Starting Friday, Oct. 26, 2012 District 30 (1022 K Street, Sacramento) will transition into the dark fantasy world of Dracula’s Transylvania for three whole days. DJ Zhaldee, G Squared and Donald Glaude with DJ Billy Lane will be spinning on each night, respectively. The club closes at 3 a.m., giving you plenty of time to get home before that searing morning sunlight burns you to a crisp. On Saturday, Oct. 27, there will be a costume contest boasting big prizes for first, second and third place winners, so come decked out in your finest Halloween garb. Tickets for the events on Friday and Saturday night are $10, and there will be absolutely no cover on Halloween night. Visit District 30’s website and jam out to some beats while browsing for tickets and more information, http://district30sacramento.com/.
-Natalie Basurto
A notice to all hip-hop heads, B-boys and B-girls, battle rappers and DJs: you will not want to miss Skratchpad Sacramento’s upcoming Head-to-Head Skratch Massacre at the Blue Lamp on Thursday, Oct. 25. In this head-to-head scratch battle, each competitor will alternate between eight bars in two-round heats where only the best shredder will move toward the coveted winner’s circle.
“I came up with the idea for the battle pretty much when I decided to bring back Skratchpad Sacramento,” DJ Nocturnal (pictured), the event’s organizer, recently told Submerge. “I just wanted to wait until we had some successful shows under our belt and had built back up our fanbase before introducing a battle to our community of shred heads.”
For the event, each competitor will have downloaded and will use the “Official Skratchpad Sacramento massacre battle looper,” made by world famous DJ and loop master Doc Jeezy. This, in a way, levels the playing field. As of press time, Nocturnal had 14 confirmed DJs and turntablists (16 will be the maximum amount), and he says they are “all pretty amazing and skilled scratch artists.” He should know. Having toured and traveled all around the country, Nocturnal says that the West Coast knows what’s up when it comes to scratching.
“I met a lot of talented DJs/Turntablists that all share the same passion for the decks as the rest of us,” he said. “But I gotta say in many situations it seems like hardcore scratching is a West Coast style. Now don’t get me wrong, there are tons of dope and amazing scratch DJs from all over, but something about the West Coast and Cali in general tends to breed some of the dopest around.”
See Chuck Flava, Luke Scratchrocker, Mike Colossal, KidTwist, Dose, Iso Skratch and many more do things and create sounds with turntables you never thought possible. Event starts at 9 p.m., is for those 21-and-over only and there is no cover.
Not many bands sport a badge of longevity inching toward eight years, but plenty of musicians can include their names in the pages of Be Brave Bold Robot’s local history. With roughly 23 former players fondly dubbed “Forever Members,” BBBR is a staple in the folk scene for good reason. If mad scientist, Dean Haakenson, hears you can play an instrument and likes you as a person, you can write your way into his project…forever.
My night with Be Brave Bold Robot did not begin with an unsettling ride to West Sacramento in Haakenson’s Technicolor Volkswagen Bug, but a few points of interest are worth a mention prior to him offering a lift in his shrunken, two-seater Partridge Family bus of a VW. As follows: I snuck into an empty warehouse along with the band and a photographer for a photo shoot. Cut my hand lifting a giant disco ball. There was a potato sack race. Haakenson sweated through two shirts. No one discovered us. No one was handcuffed or fined for trespassing. No vandalism occurred. My palm only bled for a minute.
But in Haakenson’s gutted and rusted VW, I sat shotgun to a man who rolled down the driver side window with a pair of pliers and casually talked of how his car, a present from his mom, stalled regularly as we took the Highway 50 on-ramp headed toward West Sacramento. I thought of the band’s moniker as he shimmied the VW into traffic and it strained its way to the speed limit. Be brave.
