Have you noticed how there is an abundance of dudes with really awesome (or creepy, depending on how you look at it) mustaches in Sacramento? Well, Sacto ‘stache sporters, it’s time to put that fuzzy upper lip to the test with Anthony’s Barber Shop’s third annual Mustache March competition. Here are the rules: You’ve got to be clean-shaven by March 1, then let that bad boy grow for one month, submit a picture to shop owner Anthony Giannotti by April 4. The submitted photos will be uploaded to the shop’s Facebook and Myspace pages, where you will have until April 9 to get your friends to vote for your ‘stache. The winners will be announced on April 10 and the top three ‘staches will get a free haircut and shave. For every participant that enters a picture, Anthony’s Barber Shop will donate a set amount of money to Locks of Love, a public nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. Grow that ‘stache for a good cause! On March 31 there will even be a Mustache Bash at Shady Lady where The Secretions will perform a special acoustic set along with a performance from The Nickel Slots. Party starts at 8:30 p.m. and it’s $5 to get in if you don’t have a ‘stache (fake or real).

-JC

Lite Brite, Mondo Deco, The Babs Johnson Gang
Friday, Feb. 11, 2011 – Luigi’s Fungarden – Sacramento

Thirty minutes into watching a live band, the singer tells you, an audience member, to waddle. If you’ve ever seen local duo The Babs Johnson Gang play, you’re already prepared to start shaking your ass, because if you’re the best waddler during the “Waddle” song, you are finely rewarded. This time, the band offered up a tiny trophy, which was immediately swiped by a middle-aged woman who stepped onto the stage and started swinging her hips.

The Babs Johnson Gang opened Friday night’s show at Luigi’s Fungarden with Mondo Deco and Lite Brite, a local lineup that brought a night of ass-shaking rock ‘n’ roll to the cramped all-ages music venue.

The Babs duo play music that is both grungy and honky-tonk, rock ‘n’ roll and punk at the same time, using little more than distorted guitar coupled with crashing drums. Ten or so people were standing in front of the stage at the start of their first song. The two band members exchanged messy vocals that began in rants and would crescendo into shrieking howls over the drums and guitar, and then abruptly alternate into psychedelic, reverb-rich melody. Drummer Cory Gorey piped viciously into his harmonica between singing and drumming. More people filed in to watch. Smashing away intensely at the drums, Gorey tipped over his tom and later shoulder-bumped his mic into an obnoxious swivel around his head. Unaffected, he kicked the tom away and the two carried on, rarely pausing between songs. Midway through, guitarist Tim Pronovost stepped into the crowd, beating one of Gorey’s toms and handing it off to an audience member to play before returning to the stage. By the time they started playing “Waddle,” the crowd reached to the back of the room.

The Babs Johnson Gang was followed by Mondo Deco, one of Sacramento’s newer rock acts. The six-piece band stepped on stage looking like they walked out of a ‘60s film, sporting black and white pants, button-down shirts, suit jackets and bowties. In addition to two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer, the band featured two shimmying back-up singers/dancers in sparkling attire and boots. Singer/guitarist Jeremy Green, who also fronts local band Goodness Gracious Me, has the voice of a quintessential rock vocalist, hitting shrill, high-pitched screams and low notes, too. Guitarist Kolton James’ fingers glided along the neck of his guitar, delivering smooth solos and progressions with ease. Green counted in the last song, “Mouth Without a Muzzle.” At this point the crowd was thick and the room was hot. The band delivered one more dose of heavy guitars joined with a danceable beat, riling up the crowd to clap and sing along. Then the drums and bass slowed, the dancers slowed to a sway, and the crowd sang with Green until the song came to a harmonious halt.

Enter Lite Brite. Frontman Eddie Underwood kicked off the set with a power-driven guitar riff, summoning the start of the three-piece band’s hit “Big City.” Underwood’s gritty, reverb-filled screams matched with surging guitar distortion and grinding bass conjured up an amphitheater-style performance. The Led Zeppelin influence is apparent. Underwood leapt in the air, shredded his guitar and thrashed about his mane of curls simultaneously, pausing ever so often to thrust his guitar high above his head. Sweat dripping from his chin, he turned to jam his quivering guitar up against the face of his amp, delivering pulsing feedback throughout the room. Heads were rolling in the front row by the time they played their final song, “Space Shuttle.” The guitars shot off like sirens and the massive drums rolled in. By the end of the song, Underwood was on his knees face-down on the stage, moaning into the drum mic cupped in his hands.

At the end of the show, Submerge asked Babs Johnson Gang for their set list. Gorey answered, “We never use set lists. Stick that in your Submerge.”

Then he offered us a free CD.

