DJ and producer Lady Kate has spent most of her life behind a set of turntables. Growing up, she would tag along with her teenage sisters to the skating rink in her native Southern California neighborhood. On Friday nights, there would be a skate party featuring a DJ, and Kate found herself completely captivated by the person in the booth controlling the tunes and setting the vibe for the skating teens. Only 10 years old at the time, Kate quickly weaseled her way into the booth and started studying the features of a turntable. By the time she turned 12, she went out and got a work permit and became the official Friday night DJ for the skating rink.
“I learned how to play the clean versions of all of the teen’s favorite songs,” Lady Kate remembers. “I would sneak in a bunch of Missy Elliott until my mom would come up to the booth and tell me to turn it off.”
Fast forward to the present, and her years of tireless dedication to her craft have paid off. Lady Kate has become the first-ever female DJ not only for the Sacramento Kings, but for the entire NBA, a title that she says, “has been so much fun and an honor to be a part of breaking that ceiling.” She is responsible for the audio entertainment that fills in the gaps and adds character to moments in the game, and can be seen doing her thing from a booth overlooking the court just right to the main entrance of the Golden 1 Center. Starting this month, the DJ will begin her weekly residency at Revival at the Sawyer, a move that she says will help her usher in a new phase of her career and cement her persona as an artist who is true to the human elements of her craft. We spoke with DJ Lady Kate about her new residency, as well as the moments through her career that have helped her get to this point.
How did you land a gig with the Kings?
So basically, the Kings did a call out for DJs back when they were still at Sleep Train Arena. The first round was that you had to send in a three-minute video of yourself doing all your tricks and also tell why you want to be a Kings DJ. So I sent in the video and told them why and they ended up choosing me and about 10 other DJs for the second round. Then, they held live auditions at Sleep Train Arena, which was totally nerve-wracking. No pressure at all. They sprung a lot of challenges on us and had us talk on the mic and pretend we had a stadium full of people.
Wait, they had you pump up a non-existent party? The arena was empty?
There were no people! It actually made it even more nerve-wracking than if there were people there. I’m doing my thing and it’s dead quiet in the arena. We were totally improvising the whole thing and it ended up going really really well. They chose me and two other DJs to represent the Kings officially, and the rest is history. I’ve been with them through the old generation at Sleep Train and now the new generation at the Golden 1 Center … It’s really a dream come true.
How do you craft an experience for fans at the games?
The games are incredibly fast-paced. One thing that I love about DJing for the Kings is that there is never a dull moment. At any given time, we have multiple people in our ear feeding us cues and directions. I have to make sure I am in sync with the crowd, the actual flow of the game, the audio-visuals and any other unexpected things the event may throw at me. DJing a live Kings game is actually incredibly dynamic and interactive, and you have to be prepared to do tons of things at once. That’s what I enjoy the most. It’s a lot of responsibility up there and you really have to know how to juggle. The game is constantly changing so you have to be prepared to alter your material for all of those moments. Everything is freestyled and based on
the game.
You’re the first and only female DJ in the NBA! Tell me what it’s like holding that title.
It has been so much fun and an honor to be a part of breaking that ceiling. I think the last 10 years of this industry has been the most trying for women. We go through a lot of judgement; lord forbid if you dress like a woman and rock heels behind the DJ booth, because if you do, they are going to assume that’s why you got the position. There is a lot of sexism going on, and I’ve experienced it firsthand. I’ll go up into a DJ booth and I can’t even get the other DJ to shake my hand or say what’s up because they think I’m a joke because I am a girl. But, the second I do my thing and step out of the booth, they see what I am about and I get my respect. I’m a human, I’m a woman and there are days when I want to wear heels and a dress and then there are the times I’m going to wear my hat on backwards and rock my oversized Kings jersey. I can be and do what I want. I’m done with all the stereotypes and I’m so glad the Kings are my partner in helping break these molds and giving me a platform.
You’ve also worked in radio for a long time. Tell me about your show.
It’s called Clubhouse Radio and it is a syndicated music show. All we play is EDM and house music. We air on Friday and Saturday nights every single weekend and we air on stations all over the country. I’ve been in radio for a very long time. When I was 14, a guy from a Palm Springs radio station came into the rink with his family and ended up hearing me on the mic. He asked me if I ever thought of working in radio. Him and my parents ended up exchanging info and he got me involved in radio. I interned at the radio station until I was 18, and when I was 18 they hired me full time.
You now have a DJ residency at the Revival atop the Sawyer Hotel on Saturday nights. Tell me all about it.
I connected with them because I was really seeking a place to call home and pursue a residency. They accepted me with open arms and I am beyond excited to have a weekly platform there. This is my inaugural residency as an artist. My whole entire career, I’ve been a DJ. Now, the term “DJ” is so loose, and to transition from becoming a DJ to an artist is the hardest part for any DJ’s career. This is my opportunity to play music that I produce, that I personally like, and to give support to others in the industry. The Revival is so fun and the view from my booth is priceless. You can catch me there Saturday nights.
Do as the Lady says and catch her at her new weekly residency, Encore, at Revival at the Sawyer (500 J St., Sacramento). The party starts at 9:30 p.m. every Saturday night. Follow DJ Lady Kate on Facebook at Facebook.com/ladykatemusic.
**This interview first appeared in print on pages 22 – 23 of issue #263 (April 9 – 23, 2018)**
Michael Stevens had not yet arrived at JayJay Gallery when I walked in. This gave me a few minutes to take in one of his pieces, which took up the wall to the right of the entry. A wooden marionette with a puppet’s painted head stood on a wooden pedestal, a disembodied hand protruding from the platform palms-out as if giving the “stop” command, behind the puppet a wooden chopping block with a knife stuck in it. On the wall behind, a background of seven dwarf-faced likenesses arranged clockwise served as oil canvases for various scenes. They represented the seven deadly sins, Stevens would later explain, and the piece was meant to symbolize the act of confession.
Stevens counts his lapsed Catholicism among his many influences, which also include, but are not limited to, Alfred Hitchcock, 1950s television programming, and toys. His diverse inspirations mirror his manner of speaking; Stevens bounced from thought to thought as we talked, finding something interesting in every direction.
