By day, local stand-up comedian on the rise Daniel Humbarger is an attorney, but at night he tells jokes about his girlfriend buying a “max-iPad” and “poop jokes that make you think.” “Dropping a few timely, witty jokes in the courtroom is always exciting,” Humbarger recently joked with Submerge, “Assuming they go over well with the judge.”

Just a year-and-a-half into his craft, Humbarger has a ton of shows under his belt and he feels like he is finally finding his “own voice” as a comedian. “I’ve still got a long way to go,’ he admits. “It’s been weird, awesome, embarrassing and incredibly rewarding. But mostly it’s just been really fun. I’m having a great time with it.”

Humbarger hosts his “Thursday Night Jive at Shine” every first and third Thursday of the month at the cozy little coffee shop, eatery, gallery and performance space located at 1400 E Street in downtown Sacramento. On any given night he’s got four to six featured comedians, both local and touring, as well as a couple slots that he keeps open for other comics who show up.

“I’ve always liked the space and thought it lends itself well to comedy,” Humbarger said of his choice to host the reoccurring comedy night at Shine. “But mostly it’s because it’s close enough that I can stumble home afterwards.”

The next installment of Thursday Night Jive goes down on June 7, 2012 when Humbarger will welcome three San Francisco comics who regularly get on stage at Punch Line, Caitlin Gill, Ivan Hernandez and Ben Feldman. Locals Johnny Taylor, Michael O’Connell and Ben Rice will also perform. On June 21, 2012 catch Clare O’Kane and David Gborie, both from San Francisco, along with locals Ray Molina and A.J. De Guzman. Humbarger hosts all of the shows rather than doing a proper full-length set. He attempts to get the crowd worked up and introduces each comic.

“It’s good for me. It teaches me how to warm up a cold crowd and as a host, you learn the show isn’t really about you at all,” he said. “It’s about setting up the crowd for the comedians coming up next. But, it’s also nice for me, because I can try new stuff and take risks I couldn’t otherwise.” Learn more about Humbarger at http://www.danielhumbarger.com/ and to view videos of his stand-up visit http://www.youtube.com/DanielHumbarger. Learn more about Shine and view upcoming concerts, poetry readings and more at http://shinesacramento.com/

Blackbird Kitchen and Bar
1015 9th Street – Sacramento

Words by Adam Saake | Photos by Nicholas Wray

The first week of April saw the opening of the frequently discussed and much anticipated Blackbird Kitchen and Bar. Owner and Chef Carina Lampkin nested inside the 1015 9th Street location, where she and company set to work on changing the downtown space into a tastefully designed restaurant and bar with a laidback, European feel. Stairs lead up to the second-floor mezzanine, which overlooks the front half of the restaurant, giving guests a bird’s eye view. Upon my visit, the 7 o’clock hour brought a setting sun that tore through the glass front doors and illuminated the bar, the top of which is a gorgeous plank of solid redwood. To put it bluntly, this bird is pretty. And Lampkin accomplished this by putting her DIY attitude to work with little capital.

“I had a vision of taking this dilapidated building and transforming it into something beautiful. I didn’t have a lot of money. So it was me, and my friends and my mom chipping paint and learning how to plaster,” says Lampkin.

The concept for Blackbird began on a bicycle trip from San Francisco, where Lampkin was living and cooking at the time, to Los Angeles. The bike trip was her pilgrimage to overcome the personal trauma of losing one of her close friends in a car accident in 2006. Lampkin was in that same car, and the accident put her in a coma for 30 days.

“When I woke up, the song was going through my head,” remembers Lampkin.

This was the first of other signs that Lampkin felt was her friend trying to communicate with her. Her mother recounts hearing a crow cawing loudly during her memorial service when her loved ones were speaking of her infectious laugh.

“She felt that her spirit was in that crow,” says Lampkin.

And so on that bike trip, with time to think and talk, the idea was hatched by her friend.

“My friend Christian said to me, ‘Carina, you love helping people so much. Why don’t you move to Sacramento and open a business with your family?’ So that’s what I did,” says Lampkin.

