe the experience you want your customers to have?
In a romantic sense, I want our customers to be intrigued by the whole idea of Vampire Penguin, to create their own associations and to identify with Vampire Penguin. In the end, I want the customers to feel welcome.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a company so far, if any?
The primary challenge we continue to face is being able to sustain our growth, but I think we all face that challenge in one form or another.
What has it been like to enjoy such rapid growth for the business?
It’s definitely interesting—I am nervous, scared, anxious, and paranoid at the same time as calm, collected, excited, and having fun. I am also very grateful, but always impatient.
This is my first business, and we didn’t think our first store would be received so well. We would have lines out the door, and it was challenging to keep up with the demand. This propelled us to focus on building a strong team and to create systems and adjustments with the goal of being able to provide the highest quality of service. Every day is a learning experience, and we do have ambitions of growing bigger in the next couple of years.
As things begin to really heat up in the Sacramento area, you know you’re going to want to gorge yourself on frozen treats. Check out Vampire Penguin online at Facebook.com/vampirepenguin916 for updates on menu items and other tasty tidbits.
At the 33rd Croatian Extravaganza, a “European festival in the old world tradition,” you can expect fantastic authentic cuisine along with plenty of live entertainment, a bocce ball tournament, children’s games and much more. Indulge in delicate pastries and succulent; spit-roasted lamb; and pork, chicken, steak and sausages. Did you know that each year between 40 and 50 lambs and pigs are barbecued at the Croatian Extravaganza? There’s plenty to go around, so be sure to check out this family-friendly cultural festival on June 13 and 14, 2015, at the Croatian American Cultural Center, located at 3730 Auburn Boulevard. Saturday’s admission is just $10 (note: this is the day when the best food is served!), and Sunday’s admission is free! Learn more by visiting Croatiancenter.org and clicking on “Extravaganza” in the top right corner.
Even As Christian Kiefer Unveils His Latest Book, The Animals, He’s Already Hard at Work on His Next
I didn’t think Newcastle was a real place. I figured Christian Kiefer didn’t want me to go to his house, so he made up some fictional land as a way to tell me to fuck off. But not only is Newcastle a real place, it’s really close to Sacramento.
On the way there, as the scenery turned from strip malls to pristine megachurches and finally to layers of thick, healthy trees, it sort of made sense that Kiefer would want to get as far away from the city as possible. Not that Sacramento is some major metropolis, but he’s a busy man and probably doesn’t need any more clutter to infect a mind that’s always trying to think.
And when I say busy, he’s busy. He’s a father of at least 400 children (OK, maybe like 5), a husband, a musician, a professor at American River College, a writer and, for some reason that I don’t fully understand, he has a bunch of sheep. Plus, he built a back patio on his house. I don’t know what else he does, but I didn’t want to ask. I felt bad enough about my life as it was.
But, of all those activities, Kiefer probably loves writing the most. (Sorry, kids.)
Even when he’s teaching, hanging out with his understanding wife or tending to his children and sheep, he’s constructing new narratives that start as little seedlings in his brain and bloom into real books that are adored by masters like Denis Johnson and T.C. Boyle.
His 2012 debut The Infinite Tides, a novel about a perpetually bummed out astronaut caught in a suburban labyrinth of grief crafted by his own bad decisions, garnered excellent praise, including a Publisher’s Weekly review that called the book “an astute, impressive and ambitious debut.”
His second book, The Animals (out March 23), is about a man who is trying to correct his troubled past, which comes speeding back, threatening to derail everything he’s been so careful trying to rebuild. The book (which Kirkus Reviews called “Eloquent and shattering”) is thrilling, especially compared to Tides’ occasionally plodding introspection, yet it retains Kiefer’s curiosity with language and with the world around him with poetic writing that entrances the reader completely. The Animals is dark, but humorous exactly where it needs to be. One of my favorite scenes is a flashback where the villainous Rick is trying to get his buddy Nat laid in a bar:
“She might have been forty, although she wore so much makeup it was difficult to tell, eyes wiped with turquoise as thick as paint and hair like a bundle of blond wires. She licked her lips. He had seen animals in nature documentaries perform similar actions while feeding on carcasses in the plains of Africa.”