Stevens considers himself a storyteller, each piece its own short story. After more than six decades in Sacramento, Stevens had yet to run out of stories to tell as we walked through the gallery.
Incident at Beaver Falls | 2008 | 18 in. x 35 in. x 8.5 in.
Ready to talk?
I talk a lot. I teach at Sac City.
How long have you considered yourself an artist?
My first show was in San Francisco in ‘77. Then in ‘78 I did a show in New York, and one of our friends had gone to New York already and met Andy Warhol. So Suzanne and I actually had lunch with him [Andy Warhol] on our first trip New York.
Suzanne is your wife?
Yes. We had been doing art since I got my master’s degree in ‘69, and graduated with an art degree in ‘67. We were doing these large shows in a candy store up in Folsom. Adeliza McHugh ran the candy store. The first 10 years she was showing local work from the Sacramento State professors like Jack Ogden and Irving Marcus. After that she kind of picked up on the Davis stuff when she got Bob Arneson and Roy De Forest. Then after that, the Chicago Hairy Who people moved to town in ‘68, and she started showing Jim Nutt and Gladys Nilsson. So she kept on pushing. When Jim and Gladys and Suzanne and I became really good friends, he [Jim Nutt] bought work out of my graduate show. And he’s a very famous artist, probably the most famous Chicago artist right now. Jim’s pushing 80 and his work goes for $100,000 a pop. We started doing shows at the candy store. My career then really started when Rena Bransten from the Bransten Gallery in San Francisco came up to one of the openings and said, “You need to be in San Francisco. I want you to bring in work.” I ignored her. I got a phone call a month later saying, “Where in the hell are you?” So I packed up some work and showed her the work and did a show with her, and sold a lot of work. People from Chicago came—Betsy Rosenfield, Allan Frumkin—and I started showing in Chicago. From Chicago I went to L.A. Then to Denver. So I’ve traveled around for a long time.
Where did you get your art degree?
Sac State.
So you were born in Sacramento?
No, I was born in Gilroy. Raised in Hayward. Had no choice in it. Then we moved here in ‘55.
We just finished a show in Chico, the new Northern California Museum, which has been open about eight months. I did 14 pieces for that. And I’m working on public art, too. I’m doing a big bronze in September for Sutter Park.
The Collector | 2015 | 28 in. x 22 in. x 5 in.
You’ve been in Sacramento more than 60 years. How have you seen the art community change in that time?
Now Irving Marcus is finally getting his just desserts by having a show at the Shrem Museum. And Irv is in his late 80s. The Sacramento crews that I’ve seen come in here, some are marketers. Some new younger artists who live down at the WAL seem to … How should I put it? A lot of hype? The skills are lacking in a lot of the young people that I see.
Quincy Jones said the same type of thing in an interview recently, about younger musicians no longer having the same skills and fundamentals. Do you think it’s a generational thing?
It’s like the [younger] generation invented sex. I don’t see the passion, I see the hype. Some of these guys are marketers. They dress up real nice with suits and ties and nice clothes. I can’t mention their names, I don’t want to be sued. But I’m aware of them, I’ve seen them, I know who they are.
You mentioned your friend Jim selling pieces for $100,000 each. How do you value your own work?
You work in a vacuum, and I find the vacuum a very comfortable place. Pricing of artwork is really strange. I’ll take work into San Francisco and they raise the prices $2,000. I’ll take work into Los Angeles and they lower it $2,000. It all depends on the market. My concern is, am I duplicating myself as an artist?
Why puppets?
I grew up in the 1950s watching television. So puppets and ventriloquial figures were part of the things that talked at you. People think I find these heads [already painted] so I brought a head to show you. They come like this [unpainted]. And I carve most of my heads. I’ll cut the neck off, take the mouths out, finish the whole thing. And I paint with Rustoleum. Which nobody does, I don’t think. And it can paint on anything—glass, metal, ceramic, wood.
Pilgrim | 2008 | 20.5 in. x 48 in. x 8 in.
It does look like you have fun making these.
I do, and it irritates my wife.
But I get political, too. In my work I have the good and the bad. I was a Catholic. I’m really partial to the Northern Renaissance, the old paintings where they used halos and stuff. And I had to have nuns for teachers back in the days when they were really strict and whipped you. I got whipped for painting the side of the church.
What have some of your students gone on to do?
Well, I had Craig Chaquico from Jefferson Starship in my filmmaking class.
Are you hands-on or hands-off as a teacher?
I’m more of a hands-on guy. I actually demonstrate and show expectations. At City College I teach assemblage, and we did an assemblage show. I would take two classes and send them out to junk stores just to buy stuff. Take a whole week buying junk. And they had better come in with buckets of junk. Once they did, they would then get to swap the materials and make pieces. Then I could give them assignments. Say the assignment was to deconstruct a chair. You take the chair apart, but you have to use each and every part of that chair to construct, say, a figure. Some of the best assignments are just coming up with a good idea and putting everybody on the same page. Then they’re all working together on one thing, they’re learning from each other and getting to see what they’re working with. It’s not one guy over here working with clay and one guy working with paint. They’re all headed in the same direction.
I think the classroom is a theater where you develop a family. I tell them, “When you guys miss a class you’re cheating yourselves. You’ve got this two-hour period of time that is put away for you to create something where there’s never been something there before. And if you cut a class, you’ve blown those two hours. They’re gone, and you can’t make them up.”
The Tourist | 2008 | 10.5 in. x 32 in. x 14 in.
What do you feel you have left to accomplish?
There’s an endless search. I can tell you right now, when I die, I will not have had enough time to do everything I wanted to do. If it’s tomorrow, if it’s 20 years from now. I could go on for a thousand years.
Too many ideas?
It just flies into my head, mostly in the shower. The scariest thing is to finish a piece and have that excitement and joy and feeling of accomplishment. Then what next? You gotta start from scratch every time. That’s the scary part. You wonder if you’ll ever get another idea again. And the harder you think about it in that moment, the further away you are from accomplishing anything. So, I just wait.
And take showers.