We arrived safely to Haakenson’s home, and I was ready for a beer, for there is no finer way to gain a stranger’s trust or settle one’s nerves after relinquishing your own fate into his hands. Haakenson and his drummer Michael Ruiz claimed two of the four mysterious wheelchairs on the back patio–why does one man have so many? The rest of us (bassist Matty Gerken, viola player Catie Turner and saxophonist Jacob Gleason) sat in metal chairs or benches with microbrews in hand. Like all interviews, the awkward phase deteriorated and stories were flung freely, which led to how one becomes one of those Forever Members listed on Facebook. Over the years Haakenson developed a simple criterion: play four shows. It may take four consecutive shows, or it could take eight years, but until you’ve played four you are not an official Forever Member.
“It’s a credit to Sacramento to have so many people I’ve met over a number of years join me,” he said and he was right.
To my left sat Jacob Gleason, soft spoken most of the night, but he was first to share his admiration for Dean that led to joining Be Brave Bold Robot. It began with loving the first self-titled record and led to Gleason “[bugging] Dean enough that he finally started letting me play with him.” Going around the table, Catie Turner joined after seeing BBBR live and striking up a post-set conversation with Haakenson, who upon learning she played viola gave her a recording and let her write herself into the music. She’s been a member since.
“He was like, ‘You should play on my record,’ and I said, ‘You’ve never even heard me play,’” she recalled.
“It’s a Dean thing,” she said. “He’s so hands off. He didn’t know me, didn’t know my playing. It was unlike any experience I’ve ever had with an organized band.”
Matty Gerken offered an anecdote on the BBBR’s rotating cast: “One time we played a show at Sac State and in order to play that show we needed to have one Sac State student in the band. So we brought in Chuck; good student, he’s from Iowa, like me. He had enough parts in the songs to get us qualified to play. He was a member for one show.”
Gerken saw Be Brave Bold Robot play based on the name. He caught a Fox and Goose show, went to an after party with the band, which resulted in him mastering the first record. “I sort of learned all the songs from listening to them over and over while mixing them,” Gerken said. “When Tommy [Minnick] the former bass player decided he didn’t want to play anymore, I said, ‘Well, I know all the songs incidentally.’”
Haakenson’s lackadaisical approach stems from understanding his friends and band mates have their own lives and careers. Without the pressures of commitment, being in a band can always be as fun as it sounds. No one’s government job is at risk, no one’s missing PTA meetings and no one’s on heroin to deal with the pressure of stardom. Members come and go and come back again when they have time or miss the fun of being in BBBR.
“It changed my life here,” Turner said, who hadn’t played in a band since leaving San Francisco.
Haakenson exudes gratefulness beyond his once a member, always a member attitude. The tape recorder clicked; side A was over. With everyone in good spirits, we agreed to call it and begin band practice. While guitars were tuned and more beers were emptied into mason jars, Haakenson handed me a copy of 2010’s Take a Deep Breath. He directed me to the living room where the original artwork of Kyle Larsen hung; he had two of Larsen’s pieces. Local writer Josh Fernandez probably doesn’t know it, but he is a cherub muse for BBBR, coining intoxicating limericks that echo through Haakenson’s mind. The new album’s title was partially lifted from Fernandez’s 2008 review, which was recited to me nearly verbatim during our hang out. Fernandez referred to Haakenson as “under a thin sheet of madness,” it led to the title of the band’s upcoming album Under a Thin Veil of Madness.
Under a Thin Veil of Madness began with sessions at Expression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville. “They offer free recordings to bands in exchange for being guinea pigs for their audio recording classes,” Haakenson said. “We went in there for an eight-hour session and got four songs done that are new to this album, and had plenty of time left to record four other songs.”
Going in there was concern of the album being in the hands of pupils, but by the end of their session the band was so close with the students that a kid named Willie Ramsey is doing the Under a Thin Veil of Madness artwork, expanding Dean’s collection of art and adding an honorary band member once again. “I was concerned that we were getting learned on,” Gerken said. “They had an experienced instructor there and it was clear that guy was all business.”
In the eight years of having one of the most recognizable band names in Sacramento, the true source of the moniker eludes Haakenson. He loves that about his band. Before it was his band it was his ‘zine. Prior to the ‘zine it was a graffiti tag by a girl in Arcata, Calif., who claims she saw it done by a San Francisco artist. Some theorize it was lifted from the Isaac Asimov’s science fiction series I, Robot. “I’ll put out a call right now,” Haakenson said. “I’ll pay $100 for the documented source.”