With The Animals still fresh in the world, Kiefer works on his third book, Kingdom of Wolves, which seems to be pushing back a little, giving the author a bit of trouble. Still, he invited me over to his countryside home for a little chat in his writing studio, a big shed full of books and instruments that sits behind his house, next to the trampoline where his little blonde children bounce and scream in exhilaration.
When I exit the freeway and follow the signs to Newcastle, I know I’m close to Kiefer’s house because:
a) It looks like the end of civilization
b) I have to drive down a dirt road
c) I have to stop my car to wait for some asshole turkey that’s waddling in front of my car like it owns the place.
Why do you live all the way out here?
I’ve always lived out here. I grew up in Auburn.
You like it out here because it’s away from things?
I’ve never lived in Sacramento. Sacramento is just the town that’s in the way when I’m going to San Francisco. I’m not a city kid. It’s too much stimulus or the pace is wrong for me or something. When I visit town, I have fun, but I’m ready to go home.
To your nine children?
Yes, to my 50 kids.
My mom swears you’re a Mormon.
I’m just overpopulating the earth. I can’t imagine raising the kids in a city. I remember walking around Chicago or Boston or something and realizing that all the schools were totally inside, even the playgrounds. That’s weird. I just need to be out with the birds and the trees. And the monkeys.
I don’t understand how you do all this. You write. You teach full-time. You do music. You build shit. You have a family.
My wife and I have a very clear division of labor. She does all the in-house stuff. I do all the out-of-house stuff. So I do all the shopping, oil changes, anything that involves driving anywhere, I do that. And she handles all the bills and the food preparation and that works out pretty well. I run the errands on the way home, and when I’m home I have no homework. I’ve also gotten pretty good at not bringing my ARC work home.
You got amazing blurbs for The Animals. Whenever I read that Richard Ford one that calls you a “rare young stylist” I picture you as a flamboyant hairdresser.
I wrote him and said, “You know I’m 43, right?” and he wrote back and said, “Yeah, I’m 70.” That these guys—Richard Ford, Denis Johnson, T.C. Boyle, Pam Houston—I can’t believe any of them even talk to me at all. What’s in it for them? Nothing. But I have a relationship with all those guys that they’re willing to suffer my communications and why I’m lucky enough to be treated like that I have no idea.
That’s great.
I’m a mailer out of fan mail. I do that all the time. I’m reading at Book Passage next month so I wrote a letter to George Lucas and just said, “If you wanna come, man …”
What? Do you just send the letter to their agents or whatever?
Or sometimes you get an address. A lady that interviewed me about The Animals for The Nervous Breakdown…was asking me about Van Halen in the book. She goes, “By the way, my boyfriend is David Lee Roth’s personal assistant. If you want to get a book to him, I’ll give you his address.”
So right now David Lee Roth is reading The Animals?
He has a copy of The Animals. Who knows if he’s reading it. I know he’s a reader, but who knows. I hope my phone rings at any moment—“I gotta go, it’s Diamond Dave!”
Do you think of being a local journalist as a shitty time in your life?
I think of it as something I did wrong.
Why do you say that?
I was writing mostly about music and I am a musician, and I wrote about music as if Sacramento could handle it. I wrote about music in a very critical way. I was very hard. Not harsh, but hard to please. People like Jerry Perry would get on my case a bit about shooting fish in a barrel. And at the time I didn’t give it much credence but now I wonder if that argument isn’t right. Maybe I should have written about architecture or something else.
What about reviews for The Animals? Any bad reviews?
The thing about a bad review is even if they didn’t like the book, it takes eight hours to read a book, so even if they didn’t like it that means they spent a whole day with you. I still have to give them credit for doing that work. I’m really curious to see what The Animals does in the world because it’s so different for me. When Tides was hauling ass it was going like 5 miles per hour. When this is hauling ass, it’s actually hauling ass. So I’m curious what the bad reviews are going to be.
Can you anticipate them?
Maybe that it’s obvious or something. The setup is pretty obvious—the bad guy is coming back and at some point they are going to start fighting. But I wanted it to have a sense of real narrative clarity because Tides doesn’t. And Kingdom of Wolves is just a total clusterfuck of plot.
Is that how you’re going to market Kingdom of Wolves, as a giant clusterfuck?
I’m going to have Morgan Freeman say that. Every time you open the book, he’ll go, “A clusterfuck of plot.”
Weird, man. You’re a weird dude.
Yes, I am. Yes, I am.