[Laughing] Yes. And then sometimes you’ve got nothing to start with so you find one thing. You just find one thing. And that one thing can give you the impetus to finish the story, and put it all together. Sometimes I know what the piece is going to look like and other times, like this piece I’m working on right now, I just started, because I couldn’t wait for an idea to happen. But it happened. It just came together. I think what happens when an artist becomes really secure with himself is you use yourself as your own reference source. I’ll go back and look at stuff, how did I solve that? I think you’re in a pretty good place when that happens.
You’ve proven yourself to yourself.
Yes. And it’s not about showing in a gallery, it’s not about selling the work, it’s not even about fame,
you just can’t stop doing it. You have no choice in the matter.
Check out Michael Stevens’ work at JayJay Gallery (5524 B Elvas Ave., Sacramento) as part of their group exhibit, Monumental, which also includes the art of Roger Berry, Anne Gregory, Koo Kyung Sook and many more. Monumental runs now through April 28, 2018. For more info, go to Jayjayart.com.
**This piece first appeared in print on page 24 – 25 of issue #263 (April 9 – 23, 2018)**
Nick Swardson has spent more than half of his life in Hollywood. He began his comedy career at 18 and was discovered shortly thereafter, thrusting him headlong into a world of scriptwriting, film and TV appearances, and national tours. Watch any of his work, and it’s readily apparent—he’s been that 18-year-old kid from Minnesota the whole time.
When Grandma’s Boy (which Swardson co-wrote and starred in) hit theaters in 2006, I was 18, and the competitive outlets du jour included Halo and Texas Hold’em. Inevitably, whoever won anything in my comedy-loving yet highly derivative group of friends would launch into Swardson’s faux-innocent taunt: “What does high score mean? New high score—is that bad? What does that mean? Did I break it?”
I’d bow low enough to nostalgia to call Grandma’s Boy a cult classic. So when I Googled it for a little catch-up, I was surprised to find that Rotten Tomatoes, which didn’t even exist in 2006, had retroactively rated it a paltry 16 percent. I’m not sure how Grandma’s Boy’s approval rating is less than half that of our current president’s, but I’d guess it has something to do with the fact that no movie critic has ever been a teenager.
While critics bemoaned fart jokes, Swardson countered by naming one of his stand-up specials Seriously, Who Farted?—half-asking and half-saying, “Yeah, it was me.” Swardson brought that same boyish mix of exuberance and mischievousness to all his roles, whether as a fixture in Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison film family, or as Terry, the roller-skating gigolo in Reno 911.
Just past the north side of 40, Swardson finds himself still a fan of his hometown Minnesota sports teams, still starstruck by other celebrities and still ready for the road, though maybe a little more comfortably this time.
We recently interrupted each other’s March Madness enjoyment to catch up on his career.
How’s it going?
It’s good man! College basketball’s on, so I’m happy. It’s my favorite time of year.
Me too! I just had to mute Kansas and Clemson when you called.
Yeah, I’m a psychotic sports fan, and my Vikings this year just completely blew my head off.
Oh, well, you might not want to finish this interview, I’m an Eagles fan [the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Minnesota Vikings in this year’s NFC Championship game].
Oh my God … Well, a lot of my good friends are from Philly so it’s OK.
The Eagles and Vikings both have a pretty tortured history.
Yeah, I mean, I was happy for you guys. You fought through the shit.
I know. And had the Vikings won, we would have 100 percent been rooting for them in the Super Bowl.
That Saints game was insane. Craziest thing I’ve ever seen. I was at my hotel while I was doing shows in Colorado, and that play happened at the end of the game, and I fell to my knees at the hotel bar and started sobbing. Everyone was staring at me, and I was literally just sobbing. They were like “Oh my God, are you OK?” I’m like, “I’m a Vikings fan!” They’re like, “Oh OK, we thought you were having a fucking heart attack.”
So, you’re about to start your “Too Many Smells” tour …
Yeah, and I’ll be doing the Crest Theatre, which I love. I did it on my last tour and had a blast.
Such a great building. When did you first play Sacramento?
The Crest is great, I love Sac. I used to do Punch Line back in the day when I was starting out. I drove from Minnesota when I was 19 and doing stand-up across the country, and I drove straight to the Sacramento Punch Line. I was MCing and they didn’t have money to put me up, so I had to sleep in my car. So I just slept in my car every fucking night.
You could have slept in the mattress store next door.
Yeah, right? I was opening for Kevin James. And it’s weird, it’s kind of come full circle. Now, Kevin’s a close friend and I’ve done a ton of movies with him. Recently I asked him, do you remember when I slept in my car?
That’s become the norm now. Clubs don’t really put up features and MCs at all anymore.
No, not at all. I mean, I bring my whole show, so I bring my opening acts, so, you know, I pay for everything. And I make sure they sleep in their car.
Did you meet Adam Sandler through Kevin James?
No, Sandler saw my special [on Comedy Central Presents] and he wrote my name down and was like, “I like this guy.” And he had this movie Grandma’s Boy, and he brought me in to meet with him and was like, “Will you rewrite this movie? You can write yourself a part. It’s kind of PG right now and we want it to be a hard R.” And I was a writer, so I was like, “Yeah, I’ll do that.” So I rewrote it, and now it’s Grandma’s Boy.
That movie hit me at the perfect time in my life.
I love that movie.
What movies are you working on now?
I just finished The Buddy Games with Josh Duhamel, Dax Shepard and Olivia Munn that’s awaiting a release date. I’m developing another movie with the director of Grandma’s Boy. And a new TV show. But right now I just gotta get through this fucking tour.
When was the last time you were actively doing stand-up?
I did a gnarly tour three years ago for my last special that was called Taste It, it’s on Comedy Central. And I did 55 cities on a bus. And I remember I was super excited because I’d never done a tour bus. So I called my agent and told him, “Keep adding cities. Let’s do this!” And I got on the tour bus with my buddy who was opening for me, and we got a week into the tour. And I was like, “This was a horrible idea.” And we were a week into a three-month tour. I didn’t realize on a tour bus you can’t really sleep because it’s really loud, especially in the back where my bed was. So I’m completely sleep deprived, and I remember I was just terrified that the driver was going to fall asleep and kill everyone. It was just a complete anxiety attack. Me and my buddies got bottles of wine and would just chug wine until we passed out. So I’m not doing a tour bus this time.