May it always be obscured and tucked in mystery to preserve the legend of Be Brave Bold Robot. It’s apropos to a band that tucks mementos to childhood in its song lyrics and sneaks away from families and responsibilities into a West Sacramento living room to drink, chat and practice like a discovered teenage Never-Never Land.
“I have a child-like way about me, which I think is maybe what makes me endearing to the people I meet on a regular basis,” Haakenson said. “I think I’m OK with confrontation, but I’d much rather make people happy.”
Catch Be Brave Bold Robot when they play Beatnik Studios in Sacramento on Oct. 26, 2012 and celebrate the release of Under a Thin Veil of Madness. Also playing will be Appetite, Cold Eskimo and Buzzmutt. The music for this Final Friday show gets underway at 9 p.m. and there is a $5 to $10 suggested donation.
A simple defining piece can add a uniqueness to any look. A singular twist to a classic outfit is enough to turn a humdrum guy into an urban gentleman. I find men’s fashion more fluid from season to season in terms of continuation of trends, as opposed to the ever-changing women’s fashion. Here are a couple of stylish gents I spotted this weekend!
Kyle Mitzel rocks an all earth tone look while doing some weekend thrifting in Midtown. The foundation of his outfit is elementary consisting of a rust colored T-shirt and pair of olive shorts. However, a few distinctive details make this look eye-catching. First, Kyle’s T-shirt is reminiscent of sedimentary rocks, an apropos visual for his earthy ensemble. Have an interesting focal point when it comes to basic tees, a cool graphic can certainly change the look of an outfit. Kyle goes sockless, an ongoing trend with penny loafers for casual occasions. Finally, tortoise Lucite wayfarers, an acrylic plastic trending in both men’s and women’s fashion accessories, top it off. Mix classic pieces with contemporary trends to achieve an expert look.
While on a late night coffee run to Weatherstone, I spotted Nick spending his evening doing the daily crossword. I was impressed by his confidence to mix patterns, which is one of my favorite trends. Nick’s mixing is subtle, just a pop of plaid over his striped sweater is perfect for a casual weekday night. If you are hesitant to mix patterns, do not be timid. Try simple patterns, such as polka dots and stripes in similar color schemes at first and as you become more comfortable try bolder, brighter prints like paisleys and florals. To keep the patterns the focus keep the rest of the outfit understated as Nick does. A classic pair of blue jeans and a silver wristwatch completes the look.
-By Emily Bonsignore
Bacon & Butter
1119 21st Street – Sacramento
Our parents were always quick to emphasize taking our time when they were nurturing us. Chew your food. Walk don’t run. But the age old axiom to stop and smell the roses seems lost in our modern culture of efficiency and impatience with download speeds, commuter traffic and restaurant ticket times. Local chef Billy Zoellin’s new breakfast and lunch restaurant Bacon & Butter is a friendly reminder to take our time, because even slowing down is valuable.
At 28, Zoellin has climbed the ranks of local artisan cooks at an impressive speed. He began as a busser at BIBA and Andiamo, while still in high school. When he wasn’t keeping the tabletops orderly, he helped with prep work out of a natural curiosity with the kitchen, which he claims is in his blood.
“My grandma used me as a kid for catering,” Zoellin said. “It went from being a busser and enjoying cooking to having a kid and needing a full-time job. So, I quit baseball and started cooking.”
His fast rise in status continued with his education at the American River Culinary School. After enrolling as a student, he quickly became a TA. From there it was prep cook at Mulvaney’s. It was only his third job in a kitchen. When he took over the head chef job at Golden Bear last year, his menu caught the attention of Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. “Everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve never been satisfied,” he said. “It’s part of my personality, I’m very meticulous with how I like things. If I see something I like, I will follow until I can go off on my own path with it.”
With 18-and-over nightclub Bar Fly, formerly and ironically called Club 21, in need of a liquor license, Zoellin was asked if he was interested in opening his own restaurant in the front of the building.