Stop by Time Tested Books in Sacramento (1114 21st Street) as Christian Kiefer reads from The Animals on Thursday, April 2, 2015 at 7 p.m. This is a free event.
During the busy hours of the work week, the baristas behind the counter at Chicory Coffee and Tea also double as hosts. Located just across the street from the capitol, the small coffeehouse welcomes a number of guests at 11th and L streets when 7 a.m. dawns and the eclectic coffee rush begins. But once all has settled and the espresso grinder falls silent, the Chicory staff begins to prepare for what is known as the “soupocalypse.” Not only does the locally owned business receive fresh, roast-to-order coffee shipments from their head roaster in Portland, they’re also known as the go-to lunch hotspot for a good bowl of soup in the downtown area.
Like clockwork during the winter season, Chicory customers order and consume anywhere between 18 to 20 gallons of soup per day. So routine, in fact, that according to longtime manager Katelynn Williams, the building’s breaker system experienced electrical troubles keeping up with soup demands during one period. But, not to worry, the staff now has the lunch rush down to a science of balance, rotating huge cylindrical pots between burners to ensure each spoonful is served piping hot.
“We specialize in soups, salads and sandwiches, kind of capitol downtown basics, and we really don’t gouge on the soup prices. It’s $3.50 [for a bowl],” says Williams.
Chicory lists between six to eight soup choices on its specials board that alternate daily, many prepared from scratch in-house and always ready by 11 a.m.
The temperature is cold and crisp on a Monday morning with sunlight sporadically breaking through an overcast gray skyline, a fitting day for soup.
Deep red in color, Chicory’s roasted tomato is just one of many soup varieties handcrafted by executive chef Melissa Candela. A rich and hearty spoonful is tactfully balanced with sweet tomato chunks, savory carrot and onion pieces, a hint of oregano and warm spices. It’s instant comfort in a bowl.
“My love of cooking and feeding people really came from my mother,” she explains.
Candela’s culinary education began at 8 years old and, in addition to her mother’s influence, she also hails from a family of master bakers. As a young girl, she grew accustomed to a fully stocked pantry lined with several selections of flours, sugars and yeasts. This was very much the norm. Now, Candela is the woman responsible for all the aromas that permeate from the Chicory kitchen and she prides herself on fresh, top quality ingredients layered in the dishes she creates.
“Our chef does a daily special that incorporates a lot of locally grown produce. I hesitate to say ‘farm to fork’ because that’s become so cliché, but it’s true,” Williams admits. “We often take trips to the farmers market.”
What’s more, reasonable prices are found at Chicory. A cup of soup is only three bucks and the slightly larger bowl is priced at $3.50, both served with sliced baguette and butter. Salads range between $6 and $7.50, while the hefty, twice-baked potato with bacon, green onions and cheddar-jack cheese in every bite costs $5.50. Trust that it will combat any level of hunger, but set aside at least 15 minutes for a nap because you’re about to experience the itis*.
*Itis: the drowsy, sleepy feeling you get after eating a large meal. Usual meals like big Sunday dinner, Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. Defined by Urbandictionary.com.
A long line quickly forms during Chicory’s soup hour. Yet, one almost wishes for more time in line to decide between the day’s particular soup specials: French mushroom, vegan southwestern corn, chicken pot pie, turkey and sweet corn chowder, cheesy Angus beef stew or how about chicken artichoke Florentine?
At the register, my indecisive nature finally boiled down to a bowl each of vegan southwestern corn and French mushroom soup, a “bottle rocket” sandwich, the chef’s special twice-baked potato and an Asian noodle salad with sweet chili dressing. Bring it on, hunger.
A filling and tasty vegan soup is a hard gem to find and usually packs in the sodium as if it’s a healthy meat replacer or flavor enhancer. Thankfully, none of these novice factors are found in a bowl of Chicory’s southwestern corn. Instead, a light veggie broth features an assortment of black beans, roasted corn, red bell peppers and onions, each taste packed with an enjoyable spiciness that gently builds over time and covers the entire palate.
The French mushroom is a delightful and creamy offering that doesn’t skimp on the main ingredient: mushrooms! Cremini, shitake and white button burgeons, soft in texture, swim in an earthy and herbal-infused cream base. The sliced baguette served on the side is the perfect vessel to soak up the last bits of mushrooms left at the bottom of the bowl.