Do you feel like you’ll always continue to do stand-up?
I’ll try. I’ve been in Hollywood for 20 years and developed a million TV shows, a million movies, and you always have executives and people telling you what to do, telling you what’s funny. Trying to control the project, giving you notes, making you rewrite stuff. And stand-up’s the only thing that you control. I control that, I control what I say, I control what I do. Nobody can tell me what to do when I go on stage. Nobody can go, “Don’t do that.” I’ll be like, “Fuck you, I can do whatever the fuck I want.” That control factor is just priceless.
You got into stand-up at 18. How soon after that did you know it was what you wanted to do?
I knew right away. The first time I did an open mic I got off stage and was like, “Holy shit.” It’s such a rush. It takes a toll on you, because it’s such a weird thing. It’s not natural for your body to do that. Even at this time, I’ve done it 21 years now, and it’s exhausting. It really takes a lot out of you. All the travel, trying to eat healthy, have energy for the show, dealing with tickets, everyone’s asking you for tickets, dealing with lists, the tour manager. Oh my God.
The physical toll of comedy is something that’s not often talked about.
It’s all eating healthy and getting sleep. People think [because of my character] that I just go out and rage. You have to dial it down when you turn 40.
I saw you tell a drinking story on This Is Not Happening.
I was also shitfaced when I was telling the story.
Do you usually drink before you perform?
Not really, maybe a couple at the most. You have to be a professional. I do remember one time, I was at the Hollywood Improv, and I was just drinking at the bar. I didn’t have a set that night, but I used to drink there all the time. And whoever was running the show came over to me and goes, “Hey, the headliner just canceled. Will you go on?” And I was like, “No, I’m shitfaced.” And they were like, “Well, we really need you to go on.” And I’m like “No, I’m in a blackout.” And he says, “You’d really be doing us a favor.” And I’m like, “Alright, fine.” So I got a napkin, I wrote my jokes down. I go up on stage. The second I got on stage, I realized, I should NOT be on stage. I was REALLY drunk. So I tell the first joke, totally butchered it. Try to tell it again. Butcher it again. And then I just go, “I’m too fucking drunk.” And I dropped the mic and walked off and I got a standing ovation.
Do you have a favorite Sacramento story?
This is one of my favorite moments. We’re on a press tour for the movie Just Go With It. Me, Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. We’re in Dallas. Sandler plays a lot of basketball. So [Dallas Mavericks owner] Mark Cuban goes, “Hey do you wanna play in our practice facility?” Sandler says yeah. So we show up, and Peja Stojakovic, who used to be on the Kings, is one of my favorite players. I loved that Kings team. I loved J-Will [Jason Williams], all those guys. So we’re standing there and Peja is doing shooting practice. So Mark Cuban’s like, “Hey, just wait a minute, Peja’s almost done.” So we’re waiting and then Peja sees us and walks over, and he goes, “Hey, Sandler, I’m a huge fan, pleasure to meet you.” And he turns to me, and he goes “Hey, what’s going on?” And I literally went into a weird brain fart because I was so excited because I fucking love that guy. Sandler goes, “This is my friend.” And I go, “My name’s Peja.” And he goes, “Your name’s Peja too?” And I go, “No. What? No. Sorry. My name’s Nick.”
He was probably so excited to finally meet another Peja.
And I was just starstruck.
Nick Swardson’s stand-up tour, Too Many Smells, will be at the Crest Theatre (1013 K St.) on April 29. You can buy tickets at Crestsacramento.com.
**This interview first appeared in print on pages 18 – 19 of issue #262 (March 26 – April 9, 2018)**
I started hearing about Jeff Landi a decade or so ago, and it was always in the context of how surprising it was that someone so kind and humble was also so technically gifted.
I don’t need to tell you that there are scores of hateful photographers who sneer pretentiously from behind their expensive Canons. Landi’s photos are special because he’s different. While his work is technically impeccable, what stands out is the outright humanity of his photos. Browsing his work can be an emotional experience wrought with tenderness, pain, surprise, glee, dignity and, well, lots and lots of skateboarding.
Perhaps most surprisingly is how he manages to conjure such emotion in what can sometimes be a really dry genre. Even his photos without human subjects seem to exude a playfulness and compassion that are more than the sum of the objects depicted. His food photos, for example, are vibrant to the point of suggesting motion, and his action shots, while unquestionably portraying motion, evoke a kind of calm that lends itself to the compassion that seems to be the hallmark of his work. To meet the guy, it’s not a surprise. He’s just as full of energy as he is of kindness. Landi is a busy guy between traveling for work, being a dad, shooting personal and corporate photography and now with an upcoming show at Beatnik Studios. With all he has going on, I caught up with him at, of all places, a Sacramento Kings game at the Golden 1 Center to chat about it all.
Landi was able to juggle our interview and the game flawlessly, knowing player names, calling out the big plays and adding context for his unsavvy guest, which in hindsight is probably something photographers get really good at; balancing the action in front of them with the reason they’re there in the first place. We sat down, grabbed a coffee (we’re both dads out on a weeknight after all) and talked about his work over some Red Vines.
Photo of Jeff Landi by Dan Herrera
How’d you get started?
I think I was always sort of generally interested in photography and videography, but as kids we grew up skateboarding, and from 12 on, we always had video cameras, filming each other. I think as an extension of that, I started taking photos. As I got older, it started to interest me as a career. Initially I took a photo class at Sac State and I fucking hated it! I’m like, “There’s no way I could do this. I’m not interested and I don’t have an eye for it.” Maybe six months later, I had moved to San Francisco and thought I’d give it another crack. So I took a black and white class with an instructor at City College, and she had been working in New York as a printer for some well-known, older street photographers, and she just shared so much inspiring imagery with us—all of this old classic street photography and just brought actual prints and books of other artists, and that got me excited about photography again. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it, and my photos were awful, but she inspired me. I also had a really good friend in that class who went on to do a lot with photography and video stuff, and we also had another friend who was just there using the dark room all the time, so we had a little crew and I had this teacher, and I wasn’t shooting any skateboarding at that point.