Now let’s talk seafood. When you hear the name Blackbird, it’s not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind, but Lampkin wasn’t about to call the place the Clam Shack. However, there are clams on the menu. Applewood-smoked clams, to be exact, in a seafood chowder that is absolutely divine. It’s one of those things where you look over your shoulder to make sure no one is watching you lick the bottom of the bowl clean. Resident wine buff Tyler Stacy paired this with a Domaine Delaye Chardonnay that nicely complemented the rich chowder. It’s great for business that Stacy is on board at Blackbird. He’s a young, up and coming guy in the local wine scene, and he knows his stuff. When you dine at Blackbird, he’ll steer you in the right direction with pairings. And with him around, glassware will be proper, no doubt.

There are many memorable dishes on the small, 15-item menu that Lampkin and Chef de Cuisine Kevin O’Connor (you may remember him when we covered his Tree House Dinners) have assembled. The menu is sort of an homage to San Francisco’s Bar Crudo, where Lampkin worked under the talented Mike Selvera, her “favorite chef.” His approach to menu size, raw bar and ambiance certainly was an influence when setting the groundwork for Blackbird, and that’s a very good thing.

“Mike Selvera was never competitive in the kitchen, was always cool and never mad if you forgot something on an order. Jameson came out around 8 o’clock every night as we were listening to punk rock music,” recalls Lampkin.

Lampkin borrowed some of her best menu items, slightly tweaked of course, from Bar Crudo including the aforementioned chowder. The Maine lobster and roasted beet salad with burrata cheese, Banyuls vinaigrette and upland crest was bright, stunning and delicious. Stacy supplied a beautiful German Pinot/Trollinger, and I was happy as a clam. The raw bar, which is tucked a bit further back in the restaurant, has seating for guests to get right up close to the shucking action. Choose from Miyagi, Beausoleil, Kumamoto or Shigoku oysters on the half shell and stuff yourself silly during happy hour when the Miyagis are $1 apiece. And when it comes to oysters, there isn’t much to say about the chef’s preparation unless we’re talking sauces. It’s just about quality and freshness, and Blackbird’s oysters have just that. Stacy knocked it out of the park with a bright and mineral-y Muscadet from Gilbert Chon to sip while I slurped.

Other options from the raw bar are a nod to Japanese cuisine like the Kona Kampachi with citrus, cucumber, Thai aromatics and purple shiso; or the Arctic Char with housemade kimchi (awesome), honey-soy reduction, micro cilantro and black lava salt. All of these dishes were beautifully plated and garnished by O’Connor, and the colors and creativity are singing on this menu. This creative energy is something that Lampkin made sure that her general manager Dona Bridges sought out when selecting the staff.

“During the interview process, I asked if anyone’s a career restaurant person, that’s who we want to work with and please make sure that they also have a background in art. Because not only do I want this to be a restaurant, but I want it to be a creative powerhouse,” says Lampkin.

The winner from the raw bar was the Dayboat scallops dish that, before and after I had eaten it, servers and bartenders were asking me, “Have you tried the scallops yet?” It’s a good sign when your entire staff is raving about a dish. Presented on a green pea puree that was stellar all on its own, shaved asparagus, pink peppercorns and lemon oil and paired with a lovely German Riesling, the scallops were all they were cracked up to be. But to tell you the truth, even through dishes like the squid ink fettucine with grilled Monterey squid, dino kale, chorizo and preserved Meyer lemon, I saved just enough appetite for the main event: whole roasted Passmore Ranch trout. Passamore Ranch just has a killer product. The preparation of this dish makes me weak in the knees–I’m still remembering breaking into the skin as the steam rose from the perfectly cooked flesh. Sinful. Served with fava beans, spring onion, sous-vide fennel and sweet herbs, it’s all about the trout at Blackbird.

Just as Blackbird’s kitchen speaks volumes, as does its bar. Patrick O’Neill’s many years of bar experience have culminated here and his passion for the craft is evident when you order a drink from him. He’s got classics on the list like the Blood and Sand or the Moscow Mule (served in a bronze mug) and mixes up intrigue with the wildly colorful Purple Haze. The bar reminds me of a kitchen counter lined with glass jars filled with fresh herbs like mint, basil and rosemary; and citrus fruits like oranges, cumquats, lemons and limes. The liquor selection is a bartender’s playground, and the list is still changing and evolving. It’ll be nice to see what the Blackbird bar comes up with once they’re completely settled in.