With Boar’s Head cracked pepper turkey, the chef’s special bottle rocket sandwich invites its consumer to enjoy the finer ingredients in life. Chef Candela says the brand is usually found only at most specialty grocery stores like Nugget or Sprouts, but she has the hookup on this premium brand of award-winning deli meats. The sandwich is layered with grilled onions and red bells, pepper jack, cheddar, mixed greens and a light chipotle mayo all tucked between a soft-baked roll.
Although my stomach was more than full at this point in my afternoon smorgasbord, my soft spot for Asian noodle salads could not be tamed. Chicory’s version is chilled linguini noodles, fresh broccoli florets, sliced red bell peppers, crispy snow peas and thick strips of chicken breast. Served in a big, white bowl, Chef Candela’s rendition is then paired with a sweet chili dressing, a family recipe courtesy of her sister-in-law. Light, crunchy and oh-so filling, this salad’s components also make for a great grab ‘n’ go meal when in a rush.
The warmth of Chicory’s indoor quarters is credited to its lounge area, where many customers take advantage of the four leather armchairs that sit in front of the burning fireplace. At the time of my visit, employee stockings hung from the mantel as warm flames danced within the cobblestone frame. The ambience reads as a cozy, almost grandma’s house comfort for guests to experience and enjoy.
Chunky wooden tables host important business meetings nearby, while other more intimate booths house private and friendly conversations. Because Chicory is a not-for-profit business, customer purchases go toward Fostering Futures, a foundation that provides scholarships and grants to foster youth in California.
By 1 p.m. the soupocalypse is over, signaled by the now bare specials board. One hurried man in a collared shirt quickly pops in to inquire about any leftover soup; unfortunately, there’s none. Eighteen gallons gone within two hours—until tomorrow afternoon, when the clock resets and the staff prepares for the day to routinely start yet again.
Chicory’s business hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Give them a call at (916) 444-5107.
Though he makes his home in Copenhagen, Steven Jess Borth II’s electronica project CHLLNGR has deep Sacramento roots
The Red Bull Studios Copenhagen website is written entirely in Danish, but search “CHLLNGR” and you’ll likely land on a video mostly spoken in English, aside from a few locals in a bread store. The video features CHLLNGR (stylized, vowel-less Challenger), an experimental dub music project masterminded by Steven Jess Borth II, laying down tracks in the Red Bull Studio for its sophomore record, Form of Release. The documentary mostly depicts scenery from Copenhagen and the studio, recording artists in indigenous garb from New York City and rappers from the United Kingdom, but in the midst of this global project is Sacramento. Oddly, our city has played a pivotal role in Borth’s project since its inception in 2010.
CHLLNGR performed at the Submerge 50th Issue Party in 2010, having graced the magazine cover in anticipation of his then-untitled debut album. At the time CHLLNGR was in a larval state, still largely faithful to dub music traditions of instrumental reworkings of recordings that slug along at a reggae beat stripped to its “riddims,” which translates to bass and drums. It’s a genre pioneered by artists like Lee “Scratch” Perry, Errol Thompson and King Tubby.
In those days CHLLNGR consisted of Borth, Andrew “Young Aundee” Southard and Dan “DJ Whores” Osterhoff in the live setup. But behind the scenes, the project relied on a troupe of local collaborators who continue to be influential cogs four years later on Form of Release, namely Dusty Brown and Justin “Dr. Echo” DeHart.
Much like British outfit Unkle, CHLLNGR defies simplistic classification because Borth seemingly doesn’t have “no” in his vocabulary. It loosely takes the form of a collective, rather than a solo project, as each release hosts a revolving cast both credited as guest features and buried in the fine print of liner notes. The only consistency across CHLLNGR’s two LPs (Form of Release and 2011’s debut Haven), outtakes release Hidden Tracks, and the Datter EP are Borth and the mastering finesse of Dr. Echo. Well, perhaps one other: Sacramento.
For example, Haven’s closer “Dusty” features vocals from Jessica Brown, a long-time contributor to her brother’s eponymous project Dusty Brown. The lyrics to “Dusty” were written by Young Aundee, while the title of the song is assumed to be a reference to Dusty, who opened his studio to Borth to create early Haven demos.