Really, so it was separate for you? You were skateboarding still, I assume?
Absolutely. I was goofing off and randomly taking a picture here and there, but I wasn’t proactively shooting anything. Actually, in that class I did one skateboarding photo and the teacher loved it. She said, “You found what you should be doing” … I looked [at it] recently and it’s not really a very good photo. It has meaning for me, but aesthetically, not so much.
Photos by Jeff Landi | Omar Salazar | 2002
You’ve clearly grown.
Maybe. I think I’ve just shot a lot more. There’s a lot more opportunity for success when you shoot more.
What led you to doing it professionally?
From that class, I started shooting a lot of skateboarding, and got a gig. I started shooting photos for Heckler, if you remember them. Those guys were a huge influence. We all grew up skateboarding and I was just peripherally good, but I knew the Heckler dudes and hung out with some of their photographers. So I had a little experience with them and they hooked me up with film and they had a darkroom and ran my photos—graciously, I might add. Somewhere in there, my friend was working for another skateboarding company called Slap, which is a sister publication of Thrasher. I was fostering that relationship, and then went to San Francisco State and kept exploring photography, and I was already on my track photo-wise, but long story short, my last semester there, they gave me a project on Slap, just photographing for an article about Sacramento skateboarding, and it just took off from there. I graduated and got a retainer gig from them.
Let’s talk about the subject matter. I noticed that even what you call your “skateboard photos” don’t seem to be of tricks as much as they’re highlighting a bigger story. I’m thinking of the photo on your site of a guy doing a kickflip under a bridge with a scooter in the foreground.
Yeah, I just shot that. That’s only a few months old.
There’s another with a group of kids pushing their friends on a skateboard. It’s interesting to me, because those aren’t classic skateboarding photos. They’re humanity photos with skateboards in them.
Yeah, I have a couple things going on. I’m really attracted to action photos. It doesn’t really matter what sport it is, I love action photos. I also really love photography that involves people and tells a story. I try to have more depth to my images.
Yoshiaki Toeda | Varial Heelflip | Korea | 2014
It shows.
Well it’s hard. I mean, you write, so you know. Sometimes the work is just the work, but sometimes you get happy accidents. I love happy accidents. For example, my favorite photo these days is this black-and-white photo of this guy skateboarding and he’s going over water and there’s a little pigeon in the foreground. I wasn’t going to take that photo and my friend said, “Hey you should shoot this,” and so I was looking at it, and the girl looking over, the people, that bird, those are all happy accidents. I mean, I try to stage those things a lot, but it depends. I try to take pride in what I do and shoot things that I think are cool, and to be honest, I’m painfully insecure about it.
Really? Why?
I could rattle off 45 photographers who are better at what I do than me.
Does it keep you humble and hungry?
I don’t know. I just really try to take the picture of the photo that I see, as corny as that sounds.
No, that’s perfect! That’s what I was hoping you’d say, because it seems like there’s a lot of you in your photos.
I don’t know if that’s good or bad, because then you’re not documenting, you’re putting your spin on what’s there. But it’s through my eye, and I guess that’s where I get really insecure just going like, “I like it.” I always feel like I’m lacking for depth or artistry.
Photo by Jeff Landi | Nestor Judkins | Kickflip | Shanghai | 2017
Do you start out with an agenda more often than not?
Yeah. When I’m on a trip, it’s like a turn and burn thing where they need images constantly for social media, so you can’t wait for those things to happen. Like that photo under the bridge. I could have waited, but I staged it. We were watching something else and doing some more traditional things and then I asked him to push toward me and do a few kickflips and waited for the scooter. I mean, it’s all really happy accidents in the end, but you don’t know if the timing is going to work. Is that guy going to swerve at the right time, while looking at the camera? Also … is it all going to be aesthetically pleasing? I love all of that stuff, but what’s important is the skateboarding to me. The skateboarding has to be right, and if the skateboarding isn’t right, none of that other shit matters at all.
So in a way you’re kind of enhancing the happy accident?
That’s a good way to put it, yeah. I’m trying to tell a story and that story was happening before I got there. It was happening a little further down the bridge, and if I can curate that story a little bit, I’m into it. I’m not trying to fake a story. It’s something maybe that I’ve set up or already seen, but it’s something that’s real. I’m not telling a fairy tale. Everything I do is a frozen moment in time.
Let’s talk about the street photography show at Beatnik. It’s called Still in the Streets. How’d that come together?
Well, Wes [Davis], who is one of the owners, invited me to be a part of the show. He wants me to focus on my photos from the late 1990s to early 2000s. Work that I shot mostly here in Sacramento. It’ll be mostly skateboard-related images. I know that Wes wants me to show more lifestyle oriented stuff, but I’ll show action photography from that era and a little lifestyle and portrait stuff that’s kind of the backstory to the action stuff. It’s really about street skateboarding.
Given what you’ve said, is it weird to go back and look at those images critically?
No. Not really. Only a little in that I really only like large images and I get really particular. I’m not that particular when it comes to other people’s work, but with my own work, I want it to look a certain way, so it can be a little challenging. Mostly when I go back and look at it, I just wish I would have shot more. I don’t think I shot enough.
Photo by Jeff Landi | Brandon Biebel | 2002
Head down to Beatnik Studios (723 S St., Sacramento) on April 6 for the opening reception for Still in the Streets, which features photographs by Jeff Landi, Kent Lacin, Marion Post Wolcott, Richard Hughes and Alexis Wilson. The exhibit, which will run through May 21, highlights four generations of street photographers. The opening reception will run from 6–9 p.m. There will be a second artist reception on May 4, also from 6–9 p.m. For more information, go to Facebook.com/beatnikstudiossacramento or Beatnik-studios.com.