Blackbird is a whole defined by its parts; a restaurant of young talents converging in one space and taking ownership, each of them a brush stroke in helping to paint the larger picture. Lampkin has taken them under her wing and is guiding them toward perfection by showing them that focusing on the details makes the difference.

“The difference between a great restaurant and an awesome restaurant is attention to detail,” says Lampkin.

Lampkin attributes her own success to what she calls “amazing grace.” She teaches her kitchen about meditation and the power that their thoughts or mood may have on the cooking.

“If you’re angry and you’re cooking, that anger goes into your food. Because when you have a thought, there’s an electrical release and that travels through your hand into the food. If you’re upset, that guest is going leave with anxiety in their stomach. But if you’re joyful and meditating happy thoughts, they’ll leave with that,” explains Lampkin.

You’ll be sure to leave Blackbird with happy thoughts.

Singer/Songwriter Sherman Baker bears his soul, battles addiction and existential dread…all in a day’s work

Words by Joseph Atkins – Photos by Amy Scott

Sherman Baker has lived multiple lives: struggling Los Angeles actor, recovering heroin addict, mild-mannered songwriter. Yet, there’s something about him that eschews both of the former descriptions and settles on the latter. Baker’s bigger than you imagine, listening to his new full-length, Seventeenth Street. His songs make him sound fragile, delicate; but in person his wide shoulders wrap a guitar while he sings upwards into a microphone. On stage he appears focused, intent. His look is exactly right for the sound, and the qualities of Baker’s sound ultimately condition the person he is.

Up close, it’s hard to tell how much of his personality is shaped by the quiet childhood he describes or the humility of a recovering addict, or where they bleed together. But their silent strength produces songs that slowly engulf one’s attention. Baker has enough self-confidence to expose himself, musically or otherwise, to talk honestly about his past and present. He has a soft-spoken manner that leaves a small impression. He’s like a subtle fill that piques one’s interest and becomes the highlight of a track after multiple listens. He’s normal yet unique, exotic in his low-key banality.

There’s a subtlety to his brand of song craft, a fusion of Dylan and Elliott Smith, with the tonal foundations of old school pop. His hooks and harmonies draw out the anguish and joy of repeated failure and angst, verse after verse. Below them, a series of string melodies and rhythms complement and exacerbate his vocal tracks, as the lyric content demands. There’s a focused tension on the struggle of daily life and survival, but I’d suggest this is bigger than just Baker’s struggle with himself. Seventeenth Street is relaxing, serious and thoughtful in its treatment of uncertain conditions–Baker’s and otherwise. We sat down over water and espresso to discuss these uncertainties, the ups and downs of growing.

On your opening track, “Constant Contact,” you plead repeatedly for the world to “stop posting things.” Did you check in on Foursquare when we got here?
I did not. I’ve been trying really hard to not be obvious like that. That song came from Facebook [where] an ex-girlfriend used to post about me while we were dating. She’d be like, “Don’t you hate when guys do this.” And then 20 lurker dudes would be like, “Yeah, fuck that guy.”

Do you have other songs about her?
Some of the other songs like, “Golden Gate Park,” “Man on a Wire” and “Sign of Light” are about a [different] ex-girlfriend whom I feel essentially left me for dead and didn’t seem to care that I was overdosing and attempting suicide.

In one of my favorite lines from “Sign of Life” you sing, “There’s no time for philosophy/When you’re fighting/To survive.” The next track follows with another line: “We have tried to be good/But I’d rather be wrong than dead inside.” What is the major antagonist in your life?
The new record is basically about heroin addiction. I was shooting heroin in 2008 to 2009. It wasn’t like, “Oh, Elliott Smith did it, or John Coltrane.” It was a simple addict progression from Vicodin to heroin. A typical Intervention episode was my life. I went to rehab, and after six or seven weeks of horror, I finally came out. The last two years I’ve been moving away from it. I tried to off myself. I was put in a mental hospital. The tension is me trying to fight existential dread.