“This place is a club at night,” he said. “For liquor licenses you typically need food. Instead of working for other people and signing off on my menus that I create, the items I put my heart and soul into, I decided to do it for myself. It was time to roll the dice a little bit.”
On such a fast track with his career, Bacon & Butter appeals to a need for Zoellin to slow down in order to adapt to the learning curve of running his own business. Early criticisms of Bacon & Butter (located on 21st Street between K and L streets) mostly leaned on an annoyance with the wait, either for a table or the ticket time. It was an issue not lost on Zoellin and his staff.
“Our biggest issue has been time,” he said. “But I challenge any one of those critics to open a restaurant and serve top quality food in a timely fashion to 500 people on a weekend and see how it goes. See how many weeks it takes to get that ticket time down and have everyone feel good about their meal.”
It was said not out of frustration, but as a matter of fact. It’s the sort of challenge that would make for a great new Food Network competition show. Zoellin hopes his patrons will come to Bacon & Butter to enjoy the simple pleasures of a well-prepared meal with many appealing environmental guarantees. At Bacon & Butter the meat is all grass-fed; the bacon is nitrate-free; the vegetables are sustainable, seasonal and local fare; the bread comes in daily; and the coffee is from Old Soul.
“We’re not a greasy spoon. We have a commitment to local and seasonal fare,” Zoellin said. “Breakfast places will cut corners because prep time is at a minimum. Here you won’t find a lot of boxes and bags in the back. You won’t find a freezer. We want to make things from scratch like grandma would or mom would.”
Was it not always worth it to wait for grandma’s made-from-scratch cooking?
The morning I visited Bacon & Butter, I cleared my schedule and allotted myself a rare chance on a weekday to eat breakfast–a ritual usually limited to a pot of coffee or Cheerios. Mayor Kevin Johnson held a business brunch of 30 that same morning. The meeting was scheduled to begin at 8 and end at 9 a.m. I arrived at 9:10 a.m. to two empty tables littered with discarded napkins, used utensils and plates with only sauce stains remaining. It’s unwise and unfair to criticize a new restaurant’s ticket times, especially when it’s an owner not named Paragary, but given the efficiency apparent from that morning’s remains, Bacon & Butter have worked out the kinks.
My mountain range of country potatoes, hash and eggs over easy, topped with corn salsa was well worth the wait and a larger portion than I expected for the price. The hash needed no salt, while the corn salsa had just enough jalapeños to give it a subtle kick in spice. The server ribbed me that I barely put a dent in it, but it felt as though even if it was only a rolling hill spread, I’d eaten my fill. The menu at Bacon & Butter is crafted for the adventurous or even the average Joe or Jane. If biscuits and gravy or flapjacks are all you need, your desires will not be compromised.
“I’ve cooked a lot of dinner in my career,” Zoellin said. “It became a challenge of how do I apply what I know to breakfast and make it acceptable. You put fried sage on things and have your whimsical takes on fare, while staying within the guidelines of local, sustainable and always seasonal.”
As I sat post-meal near the bay window alternating sips of Old Soul coffee, a mason jar of water, and a mason jar of Greyhound, I took in my surroundings. Chef Zoellin told me for their refurbished interior, they had a picture in mind. It was of a sharply dressed man in the Depression era going out for a job interview. The idea was to create a place that man might have stopped into for coffee. The interior is of simpler times, when items were handcrafted and plastic was barely existent. Above the community table is an old wash bin, hung upside down from the ceiling, with a clock that never quite ticks on time attached to the bottom. Small light bulbs hang from the bin to light the table. It is both a piece of history and a piece of modern art. Along the outer walls are plywood-framed photos of cowboys (frames built by Zoellin), and shelves hosting trinkets that Zoellin found in antique stores.
“It fits my personality,” he said. “It fits what we do, putting a sustainable practice to recycled and refurbished products. We are modern post-Depression era, that’s where we are.”
As Zoellin and I sat with the community table within an arm’s length, I had to know, “Why do you think people fear the community table?” After a good laugh and a shared confusion, he offered, “Don’t be afraid to sit next to a neighbor.”