**This piece first appeared in print on pages 22 – 23 of issue #262 (March 26 – April 9, 2018)**
Drinks are being poured, laughter is in the air, and well-known melodies fill the bar. Many of us are familiar with the excitement and hilarity of karaoke, but on March 9, Blue Lamp (1400 Alhambra Blvd., Sacramento) is taking the interactive Japanese game to the next level. Instead of simply singing along to a backing track, participants have the opportunity to sing their favorite punk songs along with a live band, which happens to be made up of punk rock legends. If you get up to sing, you can expect to be sharing the stage with musicians that are members of punk bands such as The Adolescents, NOFX, Goldfinger, Bad Religion, Circle Jerks, Sum 41, Dickies, D.I. and Agent Orange. In addition to Punk Rock Karaoke, there will also be performances by Los Angeles punk band Anti-Social and Sacramento punk/industrial band Kill the Precedent. Get there early to catch the music and to get on the sign-up sheet! The show starts at 8 p.m., and is for ages 21 and over. Tickets are available online at Bluelampsacramento.com for the advance ticket price of $11, or you can purchase tickets for $15 at the door.
**This write-up first appeared in print on page 15 of issue #260 (Feb. 26 – March 12, 2018)**
The 90th Academy Awards take place Sunday, March 4 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, with Jimmy Kimmel of Win Ben Stein’s Money fame hosting. Lady Bird—maybe you’ve heard where it was filmed?—received five nominations, including the nod for Best Picture. The last time Sacramento had this much at stake in Los Angeles was the Kings-Lakers Conference Finals in 2002.
It’s a wide open Best Picture field, with nine nominees. Unlike other categories, Best Picture voting uses the preferential ballot. Rather than choosing one winner, voters rank all nine nominees in order, which tends to reward films that garner widespread appreciation over more divisive options. Would have been a nice format to have around in say, November 2016, but at least it gives Lady Bird a pretty good shot. Here’s what we’re up against!
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
A passionate pursuit of justice in which every character simply refuses to take any shit. Best Actress favorite Frances McDormand spent a year eating rusty nails to prepare for this role (probably), while Woody Harrelson and Best Supporting Actor frontrunner Sam Rockwell play cops on very different ends of the is-it-OK-to-kneel-during-the-national-anthem spectrum.
Why Lady Bird wins: Location, location, location. Yeah, Three Billboards took best picture at the Golden Globes, SAG and BAFTA. But not even Greta Gerwig can make you appreciate Sacramento as much as spending two hours in the hellhole that is Ebbing, Missouri. Plus, if it were “3 Billboards Outside Sacramento,” Kaiser would just buy the billboards and the credits would come 11 minutes in.
Call Me By Your Name
A visually stunning piece of cinema set in the Northern Italian countryside—maybe the only place in the world more beautiful than Sacramento. It’s a scintillating love story that has a lot to teach the farm-to-fork capital about the different ways one can use a peach.
Why Lady Bird wins: Age of majority. You may recognize Timothée Chalamet as the broody adolescent anarchist to whom Lady Bird lost her virginity, when they were both in high school. In his role in Call Me By Your Name, for which he’s a dark horse Best Actor candidate, Chalamet plays a 17-year-old in a love affair with a 24-year-old. Above Italy’s age of consent? Sure. But “Call Me When You’re 18” may have been more ethically pleasing.
Dunkirk
Also known as “PTSD: The Movie,” Dunkirk is an optically intense war thriller shot in 70mm. Director Christopher Nolan tunes out the text and turns up the technique, leaving you fully immersed, at least until you see Harry Styles in his new boy band, the British army.
Why Lady Bird wins: Internal > external conflict. Aerial dogfights and capsized carriers are cool, but what about the inner turmoil of a young woman struggling to get in her touch with the artist within her? Styles or no, Dunkirk is going in One Direction: down.
The Shape of Water
Let me save you some time: it’s a parallelogram. In this ode to Old Hollywood, Sally Hawkins portrays a mute woman with a performance that speaks volumes. Plus, when is fish fornication not fun?
Why Lady Bird wins: Originality. Rumors abound that director Guillermo del Toro “stole” the plot for The Shape of Water from a 2015 Dutch student film, The Space Between Us, or “obviously derived” it from Pulitzer-winning playwright Paul Zindel’s 1969 play Let Me Hear You Whisper. Most likely it’s just a common storyline, but that’s sort of the point: it’s hard to imagine Lady Bird being created in 1969, in the Netherlands, or by anyone else at all.
Phantom Thread
The much-esteemed method actor Daniel Day-Lewis announced that Phantom Thread would be his final film, so he’ll now forever be stuck portraying a famous London fashion designer who hates the sound of toast. Paul Thomas Anderson, the best director to never win Best Director, transports you to a land of gorgeous gowns far removed from the worlds his work has previously inhabited.
Why Lady Bird wins: Levity! At one point Day-Lewis’ character proclaims “There is an air of quiet death in this house.” The same can be said for Phantom Thread. Lady Bird had a laugh for every tear shed, and sometimes people need to breathe.
Darkest Hour
Gary Oldman was born to play Winston Churchill. He just had to wait until he was an actual old man to do it. He’ll win Best Actor easily. But in 2018, Darkest Hour may have been better served as an episodic Netflix documentary called “The Gary Oldman Show.”
Why Lady Bird wins: Brevity. I felt a bit deceived by the title, because Darkest Hour comes in at a hefty runtime of two hours and five minutes. Interestingly, the hour in question takes place concurrently with Harry Styles and company’s embankment at Dunkirk. Had they been given entertainment options, they’d likely have gone for Lady Bird’s neatly edited 95 minutes.
A movie about the strange, overly informative Facebook post a friend of yours made that’s got everyone in your social circle talking. OK, you got me. There are nine nominees! I haven’t seen this one yet. But with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in tow, it’s so familiar I’ve probably seen it a dozen times already.
Why Lady Bird wins: Well I didn’t see The Post, but I saw Lady Bird twice. That should count for something.
Get Out
Smart, scary, satirical and—oh yeah—hilarious, Jordan Peele’s directorial debut was a striking success that we can all learn a lesson from—never meet your girlfriend’s family.