Yours is actually a success story. Many addicts never even get to rehab. How were you able make the decision to get clean and stay that way?
It’s a daily struggle to stay clean, but I need to in order to survive. There isn’t a way to abuse opiates that doesn’t end in death or severe impairment. My uncle was kind enough to pay for me to go after I asked him for help. It was in L.A. I needed to get out of town. I went a long way from any dealers or money. I was forced to spend a month in one bed crying, shitting and puking on myself. Literally. It was so incredibly painful emotionally; I have felt a little bit numbed ever since. But I’m also certainly a much stronger person. I’m lucky.

I think really great artists tend to be addicted to creating. Do you feel like overcoming one addiction has allowed you to focus your attention more into your musicianship?
One hundred percent. On a physical level, my energy is up; it’s like night and day. I’ve been looking at my music like an athlete–how can I get better every day? Quitting smoking, writing every day, practicing every day, I’m always thinking about what things are helping me. I have a drive to write and make music that is certainly not rational. I’m not making money. Music is my art.

You’re releasing the album yourself. How’d it all come together?
My father died, which opened up money from my family that wasn’t being used for his medical care. I had a really low budget. I recorded a lot of it at my uncle’s house. He’s got a really big place up in Granite Bay. We actually did some of the drums. All the guitars, all the vocals, all the bass–everything I did–was done there.

We mixed at The Hangar and did some of the live drums and bass there. Matt McCord played drums, and Kris Anaya [Doom Bird] played bass on a few songs. Robert “Flossy” Cheek did the mixing.

There’s a definite Elliott Smith influence on the record, but the recording process sounds a lot like his process as well.
Elliott Smith would be a good analogy except I don’t play drums–minus the brilliance factor.

Losing your father seems like a big moment in your narrative. Are there points on the new CD where his loss is felt? 
Yes, “Lonely Star” is about him to some degree. The bridge lyrics, “Where is the green light?/The future you told me of?” is a reference to The Great Gatsby’s last page about the green light of the dock. It was my father’s favorite book. A lot of the record is about mortality in some way. That might be part of the problem with selling it. 

What happens if you never sell all the CDs you print?
I’m used to disappointment. If people don’t want to buy my music, I can’t force them to… I’m pretty reconciled to living a low income, humble lifestyle, regardless.

Do you still believe in those divisions between DIY, indie and major labels?
Not really. Death Grips are the latest example of a “big deal,” and they’re as DIY as it gets. I think pipe dreams have definitely disappeared. In the ‘90s, there were a lot of kids thinking, “I just gotta get that deal and then… Chicks!”

You spent some time in L.A. as an actor. How did you get there?
I got into a good acting school. It’s where Denzel Washington went; Elizabeth Banks was there while I was. It actually helped me learn to sing. By the time I left, I just wanted to do music. I went to L.A. because I had an agent; it was a great opportunity. I was trying to get on soap operas. I wanted to focus on music instead.

Then in 2007 my personal life got crazy, and I just dropped out and did drugs for two or three years. I didn’t do much at all. I did in my head, but I wasn’t functioning.

You’ve mentioned that there’s a lot about yourself–your voice, how you look on camera, people watching you–that makes you anxious or nervous. Are we socialized to be confident individuals and overcritical of everyone else?
In a word, yes. I’ve always been kind of shocked at how I’ve put my heart out there and then had it taken apart by a critic or local Internet commentator. I guess it’s my own naiveté. To tear apart local struggling artists and critique a person as if you are writing for the New York Times, reviewing a show at Carnegie Hall, is the height of arrogance. Blogger culture is gross. It’s too easy just to spout off about what you don’t like or do like.

Acting seems like a curious choice seeing as you feel uncomfortable in front of a camera.
I don’t like being looked at. I don’t like being on stage and being looked at, still. I don’t mind being heard because I’m comfortable with how I sound. My stage presence is just as shitty as it ever was; I just stare at the ground and sing. I just couldn’t care less about my stage presence. I’ve just never said, “Oh, I wish I could be like Steven Tyler.” Never. I just don’t care.

Head to Beatnik Studios in Sacramento on June 2, 2012 to celebrate the release of Sherman Baker’s newest album, Seventeenth Street. Also performing will be Autumn Sky, who also happens to be releasing her new CD that day. If that wasn’t enough for you, Ricky Berger will open. Showtime is 7 p.m. For more info, go to http://shermanbakermusic.com/.