Lite Brite

Sacramento’s Not Your Style to Release Pop-Punk Debut In Season

Make no mistake about it: pop-punk as a revolutionary genre of music is quite dead. Even as a marketable way to sell skate decks, or dunks, or hair gel, it’s a goddamn apparition. But–and this is a big but–this is not to say that there aren’t times when you can relish in the finer glimmers in the flashes in the pan. Most everyone who digs pop music can appreciate the hook-y sensibility and heart-wrenching gloom of an old Saves the Day record, or a (A) New Found Glory EP. Where was I the first time I heard Blink 182’s Cheshire Cat? On Airport Road in Redding, Calif., after school on the way to Circuit City. See how that works? Those who experienced Lagwagon can’t tell fans of Panic! At the Disco about it and expect them to listen; just like those who wiggled to the spastic skate-punk of Descendents couldn’t expect Lagwagon disciples to “know” what it “really meant to rock!”

It’s for the reasons above that Not Your Style’s relatively tardy arrival to the pop-punk canon can be dismissed. Because inside all the premeditated naysaying hard-wired into critics who are interested in moving past frigid forms of expression, there lies that concession that every take is a new scene.

Not Your Style is resurrecting sunny melodies in Sacramento, and back-dropping them with crunchy riffs, four-on-the-floor rock drumming and saccharine-sweet lyrical imagery. It’s a formula that vocalist Laith Kayyali says has been honed over the last two years through heavy writing, recording and building a name for themselves. With a stated goal of becoming “the world’s greatest pop-punk band,” Kayyali and bassist Kylan Kegel laid the foundation of Not Your Style after the demise of their former alt-rock band, and a search through Craigslist to round out the crew.

“We wanted to take this more seriously and put a lot more time and effort into this band,” explains Kayyali. “We didn’t really go in with a lot of expectations. Things kind of just took off beyond anything we thought would’ve happened.”

After a couple of drumming substitutions, the band recorded their debut EP, …In the Conservatory with the Wrench, with Sacramento producer/engineer Jay Trammell after only six weeks together. The EP found its way into the hands of Mark Gilmore at 98 Rock, and around the same time, their song “Not a Star” was entered into a local contest for a set at the upcoming Rockalottapuss metal concert at Sleep Train Amphitheatre, to open for Judas Priest, Whitesnake and Saliva, among others. The band won the opening gig by popular vote.

“We were in a little over our heads, but we enjoyed every second of it,” remembers Kayyali. “Compared to the other bands, we didn’t have much business to be there. We were a brand new pop-punk band, playing with metal gods Judas Priest and Whitesnake. Obviously, that didn’t crush our spirits.”

That same resiliency led the band full-steam ahead into their second recording session with Trammell, to record the It’s Treason Then EP, with a much more refined focus on waving the pop-punk flag…unwaveringly.

“Our writing definitely matured,” says Kayyali of the second EP. “Our first session wasn’t as ‘pop-punk’ as our newest stuff. We sat down, and established we want to write fun, upbeat pop-punk songs, so our newest songs have followed that. We didn’t really put a timeline on it, but we’ve at least established what we’re trying to be.”

Kayyali reports the band is more interested in its songs translating well to the live setting. But that doesn’t mean the band’s debut full-length In Season is anything less than a sonically enjoyable listen. NYS spent all of November 2010 at Fat Cat Studios fine-tuning their sound, and grooming their new drummer–ex-Resolve to Burn skin man Ray Sisco–for what’s easily their biggest achievement yet. They’re currently gearing up for their official CD release show, set for Friday, Feb. 18, 2011 at the Boardwalk in Orangevale.

Blasting from the main speakers that night will be samples of Kayyali and Company’s affection for peppy riffs, big choruses, rapid-fire drums and lots of “whoa-oh” harmonizing. “Last Forever”–probably the most single-worthy track in this self-released collection–tunes up the schmaltzy cues of early Anberlin, replete with hook-heavy bridges and perfectly pitched vocals. “Hakuna Stigmata” clears the way for double-bass-as-brigadier metal-lite, with heaping helpings of layered choral effects and a never-ending lead guitar that showcases the fretwork of the ax men. The result of these and their companion tracks–diverse despite themselves–reinforces the band’s devotion to their goal. What was that again? Oh right: to be The World’s Greatest Pop-Punk Band.

Even the band’s name seems to suggest that they’re letting you in on a ruse–that though music listeners at large may sigh a collective “neeeeext” upon news of the pop-punkiness of the band, they’ve got a response to that covered by their very moniker. You lose. But, as Kayyali explains, that’s really not the case.

“[Not Your Style] fit our idea of what we wanted the band to be,” says Kayyali. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and we know pop-punk isn’t the most widely accepted genre, especially in an area where pop-punk bands are few and far between. So it really works on all levels.”

As for the critics, the hipsters, the ever-present posh police, don’t expect NYS to bow to anything aside from the resonance of a timeless melody or a potent pop guitar progression.

“We always wanted to be known as one of the best live bands in the area,” relates Kayyali. “We feel pop-punk gives us what we need to make that happen. The genre definitely isn’t what it used to be, but we’re hoping to change that. I’d love to hear more criticism about our genre, band and what we’re trying to accomplish. Hopefully critics will watch our live show and enjoy it no matter what we’re playing. With criticism, we can only get better.”

Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix is addicted to bringing the rock

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, there is no denying that Papa Roach has earned their rank as one of the most successful bands to come from the Sacramento region. They’ve sold upwards of 10 million records worldwide, have toured the globe for over a decade playing venues packed with adoring fans and have truly lived the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. But for every high point, there’s been a low. Be it battles with their record label or battles within the band itself, Papa Roach has shed its fair share of blood, sweat and tears, most notably when they parted ways with long-time drummer Dave Buckner in 2008. It wasn’t a smooth split. Buckner, who in the early ‘90s co-founded the band with vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, filed suit against the band saying that they owed him money. They ultimately settled out of court. Papa Roach has since continued on with new drummer Tony Palermo of the San Diego rock group Unwritten Law.

Through all the ups and downs, there have been a number of things keeping P-Roach pushing ahead, Shaddix explained during a recent interview with Submerge. “I would say our relationship with our fan base, the kids that are coming out to the shows being affected by the music,” he said. “We’ve just got that drive inside of us as a band. We’ve got this heart that just fucking pops. It’s all we got and it’s all we need. We all are living this dream, which sometimes can seem like a nightmare, but I’d sound like a bitch if I were to complain. We just love it.”

As for the incalculable hardships that always seem to creep their way into the picture, Shaddix said that after a career like theirs, he and his crew are ready to take on anything. “It’s always a challenge. You’re always up against a challenge,” he said. “But the members of this band are always up for it. I think it makes it easier for us as time goes by too because we’ve just seen so many genres come and go and so many trends come and go.” He chuckles. “We almost came and went.”

In the following interview, we chat with Shaddix about his band’s deep Sacramento roots, how making music is like a drug, their plans for a new full-length record and more. Be sure to catch Papa Roach live in Sacramento for their first time in years when they headline Ace of Spades two nights in a row on Feb. 25 and 26, 2011.

What are some of the first thoughts that come to mind when you think back to Papa Roach’s humble beginnings when you were gigging in and around Sacramento all of the time? Do you ever trip out on how far you’ve come?
For me it’s a daily kind of realization, more so when I’m home around the people that I was with. Not only am I with my band on the road, but then it’s like we’ve got sound guys and light guys, a whole crew, you know? I never had that back in the day. Then I come home, and I’m back around my wife. She’s been with me since I had Papa Roach in the very beginning. We’re old school. We go through our old photos, and we see pictures of me and my wife and my band from way back in the day. My band was in my wedding way back. It’s a trip, you know, especially when I come back home.

I used to go watch you guys in the late ‘90s at this little club near where I grew up, the Gaslighter Theater in Gilroy, Calif. Do you remember that place? That was right on the brink of when you guys were getting the major label deal and whatnot I think.
Fuck yeah, dude! That was a really cool time for P-Roach.

I tripped out when talking to Eric Rushing, longtime Sacramento music enthusiast and promoter, the other day about that era of P-Roach because he was like, “Yeah those were my shows even down there. I was at most of those shows!”
Yeah for these upcoming shows that we’re doing in Sacramento, just to interject on that point, it’s kind of a full circle for us 10 years later. Eric and Brett [Bair] have been very successful. Brett used to manage Papa Roach; we split the sheets, we’re still OK, and we’re friends and such. But it’s cool to see that people who started in Sacramento are all still around here killing it. That’s even kind of why we wanted to put the type of bill together that we put together.

Yeah that’s cool. It’s all Sacramento cred-bands.
Yeah, bring it on home!

So the first night it’s Track Fighter, Will Haven and you guys. The second night it’s Lonely Kings, MC Rut and you guys. So many good Sacramento-based bands! I’m especially digging MC Rut lately. They’ve got a crazy work ethic. Are you familiar?
Fuck yeah, dude. That record is one of my favorites. I mean you’ve got to work hard in this business no matter what. If you want to make it, you’ve got to go in and slug it out in the trenches and build a fan base by playing rock shows. That’s the proving ground for rock music is touring. If you come with a hot song for a minute, that’s all good, but can you go out and tour and pack houses and rock audiences throughout America? Not just like San Francisco and New York, I’m talking, like America, you know what I mean?

Bringing it back to Sacramento for a second, don’t you guys own a studio space downtown? What’s that space all about?
Yeah right now it’s just pretty much essentially a demo studio for Papa Roach, and we’ll have some bands go in there. Like Dance Gavin Dance is going in a few days. They’ll be in there making some noise. Michael Rosen, he used to run out of J Street Recorders, Brian Wheat’s studio, he’s been bringing down some of his gear. He’s got really good gear, and he’s pretty much running it like a proper studio at times with bands. So that’s cool as well. We just don’t want it to collect dust while we’re out on the road.

Must be nice to just to get new riffs and song ideas recorded fast?
Yeah, exactly. I just got a new jam from Tobin [Esperance, bass] today actually. He programmed it on his computer, did the beats himself. There’s no guitar on it yet. It’s just keyboard sounds right now, but it’s like Papa Roach meets…I don’t know, it’s real good though.

So it’s sounding like there’s going to be another full-length ready for release sometime when? Next year?
Pretty much what we’re doing is this, Doomsday Radio, 2012, Papa Roach.

Oh really? I didn’t see that anywhere in any of my research! Is that a working title?
Yup. Working title, Doomsday Radio. There you go, print it.