Why Lady Bird wins: History. Whether you consider Get Out a horror or a comedy (trick question, it’s a documentary), neither genre traditionally gets the respect it deserves from the Academy, not to mention that February nominees struggle from recency bias. That may be enough to send Get Out to the sunken place.
**This piece first appeared in print on pages 12 – 13 of issue #260 (Feb. 26 – Mar. 12, 2018)**
The two members of Woodstock, New York-based indie/folk duo Native Harrow are in the midst of their 100-plus date New Year Eyes Tour, and Sacramento is lucky to be on their impressive list of shows. Mark your calendar for this Friday, Feb. 16 and come out to Kupros Craft House (1217 21st St.) for an intimate evening of beautiful live tunes. Vocalist and guitarist Devin Tuel and multi-instrumentalist Stephen Harms surround themselves with a plethora of musical tools on stage, everything from cellos, to drums, to keyboards, to “pawn-shop electrics,” keeping listeners and viewers engaged from start to end. The show is free, kicks off at 9:30 p.m. and is for those 21-and-over only. If you can’t make it to see the wonderful Native Harrow on the 16th, we highly suggest making it a point to check out another live show at Kupros, as it is a Midtown gem, and a perfect place to grab a bite and a pint while kicking back and enjoying some quality music. On Feb. 17 they’ve got Soul Providers, on Feb. 23 the Ross Hammond and Jon Bafus duo will be on hand, and on Feb. 24 the Harley White Jr. Trio will bring the jazz vibes. Learn more about Kupros and their upcoming shows at Facebook.com/KuprosCraftHouse. Learn more about Native Harrow at Nativeharrow.com and be sure to check out their fantastic 2017 album Sorores before heading to the gig.
**This write-up first appeared in print on page 13 of issue #259 (Feb. 12 – 26, 2018)**
There was a peculiar vibe on the streets outside the Memorial Auditorium prior to the Queens of the Stone Age show.
First of all, it seemed curious that a sports bar near the venue had more screens showing the State of the Union speech than the Kings game. In fact, three screens had the speech on Fox News and none were showing the Kings game. Maybe it’s just a sign of the times, but it seemed strange. I had to pester the bartender at the establishment to put on the game for the final seconds of what turned out to be a rare victory for our beleaguered team.
Jon Theodore of Queens of the Stone Age
Down the street, unlike the low expectations for the Kings (and the speech), the crowd heading into the Memorial were prepared see a win. Rather than a feeling of resignation, there was an air of confidence. No one seemed to be rushing. They knew what they were in for. There seemed to be an unspoken consensus that the Queens would show up and kick ass and take names. This is something the band have gained quite a reputation for over the years.
However, it’s important to mention that although this feeling resonated, there may have been some deep-down concern over a couple of recent episodes of erratic behavior by the group and band leader Josh Homme last year.
Troy De Van Leeuwen & Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age
First, the band cancelled their prime time slot at Outside Lands due to an undisclosed “injury.” Then, during a holiday show, Homme received worldwide press when he kicked a photographer’s camera, and it struck her in the head during his band’s set. He later apologized via video and called himself a “total dick” for his actions. This was a little over a month ago.
These incidents may have given concern to many, but the band’s core fans didn’t seem too fazed.
Homme has long been a swaggering, anti-hero on the rock ‘n’ roll scene. Along with Dave Grohl, he’s been a driving force behind a movement to keep authentic rock ‘n’ roll expression alive. Together with Grohl and the former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones he formed the rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures in 2009, which resulted in a Grammy-winning song for Best Hard Rock Performance. Last year, he collaborated with Iggy Pop on the album Post Pop Depression, and went on to do a tour with the legendary vocalist, which received critical acclaim.
Jesse Hughes of Eagles of Death Metal
The openers on this night in Sacramento were Eagles of Death Metal, Homme’s collaboration with Jesse Hughes, an old high school friend. It was in 2015 that the group and their fans were attacked by terrorists at the Bataclan theater in Paris, where 90 people were killed and naturally, many, many others were scarred for life. Homme wasn’t there, but he was deeply affected by the tragedy.
Despite their name, Eagles of Death Metal are more of a boogie rock band with some rockabilly tendencies. Hughes came out with impressive energy, working the stage like a manic preacher and firing up the crowd by tossing them Dum Dums lollipops. The band rocked and by the time they were done, the crowd was ready to pounce.
Early in the Eagles set, Hughes pointed out that local native Colin Hanks was in the wings. Hanks directed an HBO documentary called Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our friends) that documented the aftermath of the Paris attacks. Homme joined the group on drums for their final two songs and Hanks came out with the band at the end of their set to take a bow.
Queens of the Stone Age were touring in support of last year’s Villains album. The record was a departure for the band, who brought in producer Mark Ronson (Bruno Mars, Amy Winehouse). Ronson helped the group explore a sound that follows Homme’s intention to make a record that amplifies the limber grooves of QOTSA’s sinewy sound. This was highlighted in the live realm by the phenomenal drumming of Jon Theodore (The Mars Volta), who joined the band a few years ago. Another standout figure on stage was Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, keyboards, vocals), who played with nimble ferocity throughout the set.
Jennie Vee of Eagles of Death Metal
While the setlist was great, the sound in the Memorial Auditorium left quite a bit to be desired. The venue is known to be be aesthetically pleasing but acoustically lacking. On this night the Queens tried to compensate by just turning things way up, which buried a lot of the great musicianship onstage. Someone in their technical crew figured out a tweak prior to the last three songs and the sound improved dramatically. Too bad this didn’t happen earlier.
During all of this, at the center of it all was Homme, who started things off by muffing some lyrics near the end of the opener “Keep Your Eyes Peeled,” but seemed to find his stride by the fourth song, “No One Knows.” After that it was full steam ahead.
Homme bantered with the crowd, at one point promising a fan up front to add an unplanned “Mexicola” to the setlist as a birthday gift. They played it during the encore. He told a nice story about growing up with Hughes. He scolded a stage diver. He danced a little like Elvis, and at the end of it all he handed his vodka bottle over to the crowd.