The 12th Annual Zumiez Couch Tour is rolling through Sacramento on Saturday, June 2, at the Sunrise Mall parking lot and with it comes the Almost Skateboards skate team. We’re talking some of the biggest names in skating here, folks. Although subject to change, Rodney Mullen, CJ Tambornino, Issey Yumibat, Daewon Song, Chris Haslam, Cooper Wilt, Youness Amrani and more will be on hand ripping up the Zumiez street course and signing autographs. The pro demo runs from 2 to 3 p.m. with an autograph session slated for 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., but the Zumiez Best Foot Forward amateur contest kicks off early at noon, so don’t miss our local shredders representing Sacramento! Tons of prizes and giveaways will be provided by companies such as Neff, Oakley, Skullcandy, Transworld SKATEboarding and more so come ready to leave with killer swag. There’s live music, too. At 4 p.m. Daytrader takes the stage and at 5 p.m. A Skylit Drive will headline. The event is free and open to all ages. To learn more visit http://zumiezcouchtour.com/, http://www.sunrisemarketplace.com/ or call Sunrise Mall’s Zumiez store at (916) 723-1146.

Sacramento Electronic Music Festival 2012

Day 3 – Saturday, May 5, 2012

The moon was a big deal on Saturday. A full moon, either in lycanthropic blood mysticism or scientific tidal truths, calls into the locked cellars of our primitive impulses to come out and play. Saddle up the supermoon with the tequila abuse of Cinco de Mayo, and night three of the SEMF was a rowdy, depraved playground.

Salva

Weekend warriors that frequent MoMo’s argued with security as to why exactly they were relegated to the patio, while braceleted SEMF attendees roamed about freely. I fielded endless appreciative comments regarding the finely groomed herd of ladies and equally endless queries as to whether or not the Death Grips’ world tour cancellation would spell doom for a scheduled performance around midnight.

I should have been let down by the no-show. We all should have booed the ever-loving hell out of the acts on stage while demanding our Death Grips set, but SEMF was booked to endure a Death Grips no-show. It only stung slightly when Brian Breneman, half of The Master System, dropped the Beastie Boys’ “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun” remixed over Death Grips’ “Guillotine” (which was goddamn brilliant, by the way) after Shlohmo’s headlining set. Earlier, James and Evander announced before one song they would be blatantly ripping off Daft Punk, and then delivered on their word, but in a respectful manner. Raleigh Moncrief unveiled an unheard archive of EDM meditations that hinted of Watered Lawn being far from a debut fluke.

Raleigh Moncrief

The hype should have fallen on its face, the moon was supposed to have roused our inner villains, but inspired set after inspired set kept the 27th block of J Street from letting the tequila and heat agitate the closing night of the SEMF. In only its third year, the SEMF is official. Now, we count the days until the Launch Festival as Sacramento’s next big power play.

Longtime Sacramento indie/folk-rock darlings Two Sheds will soon be Los Angeleans (boo, hiss). After much time spent in the City of Trees, 30-plus years for bassist/backing vocalist Johnny Gutenberger and 18 for singer/guitarist Caitlin Gutenberger, they are ready for something new. Submerge reached out to Two Sheds and took a line out of one of our favorite songs of theirs, “WTF?” and asked, “What the fuck?”

“We’ve been talking about moving for a long time,” Johnny said. “Not because we hate Sacramento or are ‘down on the scene,’ we just wanted a change.”

It’s understandable, really. It’s a natural thing for human beings, especially creative ones, to crave change after so long in one place. Sometimes new scenery can stimulate the senses.

“We just want to try a new town on for size and see if we can get some fresh inspiration out of it,” Caitlin said. “And we’re purposely moving to a place that won’t be comfortable. We want to be out, motivated and restless for a while.”

“What better place than Los Angeles?” said Johnny.

Their final local gig for quite some time is set for Saturday, May 19, 2012 at Luigi’s Fungarden in Midtown. Johnny and Caitlin will be joined on stage by drummer Rusty Miller, guitarist Chris Larsen and a special guest for this show, Kris Anaya of Doom Bird on keyboard.

“We’re gonna try and fill out our sound a bit,” said Johnny. “We always have these little parts on recordings that don’t get played. Kris is gonna do all that with the keys.”