Throughout the years Papa Roach has morphed quite a bit musically; it always seems like you’re progressing your sound. Can you talk a little about the many phases of your band?
I think for us it’s always been, “Go where the music takes us.” That’s the goal with Papa Roach: If it moves us, we think it will move our fans, and sometimes that’s true and sometimes it’s not. I think more times than not it has moved our fans. That progression that you speak of, we’re still in it. The track that Tobin just sent me, I was like, “Oh shit here we going again, we’re flippin’ it up.” But I’m into it, man. Music is this drug, and you want to try all different types of them. It’s like sex, you know, it’s like you do it the same way over and over and it just gets boring, so you’ve got to flip it up, put a wig on her, hit it doggy style. Switch it up.

What sort of vibe does the new song that Tobin sent you have? I read somewhere that Jerry [Horton, guitar] said the new record will have more electronic elements or something like that?
Oh yeah, for sure. It’s like somewhere between Prodigy meets Nine Inch Nails meets Papa Roach. It’s still got our sound to it, though, like when you hear the groove and the vibe, it’s still us, it’s just sometimes we want to use that texture in the music. I think we started to dabble in it with songs like “Burn” and “Kick in the Teeth” [off of 2010’s Time for Annihilation…On the Record and On the Road]. I think that it’s fun and our fans are receptive to it, and we like it because it opens up a whole new floodgate for us. I think it can make our music more beat-driven at times, which will be fun.

What’s one big goal of yours for the next record?
I don’t want to make a record that sounds like I’m a 35-year-old man, because I am a 35-year-old man, or I’m going to be, but I’m an exciting motherfucker when it comes to making music. I don’t want to make music that sounds compromised. That’s the goal for the next record is to kind of–and we’ve discussed this together–is to make a record that’s a little bit more experimental at times and a little bit more progressive. The last couple records have been song, song, song, etc. If you look back at one of our first releases, Old Friends from Young Years, there was a whole concept behind the way the record was laid out. I think we want to do something like that again.

Like as far as flow and transition tracks and whatnot?
Exactly, just to kind of dig deeper and make it more of an experience this time around. Not really a concept record, but something that is more than just song, song, song, song.

Even to the way that we’re going to do music videos in the future and the way that the band is imaged as well. For us, it’s a goal to kind of evolve all elements of what we do just a bit.

You might be getting older, but I sense that you are just as hungry as ever to succeed.

Yeah, look at the Chili Peppers. You don’t think of it that way. You think it’s just timeless. That’s what we’re going for. We’ve got a long, long road ahead of us. This is just another step in the path for us.

Papa Roach has heavy staying power in the music business, doesn’t it? It’s been so many years, but you guys remain relevant.
We definitely don’t take that shit for granted. But the fight is not over, dude. You look at a band like Green Day, they made that record, you know what I’m saying? For us, we still feel like we have that record in us. We still feel like we haven’t made the record of our career. Maybe it’s just that junkie inside me.

Papa Roach will play live in Sacramento for the first time in years at Ace of Spades (1417 R Street) on Feb. 25 and 26, 2011. Tickets are available at Dimple Records, The Beat, Armadillo (in Davis) and online at aceofspadessac.com. Grab their latest album, Time for Annihilation…On the Record and On the Road, a collection of nine live renditions of P-Roach hits and five newly recorded tracks, at record stores everywhere or through any major online retailer.

Our Region’s Top Breweries Make Beers Exclusively for Sacramento Beer Week
Words by Adam Saake

Since I covered the inaugural Sacramento Beer Week last year, our area’s thirst for quality suds (and ciders) has grown exponentially. Last year, the focus was on all the local breweries that had shut down and how our beer scene was changing as a result. Well, boy has it changed and damn is it good. Many new faces have arrived on the scene and the old faces are still making and selling great beer. Alley Katz on 21st and O streets opened early this year and immediately caught the attention of serious beer drinkers when they heard the bar boasts close to 200 beers between bottles and draft. Owner Geronimo Avelar‘s neighborhood bar atmosphere isn’t a novelty shop for spendy beer drinkers. Affordable selections like $3.50 Anchor Steam bottles or 32 oz. mugs filled with draft selections for around $7 are going to keep this place alive with business.

Our beer scene is thriving and the events planned for this year’s Sacramento Beer Week is evidence alone. Feb. 25 through March 6, this celebration of “Sacramento beer culture” features over 200 events that include special dinners with food and beer pairings, meet and greets with brewers, pint nights galore and even demonstrations of how to make your own beer. New this year are two anchor events: the Capital Beerfest at Cal Expo and the Sacramento Brewers Showcase at the Crocker Art Museum. The latter will feature all the local breweries as well as “sneak previews of breweries opening soon.” This event also features tastings of specially brewed beers by Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas and Sudwerk that were created just for Sacramento Beer Week. Lucky for you, we’ve got the skinny on these tasty suds.