All in all it was a solid, and often blaring night of rock ‘n’ roll that was a good reminder that Sacramento could really use a better sounding mid-size venue. In the meantime, the Memorial will close down at the end of March to begin a substantial renovation that promises improved acoustics. Here’s to hoping that becomes a reality. And fer godsakes, let’s also hope that the Kings can get some good draft picks.
Dave Catching & Jennie Vee of Eagles of Death Metal
**This review first appeared in print on page 29 of issue #259 (Feb. 12 – 26, 2018)**
The Shanghai soup dumpling (xiao long bao or XLB) for those who have tasted it, is a habit you can’t, and don’t want to break.
The craving comes suddenly. The thought of freshly stretched dough, pasta-thick, twisted into a sack around a meatball that is floating in a steam bath of its own broth is too much to bear.
XLB is the pot of gold at dim sum brunches, in established Chinatowns and Asian immigrant neighborhoods, and on cold nights when you’re in need of something warm. For those who try XLB for the first time, get ready for lifelong addiction and adventure for the next best.
Who knew that something even more venerated existed? That is what I learned at I-Shanghai Delight (1115 Front St.). Sheng Jian Bao, where have you been all my life?
Before I tell you about SJB, the pan-fried dumpling explosions I encountered, I will say that on a Friday night around the Sacramento grid, a lot of dumpling options are available, but in five years nothing has blown my mind until now. The meat dumplings at the new I-Shanghai Delight in Old Sacramento come closest to the Shanghai dumplings of San Francisco, where the largest Chinese population outside mainland China resides, and the best Shanghainese cuisine on the West Coast exists.
Walk, ride or park a couple blocks away from I-Shanghai Delight, then walk downstairs to the basement level into a lively, cozy dim sum house. White-washed wood-grain floors, dark gray brick arches and a glass encasement showcasing the chef in a tall hat placing dumplings in bamboo steamers welcome you as you descend.
Formerly the location of Hong Kong-style Cellar Bistro, the newly renovated I-Shanghai Delight will make you feel like you’re in a hip neighborhood spot despite its touristy location. Large groups of young people, dates of all ages and families fill the space by 7 p.m., but the wait lasts only a few minutes. The restaurant is larger than it seems and includes private space.
Once seated, you order dim sum style, marking with pen on laminated menus how many of each item your table would like, and sharing is encouraged.
At $8.95 for eight one-bite steamed soup dumplings, the price is actually steeper than some dim sum houses, but still a bargain if you’re splitting a few items with friends. My partner and I had one order of steamed dumplings, an order of the pan-fried soup dumplings or SJB (six per order, also $8.95), braised duck in Shanghai sauce and the evening special of egg dumplings with cabbage.
I’ll start with the SJB, because I can’t stop thinking about it. This is no bread-y pork bun; the ratio of dough—golden crisp on the bottom—to soup to meat is done in a way that you should probably pop the whole thing in your mouth to prevent squirting your neighbor. It is completely worth it, but just make sure to give the dumplings time to cool down or you’ll have a scalded tongue.
The best way to pass the time as your dumplings cool is to eat that braised duck. Served sliced, cold and on the bone, the meat is tender inside, crispy outside and doused in a slightly sweet, thickened soy sauce with cinnamon, star anise and pepper.
Cold, bone-in meat may not have been my first choice, but it’s one of the best duck dishes I have tasted. For vegetarians, an order of kelp salad or cucumber in garlic sauce could be a starter as you wait for the dumplings to cool.
At maybe five minutes, the pan-fried dumpling on your plate is ready for a dip in the accompanying vinegar-based sauce. I made the mistake of biting just halfway through first, and lost the soup to my plate. You’ll want to mop that up with something later.
The ground meat within is not heavily seasoned, and reminds me of breakfast sausage. The green onions sprinkled atop the SJB and salt in the sauces, however, provide a push of flavor.
The XLB could use some more seasoning internally, but again, a strong dip into the garlic sauce provided with them adds that extra kick.
The stomachs at the table didn’t have much room for the egg dumpling special, but picture a mini omelet with the same meatball as the soup dumplings folded inside. These yellow half-moons are floating in broth with softened cabbage and glass noodles, and the whole thing is begging to be taken home for breakfast the next morning—so that’s what we did.
Expect to leave full and satisfied without spending much more than $35 for two very hungry, ambitious people. The restaurant doesn’t serve alcohol, but that just leaves more room for dumplings, right? A nutty, complimentary tea is provided early on, and the menu looks to have additions and subtractions depending on day and time.
I-Shanghai Delight is open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and for dinner from 5:30 to 9 p.m. everyday except Tuesday.
**This review first appeared in print on page 13 of issue #258 (Jan. 29 – Feb. 12, 2018)**
Sacramento Bacon Fest is back for the seventh year in a row! The second week of February will be chock-full of pork-themed events, kicking off the festivities with the Bacon Fest Opening Party at Empress Tavern on Feb. 6, and ending with the infamous (and already sold-out) Chef’s Challenge at Mulvaney’s B&L on Feb. 11. Tickets might go fast for the main events, but don’t worry: there are a dozen other bacon-themed celebrations happening throughout the week. There will be a Bacon Cocktail Competition held at Bottle and Barlow on Feb. 7, and on Feb. 8 you can attend the annual Skee Ball Tournament at Two Rivers Cider Company (which will feature bacon-inspired food and the opportunity to win tickets the the sold-out final event) or a surprise bacon-themed event at LowBrau. On Feb. 9, Revolution Wines is hosting a Bacon and Wine Happy Hour, and the Torch Club will be presenting the sixth annual Kevin Bacon Soundtrack Tribute Show. You also have opportunities to satisfy your bacon craving on Feb. 10, with options ranging from bacon dim sum at Canon, bacon food trucks and brews in Curtis Park, and bacon and beer at Selland’s Market-Cafe and Bike Dog Brewery. And on Feb. 11, you have two bacon-themed brunches to choose from: one at Magpie Cafe and one at Hook and Ladder. With the exception of the events held at bars, Bacon Fest is open to all ages. Find out more about Sacramento Bacon Fest at Facebook.com/SacramentoBaconFest.
**This write-up first appeared in print on page 15 of issue #258 (Jan. 29 – Feb. 12, 2018)**