Two Sheds will have a bunch of cool stuff available at the show, like an EP with five cover tunes (The Troggs, Guided By Voices, The Bobby Fuller Four and more) and special hand-screened posters by Asbestos Press. Purchase a poster, get a download of the EP, purchase a cassette tape, you get a download of the EP, and according to their website (http://ilovetwosheds.com/), “Buy Johnny a beer, you get a friend for life.” Joining them on May 19 will be San Francisco’s Birds and Batteries (whom Two Sheds also covers on the EP), and Dana Gumbiner (of Deathray). Show is all ages, $7 at the door, 8 p.m.

Sacramento Ballet’s Beer & Ballet just got tastier this year with its new sponsor Ruhstaller, “Sacramento’s beer since 1881,” being added to the mix. Sip some fresh and delicious brews (or there is wine and soda too) while you watch edgy new works that were created by the dancers themselves up close and personal! It all goes down at Sacramento Ballet’s studios at 1631 K Street, it’s an intimate setting where you feel like you’re sitting in on a rehearsal. It’s very informal, so if ballet is something that has typically scared you off in the past, Beer & Ballet is for you. Submerge recently attended a program similar to this where we got to see a few routines up close and it was amazing. You can see the sweat rolling off the dancers limber bodies, and it’s really easy to tell how much fun they’re having when you’re sitting 15 feet away from them. Tickets are $35 and that includes two drink tickets. Learn more at http://www.sacballet.org/

Sacramento indie-pop sensations Baby Grand recently released their fourth album entitled Arts & Leisure on local label Test Pattern Records and after 10 years as a group, it will be their last. Not to worry though, three of the members of Baby Grand (Cory Vick, Gerri White and Tim White) have gone on to form a new group and they are appropriately enough calling themselves Arts & Leisure. “We figured that calling the new band as well as the last Baby Grand record ‘Arts & Leisure’ would be a good way to bridge the two bands together,” Vick recently told Submerge via email. “While the two bands have a similar sound, Arts & Leisure (the band) is something completely new,” he said. Arts & Leisure’s Reverb Nation page (http://www.reverbnation.com/artsleisureca), where you can hear songs from the new group, has a bio that explains their sound further by stating, “While retaining a similar style, Arts & Leisure strips things down to the basics (two guitars, bass and drums), but ups the ante with two singer/songwriters, Gerri White and Becky Cale.” They combine elements of ‘60s pop, ‘70s power pop, ‘80s new wave and ‘90s shoegaze which culminates into “a Buzzcocks meets The Go-Go’s kind of thing.” Catch Arts & Leisure live on Saturday, May 5, 2012 at Bows and Arrows alongside Allen Clapp and His Orchestra and Knock Knock. Show kicks off at 8 p.m., there’s a $5 cover charge and all ages are welcome.

Sol Peligro’s Sam Peligroso puts forth a solo EP

The frontman of Sacramento’s most renowned Latin bands wasn’t planning on making a solo rap album, but it just sort of happened.

Age 40 seemed like as good of a time as ever to do it, says Sam Peligroso, the frontman of local bands Sol Peligro and Blazing Hangovers. One day in the recording studio, he just started flowing in Spanish, and everything spiraled from there, he explains to Submerge over the phone.

Blazing Hangovers is like a Tex-Mex tribute band, Peligroso says, while Sol Peligro blends the sounds of reggaeton, cumbia, salsa and alternative rock. In the same vein, Latin beats are the backbone of Peligroso’s seven-track album, the Sam Peligroso EP, engineered, mixed and produced by Reckless Reaction. The accordion dominates one track, another is woven into an intricate guitar solo. Peligroso makes it clear, however, that the raps and the choruses are all him.

The way he sees it, this album is a fusion of everything he has learned about music up to this point. For him, the EP is a celebration of his 20-plus years in the local music scene, he says.

“This is me,” he says. “This is the best representation of who I’ve become and who I am.”

The album may not feel like a celebration per se, though it most certainly sheds light on understanding what Peligroso is about. True, in person and over the phone he is charismatic. He’s got a slew of jokes up his sleeve, and he’ll laugh at each one of them. In exchange for getting this story on the cover of Submerge, he offered to give donkey rides and park a taco truck in front of the office. But the Sam Peligroso EP exposes not the jokester but someone angered by what is taking place around him, like people being wrongfully accused of crimes, the unsettling treatment of immigrants and the “system” in general.