Lagunitas
Paradime Sac

There’s an episode of The Simpsons in which Homer meets his half-brother Herb whose existence he had no knowledge of. Turns out the guy owns a successful car company and subsequently, Homer is given the opportunity to design his very own car for the company. Problem is Homer’s an idiot, not a designer, and really only good at drinking Duff. The car ends up being a monstrosity that sinks Herb’s company, and he never speaks to the family again. Classic television of our childhoods becomes the perfect anecdote for Lagunitas’ limited-run Sacramento beer that they are brewing for our upcoming Beer Week.

Now imagine for a second that Lagunitas is Herb’s car company–successful and pumping out great product. Easy, right? But instead of Homer’s Duff palate and moronic sensibility, you have a lineup of Sacramento-area beer aficionados that include Kimio Bazett and Jon Modrow, owners of the Golden Bear; Michael Ng, general manager of One Speed; Gary Sleppy, owner of The Shack; Dylan Mauro, owner of Samuel Horne’s in Folsom; Rick Sellers of Pacific Brew News; and others whose names were drawn from a hat (seriously). The amount of Lagunitas accounts around Sacramento that have so loyally supported the company over the years were too high in number, and so a democratic process was necessary to select the intimate group that would travel to the brewery and participate in the process of brewing one very limited edition Lagunitas beer just for Sacramento. A 10-person van full of Freeport Bakery pastries and the Sacramento bunch arrived at the brewery in Petaluma, Calif., where a day of beer tasting and brewing, most importantly, was ahead of them.

“Say: LAH-GOO-KNEE-TUSS” is written on the label of the Hop Stoopid Ale in front of me while I write (research). A picture of the owner’s dog is on the cap of every bottle, along with a frantic story on the label that attempts to explain the beer you will be enjoying. With playful names like the aforementioned and others like Brown Shugga’, Little Sumpin’ Wild and Gnarly Wine, it’s clear that Lagunitas, the brewery with a tumultuous past of a shut-down and humorous run-ins with the ABC, doesn’t take certain aspects of their business too seriously.

“It was cool how casual, yet precise the brew master was,” recalled Bazett.

If what’s inside the bottle is carefully crafted and has years of trial and error to back up its progress, the rest is about having fun and enjoying making the beer. The guys at Lagunitas are very good at making beer and making fun. Part of that process is experimenting with different concoctions and seeing what kind of beers they can come up with. Often these are very limited runs and may not even see a life outside of the tap house at the brewery. You’re lucky if you get your lips on one of them because you may never drink it again as they may never make it again. That’s why when Lagunitas proposed the idea of a limited run beer specially brewed for Sacramento Beer Week, many were excited at the idea.

“Justin Seybold, our regional Lagunitas rep, had approached me a while back about having a bunch of us out to develop a beer for Sacramento Beer Week,” recalls Modrow. “I was freaking out over it.”

Although everyone at the brewery that day agreed on crafting a beer that was unique for Sacramento, naturally, opinions varied on what exactly the beer should taste like.

“We really tried to think of what the Sacramento customer base would like,” says Mauro.

Each had their say by filling out a survey that was given to them in advance. Questions about the flavor profile were on the survey, asking about hops and malts and light and dark and all the elements that make up the DNA of beer. This would help Lagunitas interpret the flavor profile that was collectively on all of their minds.

“Although I love a big hop-y beer, which is what a lot of beer snobs are into, we can’t forget what Sacramento is into,” Modrow told Submerge. “Blue Moon is one of the biggest selling brands in Sacramento and we’re the fifth biggest [Miller] Highlife account in the country. So, something that’s lighter and more on the malt end and a little less hop-y probably suits Sacramento a little bit more.”

Bazett’s opinion leaned more toward something that was “kind of hop-y and malty and bittery.” He feels that the winter seasonal beers come and go too quickly and likened his ideal profile to something more like Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale.

Both Bazett and Modrow ended up getting a little of what they wanted and it seems that according to the surveys, the varying opinions all came together in a very harmonious compromise as well. Seven different malts were chosen for the beer and the head brewer brought out six different kinds of hops for everyone to try.

“We all tasted the hops and discussed them and decided to do a real malt-based light beer,” said Seybold.

The day was a real hands-on experience for all those involved. The brew master brought out 10 oz. cups with not only the hops but all kinds of malts and ryes and grains and they snacked on the ingredients and got a taste for some of the flavors that could potentially go into their beer. One of the more unique grains used for the beer was the inclusion of rye. Although rye isn’t a new ingredient, Mauro explained from his alehouse in Folsom, it’s still “not widely used.” In fact, Seybold says that this is the first batch of beer with rye in it that Lagunitas has produced on their new brewing system and they haven’t made a beer with rye, period, in over 13 years. The rye will give the beer a little spice and play well off all the different malts.

“The style is an imperial rye ale, and it’s going be super dark and super dry and have about 77 IBUs,” said Seybold.

IBU stands for International Bittering Unit and is basically a scale for how bitter a beer is. Typically the more malt that is used in a beer (usually darker beers like porters or stouts) the more IBUs as this helps balance out the beer.

“We talked about it and we ended up with seven different malts and we didn’t want it to be super hop-y since it was going to be so malty. We just wanted a lingering bitterness,” said Seybold.