“Start a conversation with someone,” he went on. “Ask them ‘how’s the hash?’ Maybe their review will help you decide what to have next time.” He’s not giving up on his experiment to get his customers to relax and say hello to their fellow neighbors. He hopes that someday the community table will be the place to sit, rather than a compromise. For now, his regular, Dave, sits there most mornings, reading the paper and making small talk with the service staff. Strike up a conversation with Dave sometime.
Yelp is an outlet for blowing off steam. If you want to read a review of Bacon & Butter, flip through the encyclopedia pages in your check booklet that’s dropped off at the end of the meal, an idea Zoellin stole from Mulvaney’s. In it, you’ll read short and sweet thank you signatures of people who hope their favorite items never leave the menu and who can’t get enough of those pancake shots (a treat I intend to try on my next visit). These are the messages from people who took the time to hand-write their appreciation in ink, rather than blog bullet points in haste.
Sacramento-based controversial rap-punk trio Death Grips again caused a shit storm last week when they leaked its new album NO LOVE DEEP WEB on the Internet after their label (Epic Records) apparently told the group they couldn’t confirm a release date. “The label wouldn’t confirm a release date for NO LOVE DEEP WEB ‘till next year sometime,’” Death Grips tweeted, followed by, “The label will be hearing the album for the first time with you.” True to its word, the next day the group released the album along with its graphic album art (a hairy, erect penis with the album title sloppily written on it in black marker) for free on a number of file sharing websites including their own, Thirdworlds.net, which was later shut down (the band claimed their label did it). What nobody can figure out for sure, although every music blog under the sun is trying, is if Epic was in on the whole thing all along, making for the most brilliant PR move ever, or if Death Grips really are crazy-as-fuck and doing whatever they want with an album that was paid for by Epic. Either way, the damage is done, the new album is out, tens of thousands have downloaded it and the band has since stated (again via social media) that they “have no idea when the new album will be physical or if it ever will be.” Sonically NO LOVE DEEP WEB is tough to wrap your head around. It’s far darker and (for me at least) much harder to get into than the more pop-y (I use that term loosely) The Money Store, which Epic actually legitimately released earlier this year. After a few listens through it’s growing on me, although I will admit it’s a bit awkward when an erect dick pops up on my phone every time I click on a track. See and hear for yourself at Thirdworlds.net, as of press time the website was back up and was still offering the album as a free download.
This Second Saturday get your hands on all the swag Heart Boutique (1903 Capitol Avenue) will have to offer at their second anniversary party. Sales and specials will be going on all day from noon until 9 p.m. inside the petite boutique while performers DJ Esef, DJ Mosean and Bru Lei entertain guests. At 6 p.m., a sidewalk fashion show will take place featuring the latest fall styles offered at Heart. Free ice cream, desserts and beverages will be provided by local food truck Popcycle, and you can also enter a raffle for prizes. Heart Boutique carries popular women’s clothing lines BB Dakota, House of Harlow, Lush and much more for moderate prices. The boutique’s decor mirrors the on-trend clothes and accessories with a pearl-white deer head and a black and white striped dressing room that makes for a fun shopping experience. Owner Vanessa Lopez says that this party “is a great way to mark our anniversary and thank our customers for all of their support.” She and the rest of the Heart family will be there celebrating so come wish them a happy birthday! Get a feel for Heart’s style on their website, http://shopheartboutique.com/
-Natalie Basurto
You might hear a few dirty words spelled out at this year’s Grown-Up Spelling Bee on Oct. 12, 2012 at Bows and Arrows (1815 19th Street) presented by one of Sacramento’s premiere roller derby teams, the Sacred City Derby Girls. Listen in as participants sound out the words or if you feel spelling-savvy enough, try it out yourself! As long as you keep up with the correct spellings, you’ll receive $1 off tap beers. The rules of the bee will follow the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s format with each round becoming more difficult. Depending on what you can afford, pay a fee of $7 to $15 to enter. Sign-up for the competition starts at 7 p.m. and the first round will begin at 8 p.m. Proceeds from the event go toward Sacramento’s Gender Health Center, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide services that “embrace the psychological well-being and self-fulfillment of individuals coming out and/or beginning or in the transition process in a safe, supportive and welcoming environment,” according to their website (http://thegenderhealthcenter.org/). For more information, visit Bows and Arrows online at http://www.bowscollective.com/.