“Dusty gave me access to all his vintage gear,” Borth said. “In that period Young Aundee was there in Dusty’s studio most of the time and he played a really big part. He did most of the arrangements for [“Dusty”], also he did the lead synth on ‘Ask For’ and quite a bit more.”
In the initial Submerge interview, Borth mentioned a few particularly noisy recording sessions with Zach Hill of Death Grips, although it is unknown if they were utilized for Haven—given its nocturnal, downtempo qualities I’m inclined to think not. But in those early sessions Borth’s mindset was hinged upon experimentation. Whereas on Form of Release, CHLLNGR has evolved into a wish list come true of vocalists and co-producers.
“Form of Release, I really wanted to have a vocal album,” he said. “I was comfortable with some instrumentals, but I definitely wanted something that was not necessarily traditional pop songs, but a weird pop music.”
The detraction from having Red Bull’s insoluble budget was that Borth got his wish in the form of a curse. The album features JOSIAHWISE IS THE SERPENTWITHFEET from New York City, Dels from the United Kingdom, Grace Hall of Skin Town from Los Angeles, Blaqstarr from Maryland, and no possibility of uniting this group for a live set, particularly JOSIAHWISE, who contributes to five tracks.
“It’s pretty much just been me,” Borth said. “I’ll sing the songs in their place. With JOSIAH’s songs it’s very tough because he’s an insanely talented vocalist and writes complicated melodies I can’t exactly pull off.”
When I ask about his live setup for his New Year’s Eve performance at this year’s TBD’s New Year’s Eve Block Pary, Borth laughs at the thought as he mentions he’ll have to rely on Sacramento once again. “I need to start sending some emails around because I need to borrow some equipment,” he said. “But I want some old friends to join me on stage as well.”
If Borth is the captain of CHLLNGR, Dr. Echo is his first mate. Through emails he wrote that he and Borth never met properly in Sacramento, though he theorizes they were “probably in the same place at the same time on numerous occasions.” Though his connection to Sacramento has faded, Dr. Echo began as a drummer in dub band The Defendants with former !!! member Tyler Pope, and later ran Soundlab Studios in various Midtown locations before moving to Los Angeles in 2002. Having mixed “98 percent” of CHLLNGR’s output, Dr. Echo was flown out from his current home in Anaheim to Copenhagen on Red Bull’s dollar at Borth’s request. Dusty Brown was also flown to the studio in the last week for the task of “filling in the gaps,” according to Borth.
“Dusty was crucial,” Borth said. “It’s always been in the back of my head to collaborate more with him. I just have a lot of respect for him, his stylings, how quick he is and how he can really bring his ideas to the table and they can be very well thought-out. He has so many years of experience with electronic music that he can just get in there and finish up any ideas that I had started. He tied up the loose ends in a huge way.”
Borth is the captain of CHLLNGR, there’s no questioning it. In a Skype call we discussed the process of recording in the Red Bull Studio and he notes that the majority of the songwriting was done on his laptop with a micro-Korg and spring reverb prior to their three-week recording stint. He said the documentary just captures the focused grind of piecing an album together in three weeks.
“Most of it was doing really nerdy stuff,” he said. “Just running the sounds I’d already made and having the other collaborators record their vocal parts. Dels came out and JOSIAH came out. Justin [Dr. Echo] was there pretty much the whole time with me.”
As first mate, Dr. Echo has witnessed the evolution of CHLLNGR from dub homage to a spacious nocturnal metamorphosis on Haven, and into the Form of Release sessions, which reveal CHLLNGR at its most pop-y and universally catered state. He attributes the early alterations to Borth’s love of R&B as a heavy influence on the distinct sound, particularly in the melodies and harmonies, and the more recent growth to his prolific mind for collaboration.
“I think it should be evident that dub music from the ‘70s to ‘80s is a major influence on his sound,” Dr. Echo wrote. “However, ‘dub’ can be a vague term these days. Qualities such as spaciousness, sonic subversiveness and otherworldliness seem to remain appropriate to CHLLNGR’s sound throughout the years… I really think CHLLNGR’s music truly exists in the cracks of today’s genres.”