And in case you’re wondering, the alcohol will come out to about 7 percent, making that all sevens, something that was not planned. Lagunitas decided to call the beer Paradime Sac and about 80 kegs will be made and distributed to the various proprietors’ locations who participated as well as those that were not selected to participate in the brewing process. Lagunitas has planned a synchronized tapping of all the kegs at 4:20 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1. This idea, originally done for Chicago’s beer week (where Lagunitas first brewed a special batch), was a huge success. Seybold anticipates that Sacramento’s Beer Week will enjoy the same success.

Look out for information regarding the location of these limited edition kegs during Beer Week so you too can try a pint or two of Lagunitas’ Paradigm Sac. Who knows, maybe we’ll see it on shelves.

Sierra Nevada

Sierra Nevada
Sloughhouse Pale Ale

At the end of 2010, the EPA awarded Sierra Nevada Brewing Company with “Green Business of the Year,” a huge achievement that put the brewery back in the spotlight as one of the leaders in micro-brewing. From renewable energy to water conservation, to a zero-waste program, it’s good to feel good about drinking their beer. And, well, it’s really good beer. I can’t recall meeting a Sierra Nevada I didn’t enjoy, and that’s why I’m most excited to taste their Sacramento beer they are making special for Beer Week. That’s right, not one but two of California’s leading micro-breweries are busy concocting something just for us. This time, instead of the usual cast of characters behind the helm of the flavor profile, there’s just one very involved Rick Sellers. He’s the founder of Pacific Brew News, a WordPress site with all things beer, the former editor for Draft magazine, co-founder of Odonata Beer Company with Peter Hoey and an avid home brewer himself and most recently one of the faces behind Sacramento Beer Week. The guy knows beer, to say the least. He also got to know the brewers at Sierra Nevada well enough to pitch them an idea for a beer.

“Sierra Nevada does something called beer camp where they invite restaurant owners or people of the industry to come to brewery for a few days and make a beer of their own,” explained Sellers. “I did a little beer camp of my own where I did a black IPA and so I knew the process and I knew their brewery and the brewers.”

And as simple as that, Sellers approached the brewing company a few months back about them brewing the Sacramento Beer Week beer and they were excited at the idea.

“When I approached Sierra Nevada, they didn’t blink,” says Sellers. “Their mentality was Sacramento has been so good to us for so many years. There was no negotiating; I asked them and they immediately said yes.”

The concept of the beer was to have a low alcohol, very hop-y beer with complex flavors; something light but with body. It’s sort of like a guilty pleasure with a conscious.

“It’s something that people can enjoy more than a pint of without being in danger of DUI.”

This is a departure from what most beer drinkers geek out on and what a lot of pubs and bars are serving. The popularity right now lies in the high alcohol Belgian beers that carry intense flavors and aromas. Two of those and you’re lit. Sellers says that making a beer that is low in alcohol yet very tasty is something a “little uncommon in these parts.” The way to achieve the hoppiness and aroma, Sellers explained, was by adding a lot of hops late in the brewing process. So with this idea in mind he headed to the brewery and while there, he was able to play around with the hops that he wanted to use for the beer as well as the IBUs (Remember those? Think bitterness).

“We used a hop called Citra, which is what they use in their beer called Torpedo,” explains Sellers. “And we also used a hop called Strissel Spelt, which to be honest with you I’ve never heard of. It’s a nice European hop that has some peppery, sort of floral notes to it.”

There are many different kinds of hops to choose from like Cascade, Centennial, Willamette; the list goes on. Choosing the hops for your beer is like spices in your cooking; they determine a lot of the flavor, coupled with the malts and grains. And one ingredient that the Sierra Nevada beer will have in common with the Lagunitas is that coincidentally, they both will have rye.

“They added some rye to it to round out the edges with a little peppery, almost chewy texture to it,” says Sellers. “It’s going to play with people’s palates a little bit.”

The beer, which Sellers suggested be called Highway 16, is in reference to the highway that runs through Sloughhouse, Calif. Ultimately, the beer was named Sloughhouse Pale Ale.

“At one point, Sloughhouse was one of the biggest hop growing areas in the country,” says Sellers. “I wanted to pay tribute to Sacramento’s history of hop growing.”

Sellers spoke fondly of Sacramento’s beer history, citing letters written by Mark Twain who stepped off the train to a town full of saloons. His beer collaboration with Sierra Nevada will help those memories live on and hopefully inspire new generations of beer makers to keep pushing the envelope of fermentation sciences with nods to the past.

Here’s to Sloughhouse Pale Ale, and I’ll see you at Beer Week!

Sudwerk
Sacpiper Wee Heavy

Sudwerk is in on the Beer Week brews too with a specially crafted ale that’s done in a Scottish-style. What’s extra cool about this darker, high alcohol beer is that the hops used were sourced locally from Penryn, Calif. at Jordan Family Farms, which is also known for growing mandarin oranges and wine grapes. Appropriately named Sacpiper Wee Heavy, this Scotch ale goes through a long boil process, which produces a sweet carmelization. This will be a big boy, so save room for dessert. You can try Sudwerk’s Sacpiper along with the other specialty brews at the Sacramento Brewers Showcase at the new Crocker Art Museum.