“I’m not a political person, I’m not trying to say I am a revolutionary,” Peligroso says. Yet immigration and border laws are enough to get his blood boiling, particularly considering his roots. His father migrated to California from Jalisco before he was born, where he met Peligroso’s mother. Later the family moved to Woodland, Calif., where Peligroso grew up.

Mexican American pride has always played a major role in Peligroso’s life.

“I’m not hate whitey at all,” he says with a laugh. “[But] I’m proud of my culture and I feel that I represent it really well.”

His mother had a lot to do with fueling his musical tastes, starting with when she took him to see Saturday Night Fever when he was 8.

“When I saw John Travolta on the damn screen, I thought, ‘That guy’s fucking cool, I want to be that guy right there,’” he remembers. “He’s not a musician, but all eyes are on him.”

Throughout Peligroso’s childhood, his mother would play anything from The Beatles to mariachi music around the house.

“When I was growing up, it was me and radio,” Peligroso says. “That played in the kitchen every time [my family] was cooking breakfast and stuff.”

His first recording was on a 45 record when he was 8 or 9 years old. His mom bought him the 45 with the song “Pacman Fever” on one side and the instrumental recording the other.

“My first recording was my own version of ‘Pacman-fucking-Fever,’” he says.

“I wish I still had it,” he adds with a laugh.

In seriousness, his music career began in 1992. Influenced by the likes of Run DMC and Easy Boys, around age 21 he formed a rap trio called BRC. After his stint with BRC he decided to revisit his Mexican roots, and formed the Latin-based band Raigambre. After that project folded, he then formed Sol Peligro and Blazing Hangovers, both of which he still performs with.

Staying true to his Mexican roots, Peligroso’s solo album release is set for Cinco de Mayo. As someone who considers himself an ambassador of Sacramento’s local Latin music scene, this would only make sense.

“I’m going to be honest with you, my show at Blue Lamp that night is going to be the only show where you’re not going to hear one single cover tune,” he says.

“I’m not trying to talk down to these restaurants like Vallejo’s, where they’re hiring people to play Santana the whole night,” he adds. “[But] that’s not how I want to be described, that’s not how we want to be described. We have originality.”

For his live performance, expect old school simplicity, Peligroso says–an accordion player, a hype man, a DJ, a conga player and Peligroso himself.

In an interview with SN&R back in 2009, Peligroso griped about what a shoddy job Sacramento media has done giving local Latin music any exposure. In his eyes, little has changed three years later, and he is still fighting to change that.

“Sacramento media sucks when it comes to giving the Latin music scene its due,” he says. “You can print that. I don’t give a shit.”

For instance, both Sol Peligro and Blazing Hangovers have been nominated simultaneously for Sammie awards.

“Why is it that both my bands [get nominated] all the time when we play like, once a fucking year?” he laughs. “I’m in both bands, what are you doing?”

“Basically what I’m trying to say is that they’re so out of tune with the music scene as far as Latin music [goes],” he adds.

Peligroso views local radio stations with equal distaste. As pivotal as radio was in his upbringing, he no longer listens to it, namely because the radio doesn’t promote local acts, he explains.

“The media is a big influence man, that’s it, [and] I don’t want to have to start a revolution here,” he says.

If there is any positive outcome of all this, it is that this lack of exposure has intensified Peligroso’s drive to put his music in the spotlight, and he has seen a lot of success. He is grateful that Sol Peligro has won three Sammie awards and will be inducted in the hall of fame, he says.

When asked why he chooses to stay here given the media’s skewed taste, he answers simply, “Well, I don’t run away from things.”

“Trust me, I can easily go to L.A. [or] I can go to New York and probably be more prosperous in doing what I do,” he adds. “But my thing is, this is my home. So if I do that, it’s almost like I’m being run out of my own home. I would never just pack up and leave because I’m not getting my way.”

Thus, Sacramento continues to serve as Peligroso’s home base. Meanwhile, his message to Sacramento remains: listen up! Now is as good of a time as ever.