Ring in the New Year with CHLLNGR and an A-list lineup at this TBD’s New Year’s Eve Block Party, which will take place Dec. 31, 2014 (duh) on 20th Street between J and K streets. A-Trak, Sister Crayon and Gigamesh (among others) will also perform. Tickets start at $45. Check out Tbdnye.com for more info. NOTE: #TBDNYE IS ALMOST SOLD OUT! LIMITED AMOUNT OF “LAST MINUTE” TIX ARE STILL AVAILABLE, BUT THEY WON’T BE FOR LONG! ACT NOW IF YOU WANT TO GO!
It should be an adventure eating something you’ve never heard of or maybe can’t even pronounce. Sometimes it’s not only about the way a dish tastes but the way a meal can be prepared, where the food came from or a certain way you have to eat it.
Submerge takes you on an experience with food that originates more than 8,900 miles away. But for this adventure you only need to travel to 17th and Broadway, where Queen Sheba brings the foreign spices of Ethiopian cuisine back home to the capital city.
One of the best parts of eating Ethiopian food is that there isn’t a utensil in sight—no knives, spoons or forks seated neatly on a napkin next to your plate. It is a true hands-on experience. But it’s not as messy as it sounds; you use pieces of thin, spongy sourdough bread called injera to scoop up bits of your meal into your hand before you devour it. The injera are served as rolls in a small basket where you can rip pieces off for your meal.
A few words might sound unfamiliar to anyone uninitiated in Ethiopian cuisine; for example, a dish called “Wot” (or wat) is similar to a thick stew or curry, Tibs are prepared in various ways but are normally served as meat and vegetables, and berbere is a spice mixture that consists of peppers, garlic, ginger, basil and other spices.
The menu is divided up into different meats and vegetables. Queen Sheba has options of beef, chicken, lamb and fish, along with vegetarian and vegan options. Most of the meats and vegetables that you order will be mixed with spices and sauces that complement each dish and served “family style” on a large round metal tray that is lined with injera on the bottom. The food is neatly arranged on the platter and ready for everyone to grab their roll of injera bread and dig in.
On a recent visit, we were immediately enveloped in the wafting aromatic spices, walls adorned with wooden sculptures and artwork, and music videos playing that highlight the Ethiopian culture. The grand meal for the night started off with mango juice and honey wine, a traditional Ethiopian beverage. The mango juice was freshly squeezed and tasted similar to a thick fruit smoothie. The honey wine, which has a similar taste to mead, was very sweet and had a strong sweet aftertaste of honey.
To start, there was the appetizer called Sambussa lentil wrap. The triangle wrap had a delicious flaky and fried outer coating that was stuffed with steaming green vegetables. The main course was the combo platter for two (great for newcomers who aren’t sure of what they should order), which costs $13.50 per person. The combo included Doro Wot, Key Wot, Lamb Tibs, Misr Kik Wot, Gomen and a salad. The Doro Wot has a stew-like consistency that comes with a piece of chicken and a boiled egg. It is a little tough to break into the boiled egg and chicken with the thin injera bread but once you do, it’s a few bites that you will not regret. The brown sauce is a mixture of spices, herbs, onion, garlic, ginger and berbere. Key Wot also has a stew-like consistency with beef pieces and spices. It is key to try and get the right amount of sauce and beef to fit on your piece of bread for the prefect bite. Misr Kik Wot are spiced red lentils that are stewed in onions, garlic and berbere sauce. The Gomen is a dark green mixture of spinach, collard greens, onions and garlic. It is a hearty but delicious concoction that gives you a break from the various meats. The salad is a standard side salad with a light pour of dressing, but it’s more fun to eat a salad with your hands and bread than it is with a fork.
It is definitely an adventure trying different meats and sauces with injera. You can switch between a small bite of chicken, beef, tender pieces of lamb, lentils or veggies. It’s also fun to get different mixtures on your injera and grab some veggies, sauce and beef all in one bite. And don’t be afraid to really dig into the bottom of the pan! The injera that lines the bottom of the meats and vegetables gets soaked with all of the spices and flavors, making it taste like a whole new bread altogether.
The only problem I had with all this food was to actually stop eating. And if you aren’t feeling that hungry for a full dinner, they offer vegetarian/vegan lunch buffet Monday through Friday for $8.99. A lot of restaurants in Sacramento can give you good food and a good atmosphere but most of them cannot offer a truly unique food adventure like Queen Sheba.
Queen Sheba is open Monday – Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday noon to 9 p.m. Visit Facebook.com/QueenShebaSac for more mouthwatering info!