Put down the PBR for a few days and enjoy Sacramento Beer Week Feb. 25 – March 6. Go to Sacramentobeerweek.com for schedule and info.

Roman Funerals, X-Ray Press, Winter’s Fall
Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011 – Townhouse – Sacramento

Let’s face it: watching two or more hours of the same genre of music rarely keeps the full attention of any audience, whether it’s thrashy punk rock or a dose of lulling acoustic folk. The jumble of bands playing Sunday’s show at the Townhouse, headlined by Sacramento’s Roman Funerals, provided a different kind of experience instead.

Winter's Fall

I was in the ladies’ room when I heard the drums of the opening band overhead, one hour past show time. I ran upstairs in time to see the five members of the Berkeley, Calif., band Winter’s Fall onstage playing “Anyways” from their newly released album At All Angles. Thirty-five or so people were fanned across the bar and corners of the room. Wearing button-down shirts and sneakers to fit the part, it was the first time the self-described Americana, indie folk rock band had played a show in Sacramento. I was immediately caught off-guard by lead vocalist Peter Stanley’s voice, which varies between a distinctly higher, somewhat nasaly quality like Jon Thor Birgisson in Sigur Ros and a lower range like the voice of The National’s Matt Berninger. The songs lasted four to five minutes, transitioning from upbeat guitar hooks to dreamy layers of guitars mixed with synthesizers and harmonized vocals, creating a full, soothing sound that was both folk and rock. Topped off with the sweet sound of a lap steel guitar and Stanley’s voice, their songs radiated country undertones. They played “Who’s to Say,” also off of At All Angles, and “Paper Chains” from their 2008 release Winter’s Fall.

X-Ray Press

X-Ray Press from Seattle eradicated every ounce of calm left in the room. The five-piece band pounded out a foreign genre that overlaps math rock, hardcore and punk creating a sort of ‘90s-meets-the-future sound. Despite their contagious, frenetic energy complete with head-banging and string tapping, the audience refrained from wriggling and writhing in front of the stage–maybe because they were in shock. Imagine beeping robot sounds composed to distorted guitars and intricate drumming, stopping abruptly to change the tempo two to three times within the same song, and you will have a vague conception of what this band sounded like. Lead vocalists Michael Pasuit and Paurl Walsh exchanged screaming and melodies over the various time signatures, sounding something like Brandon Boyd from Incubus singing over Dennis Lyxzén of Refused.

Roman Funerals headlined the show, fronted by brothers Evan and Matt Ferro of the former Sacramento band Bright Light Fever. Several local performers joined them on stage, including Kris Anaya of Doom Bird and the Alternative String Band. The set began with “Change in Weather,” a haunting opener filled with heavy drums and melancholy guitar riffs. Their songs are lyrically rich and eerie, with the brothers delivering most of the words in harmony with a sort of raw intensity, joined by their acoustic guitars. “I go to sleep at night wearing all my clothes in case the rich kids come to get me. They’ll take me away to a house on the hill and tell me lies about American history,” were the opening lines of “Secrets for Sale,” followed with booming drums, tambourine shakes and echoing “ooh ahhhs” that the audience sang along to. The harmonies joined with the percussion sounded something like Fleet Foxes but with the darkness of a Neko Case song. The accompanying keys, played by Anaya, added just the right touch of mood-setting. They played all the songs from their EP Six of Us, in addition to a cover of the Doom Bird song “Shape of Hearts,” at which point Sacramento’s Alternative String Band joined in with cellos and violins. Only the brothers and the String Band remained on stage to play their final song, “Six of Us,” a melancholy song that they noted “is about our father’s daughter’s children.” The brothers thanked the crowd for sticking around past midnight on a Sunday night at the end of set, and, with an act of generosity, left a stack of 10 free CDs on the stage for the audience to take.

Formoli’s Bistro
3260 J Street – Sacramento

Words & Photos by Adam Saake

Eating is a special experience. Food at once entices our senses with glorious smells, vibrant colors and curious textures while filling the basic human necessity of calming our hunger and nurturing our bodies. The experience continues with our journeys into cooking and learning how to feed ourselves and others in a way that makes meals memorable landmarks in our lives. And the final movement is to be fortunate enough to watch masters at work in their kitchens. When a dish is masterfully prepared right before your eyes, epiphanies occur and all of a sudden it all makes sense.

There are few places in Sacramento that can deliver an experience that encompasses all of those elements, and that’s OK. Sometimes we just want to be to ourselves and enjoy the company we’re with or maybe just grab something and go. But for the whole experience, for the spectacle des spectacles, there are places like Formoli’s Bistro in East Sacramento that, from the moment you open the door, you are drawn into all things exciting about dining out.

The brief hallway leads you into a bistro alive with kitchen sounds and smells and neighbors dining elbow to elbow for the sake of good cuisine. For those intimate nights or celebratory get-togethers, the dining room is just big enough to accommodate your fancy. But the best seat in the house is at the bar, sitting across from chefs Aimal Formoli and Joseph Contreras, watching the plates unfurl in a flurry of spices and demi-glaze. Hands fly in the air as seasonings fall and the pans in motion add a percussive backbeat to the chatter of the bistro.