-Natalie Basurto
Musical Charis’ band members discuss their penchant for collaboration and their mission to bring “real gold” back to the music scene
Two of the core members of local indie pop band Musical Charis are in separate rooms of the same apartment engaged in the same conversation. I am on the other end of the line. We’re speaking together on a conference call. It is a new experience for all of us.
I am talking to Blake Abbey and Jessica Brune, the band’s vocalists, and guitarist and keyboardist, respectively, about their upcoming Oct. 11, 2012 release of FOOL$ GOLD on JMB Records. Despite being miles away, I feel like I am dealing with a family.
They soon will be, I later find out. In addition to being band mates, they are engaged and live in the same apartment, along with the band’s bassist Colin Vieira, guitarist Bradley Abbey (Blake’s brother) and a bunny rabbit. It’s the apartment they are in now as they field my questions. Like family, they are talking over each other, and to make matters worse the reception is lousy. Despite the hiccups, we manage to carry out an engaging conversation as they fill me in on the album, touring and their musical values.
“It seems like a lot of things in music and art, fashion, and pop culture, a lot of it is like fool’s gold,” Abbey says, explaining how they came up with the album title. “It’s just shiny and bright, people want to hold it and touch it, but it doesn’t have the same value as gold.
“But the more that we grow in character and as a band, I think the closer we get to realizing how hard it is, how deep you have to dig for gold and the value of it when you get it,” he says.
Abbey, Brune, Bradley and Vieira spent about a week total, split before and after this year’s lengthy spring tour, recording with music engineer Joe Johnston at Pus Cavern. Now they have an album they hope will stand out against the bounty of overproduced, unoriginal material put forth in the music industry.
It was a collaborative process, a coast-to-coast exchange, Brune suggests. Others, including Jarrod Affonso on drums, Brian Brown on the keys and Shawn King, contributed. “Sunlight Stalker,” the last track on the album, was a joint effort between musician Chris King in Florida and Musical Charis. In a Postal Service-like exchange, King wrote the music, and the band wrote lyrics to accompany it.
The result was an album that Abbey says is quite unique, an attempt to produce “real gold.”
“I don’t think this CD is epic, but I think it’s one-of-a-kind, I haven’t heard anything like it,” he says.
Their fourth release following their 2011 album Ace of Space, FOOL$ GOLD is seven tracks of soothing indie pop and lush harmonies with progressive underpinnings.
It is somewhat more technical sonically than their previous albums, Abbey explains, and the rhythms are more intricate, adds Brune.
Since their formation in 2008, following the Abbey brothers’ and Vieira’s relocation from Florida to Sacramento, Musical Charis has been recognized for their folk appeal. In fact, they have been told on several occasions that they are living in the wrong generation. Brune and Abbey don’t dispute this.
“I think that musically we would be received better 30 years ago. Old people love our music, the folk stuff that we do,” Abbey says. “It’s dubstep nation now, dubstep is taking over the world.”
Whatever they have done musically, it seems to be working. They were nominated for Sammies in 2010 and 2012, for Best Album of the Year and Best Indie Band of the Year, respectively, and in 2011 they won the Best Indie Band of the Year Award.
While this album strays somewhat from that folk sound, Abbey and Brune agree that it is one they will likely revisit in the future. After all, it’s easy to switch up musical directions, Brune says, like whipping up a new batch of cupcakes.
“Some people might not like [the new album],” Abbey says. “But it was fun for me, which is the most important thing.”
If you want to produce something relevant in the art world, or bring back ‘the real gold,’ then you have to get your priorities straight, the way Brune and Blake see it.
Which simply means, “Do it because you love it,” Brune says, even if it means collecting pennies.
The drive, patience and desire all have to be there to move a band beyond the five-year mark, they say.
“The real dream is just living it,” Abbey adds.