Still listening? You should be. Sam Peligroso’s EP release will take place at Blue Lamp on May 5, 2012. Also playing will be Olmeca Desperados, La Noche Oskura, O Street Dub, Mahtie Bush and DJ Los. Doors open at 8 and tickets are just $7 in advance. For more info go to http://bluelamp.com/.

Childish Gambino, Danny Brown

Ace of Spades, Sacramento – Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Childish Gambino’s Camp Gambino Tour sold out Ace of Spades months in advance. The line to get in stretched the length of the R Street block and wrapped down 14th, halfway to S Street. Inside it was a patient wait through one opener to see a young Hollywood actor from NBC’s Community, Donald Glover, take the stage as a rapper.

There’s no use hiding it. The opener was Detroit’s Danny Brown. A recent signee to Fool’s Gold Records and the artist I anointed as Rapper of the Year 2011 in another publication. As for Childish Gambino’s debut record Camp… I gave it a few listens in November and deemed it overrated. Glover’s Camp record is not as painful as Brian Austin Green’s One Stop Carnival album in the ‘90s, but if he’s serious about rapping over acting he’ll live in the shadow of Drake. But what the hell do I know? Danny Brown had a few pockets of fans in the first row shouting his gratuitous lines from his XXX album back at him. Childish Gambino had wall-to-wall admirers reciting every word to a song that shares its title with a TV show, canceled after 12 episodes.

It was his show for the taking and it’s easy to revel in the limelight with such positivity electrifying Ace of Spades. No songs faltered or lulled the set. It was hit, hit, hit for Gambino and even the time lapse for an encore seemed insignificant. He was impressive, but I did not leave converted.

My struggle with Glover/Gambino does not stem from questioning his talent as a performer or even as a songwriter. He’s a clever rhyme writer, interspersing wit culled from his stand-up like, “I sound weird, like nigga with a hard R” and references to Invader Zim. His balance between nerding out and sneaking in sentiment testifies to his mass appeal. He tours with a talented backing band, half of which look as though they toured with Travis McCoy, while the others possibly play violin behind Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. His stage presence is not the issue, and the giant screen displaying lyrics, forest landscapes and scenes from the streets of New York City were not the issue. It lies in not knowing how to perceive his craft.

The name Childish Gambino was conceived through the use of a Wu-Tang name generator, making it difficult to assess it as genuine or satire. The campy name paired with Glover’s notoriety as a stand-up comedian, his far superior talent in my opinion, and presence on a sit-com, lean towards the notion he’s a parody. So why weren’t we all laughing? Why was everyone singing along in earnest?

There were opportunities to laugh–plenty of them. Danny Brown exposed himself as an avid participant in cunnilingus by performing “I Will” and wagging his oblong tongue between his missing front teeth. He earned a few laughs beyond the front row by letting his followers deliver punch lines from “Monopoly” like, “Stank pussy smelling like Cool Ranch Doritos.” Childish Gambino is not short on humor either. He and Brown are contemporaries in rap humor as both love bragging about their sexual virility and their haters’ lack thereof. Guess which line is Danny Brown’s and which Childish Gambino’s is:

“I fuck bad bitches to Stacy Lattisaw, while y’all niggas got blue balls like an Avatar.”

“My dick is like an accent mark, it’s all about the over Es.”

The first quote is Brown on “Adderall Admiral.” The second is Gambino on “Bonfire.” Did you get it correct? I could split fine hairs like this for paragraphs and end up with an even part resembling the top of Crispin Glover’s head, but what’s the use? Danny Brown doesn’t have a television presence, which is still more powerful and influential than being critically lauded on the Internet.

Glover’s an act worth the price of admission. Place him in the recent crest of celebrities like Zooey Deschanel and Scarlett Johansson, who’ve earned successful recording careers. The trend could be gruesome and transparent, were the named figures less talented. It’s undeniable that their recording triumphs are assisted by their TV and film notoriety. Glover is privileged, but his closing statement on “Bonfire” (“Man why does every black actor gotta rap some?/ I don’t know, all I know is I’m the best one.”) hints that he’s aware. It could be worse. The actor/artists could cover Celine Dion instead of Tom Waits, perform alongside Sugar Ray instead of M. Ward, and bring Mac Miller on tour instead of Danny Brown. They should always be commended for their fine taste.