The fourth track of the album, “The Gift,” is an ode to friends back in Kansas who are doing just this–living the “rock n’ roll” lifestyle of loving, having fun, being broke and not caring. It’s a fancy-free philosophy the members of Musical Charis put into practice as well.
They primarily work for themselves, sometimes working “under the table,” to make ends meet.
The same love of music inspired the band mates to open the Musical Charis Music School in 2009 in the building next to the Colonial Theatre. It started by just spotting the vacant building and asking the question, “What if?”
To this day, they teach music lessons out of Beatnik Studios, mentoring youth in playing guitar, piano, singing, songwriting and performing. Sometimes they will let their students open for the band.
Those who haven’t seen a Musical Charis show should know that no two performances are alike, partly because they are just as willing to share the stage with anyone who wants stage time. Thus they have become known for their high-energy, unpredictable performances.
“We never plan anything,” Brune says. “We’re not like, ‘Oh, it would be so epic if we did this and that.’ We just kind of roll with it and have fun.”
During a show, the stage is treated as a shared space. The band rotates auxiliary drummers and guitarists onstage or invites other bands to join in. Brune may take Abbey’s guitar mid-song, or Abbey might get on the drums. In any given performance, there might be a trumpet, saxophone, accordion, harmonica, congas or xylophone thrown in the mix. Additionally, just about anyone (with exception of belligerent drunks) from the audience is invited to come up and play an instrument.
“We consciously try to make it about everyone,” Abbey says. “It sucks being in a band playing the same show every night, especially in a small town.”
“I want people to go to [our] shows and be like, ‘We’re going to go have fun tonight and we’ll get to play an instrument,’” he says.
The invitation to participate is an intentional attempt to encourage local community-building, they explain, though they never force their audience members to participate.
So during any given show, 12 bodies might end up on stage. On one occasion an audience member was so engrossed in performing he fell off the back of the stage, Brune recalls.
“Sometimes it’s a train wreck, but [it’s] a beautiful train wreck,” Abbey says.
It’s worth mentioning that this band plays a lot of shows, as many as 150 per year. This includes a 65-day national spring tour they plan annually, in addition to smaller tours throughout the year.
Playing so many shows and tours, including SxSW, it’s no surprise that the band has grown a distaste for the predictable party-goers looking to get blitzed. It’s a common pattern the band has noticed, and it inspired one of the tracks on the album. Against a dreamy, circus-y tune, “Fortune Teller” takes a stab at the molly kids, who equate their live music experience with popping pills.
“It became about a culture of just partying, waking up the next day and starting all over,” Brune says.
No doubt they’ll run into more of that during their West Coast tour following the Oct. 11, 2012 album release at the Townhouse Lounge.
Pill poppers aside, right now the four are contemplating house sitters to look out for the apartment and the rabbit while they are gone. The last tour they went on, their turtle died.
Hop on stage and have a blast at The Townhouse Lounge on Oct. 11, 2012 at 9 p.m. when Musical Charis celebrate the release of FOOL$ GOLD. Also performing will be Autumn Sky, Hey Zeus and James Cavern… And maybe you? Pre-order your copy of the album at http://musicalcharis.com/, and if you’d like to babysit a rabbit, drop them a line.
It’s that time again Sacramento, bust out your ear plugs because NorCal NoiseFest is turning 16! The annual Sacramento event which spotlights the sound-art genres of noise and experimental will take place from Oct. 5 through 7, 2012 at multiple venues. Friday, Oct. 5 will be at Luna’s Cafe (1414 16th Street) starting at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 6 will be at Sol Collective (2574 21st Street) starting at 3:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 7 will be at Bows and Arrows (1815 19th Street) starting at noon. If you’re looking to get tickets your best bet is definitely the all-weekend pass, which is $40 and includes access to all shows, a T-shirt, a compilation CD, a button and Sunday brunch at Bows! Individual show tickets are $10 at the door with free earplugs. Visit http://norcalnoisefest.brownpapertickets.com/ to purchase online, or hit up Phono Select or Midikat Boutique to purchase in person. More details can be found at http://norcalnoisefest.com/.