But I digress. We’re here to talk about the food and what a mouthful there is to say. Out came the stuffed dates, a small offering that reflects Formoli’s Persian heritage mixed with his French training from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Stuffed with goat cheese and crispy pancetta and served on top of Belgian endive (an interesting white, crisp vegetable that grows from the roots of chicory) and topped with Champagne vinaigrette ($12), this dish is the flagship of Formoli’s cooking and is a gateway to the rest of his remarkable dishes.

The bruschetta arrived next, and I was excited to see what Chef Formoli was going to do with this classic Italian appetizer. Thick slices of bread with a perfectly toasted crust were topped with the cool, acidic sweetness of the cherry tomatoes and rounded out with a nice salty, olive oil tapenade. Each of Formoli’s dishes have such an incredible color palette that your eyes light up as they arrive. The brown, white and soft green of the dates or the yellows and reds of the bruschetta are nothing short of dazzling. Even purple makes an appearance in the blue cheese smashed potatoes that accompany the filet.

“As a chef, I try to be an artist too. That’s kind of my thing. I just love when a plate pops out at you. The colors are big for me on the plates,” says Formoli.

Upon my first visit, I was thankfully introduced to the whiskey burger that knocked my socks off. Formoli sears his blended, pepper encrusted patties in whiskey before finishing them in the oven. A perfectly toasted bun marries the cheddar cheese and habañero aioli to complete one of the best burgers in town. But while I ate, I watched a number of dishes being prepared including a pasta dish with medium rare flat iron steak sliced thinly on top. A white wine cream sauce with fettuccini noodles is one thing, but then to top it with such a great cut of beef that is cooked carefully and arrives tender is a whole different ball game. The fresh herbs and tomatoes make this dish pop, and you have the creaminess of the sauce with the savory texture of the beef–a real entrée.

Formoli’s is approaching its third year of business and not without its share of blood, sweat and tears along the way.

“What me and my wife [Suzanne Ricci] had saved is what we dumped into it and then halfway through, we ran out of every resource; every dime we had,” says Formoli.

Their dream was so big that these obstacles didn’t stand in their way. Quietly throughout the years, tucked away in the non-descript East Sacramento shopping center, Formoli’s Bistro built an outstanding menu that developed just as Formoli and Ricci wanted.

“Not being in the limelight too soon was good, because I was able to fine tune everything in the restaurant,” Formoli says. “That’s the last thing I wanted was hype.”

Then there’s the service. Front of the house experience is overflowing from servers like Patrick O’Neill, Sarah Heimann and Christina Gonzales, the latter two recipients of the Sacramento Bee’s “best server” accolade. The best word here is genuine. Customers aren’t talked “at” but rather delicately handled and the focus is on enhancing the meal rather than up-selling. With such a high turnover rate for servers in the restaurant industry, Formoli has found a team he calls his “family” that has been with him since the doors opened.

Look out for some cosmetic work being done on the inside and outside of the bistro this year and if you haven’t let the Formoli’s family wow you yet, there’s no time like the present.

If you’ve walked or driven by street-wear boutique/art gallery Upper Playground at 2524 J Street recently, you’ve probably noticed the blacked out windows and lack of any sort of activity. No rad T-shirts in the windows, no art. And the hanging walrus sign is gone. What the fuck, right? Here’s the skinny on what’s happening: 22-year-old art collecting, street-wear and fashion obsessing Aaron Hearing (who worked at U.P. for years) is opening up his own men’s-focused shop in the space called First Edition. “It’s been the dream since day one to own a shop,” Hearing recently told Submerge. “It’s finally materializing into what I always wanted it to be.” Hearing’s resume also includes stints at Barneys New York in San Francisco, Heritage Footwear and Apparel in Roseville and Zumiez and he holds a degree from FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising).

Hearing assured us that he and San Francisco-based Upper Playground founder Matt Revelli, who also is the editor of Juxtapoz art magazine, are still cool. No beef, no bad blood. “He’s a great guy,” Hearing said, “He’s smart as hell.” Hearing pointed out that because Revelli isn’t in Sacramento it was tough for him to manage the shop and that because U.P. had pigeonholed itself by carrying too few brands, it was simply time to close up shop. “He wanted to test out the Sac market,” Hearing said. “It was great, but the only problem is we were selling T-shirts. How many people in Midtown will buy three T-shirts a week and then come back and buy more?” Hearing plans on carrying what U.P. did and then some: jeans by Crate Denim, “it’s all vintage denim in modern fits. All the denim is older than 1973,” men’s skin care products by Baxter of California, and even random smaller items like condoms. “We picked up a few other things like Sir Richard’s Condom Company. Totally random, but it was something I had to pick up.” For every condom sold, Sir Richard’s donates one to a developing country. “Same thing as Toms Shoes, which we are going to carry also,” Hearing said. “A lot of the brands in here we are going to be carrying have a story, a purpose.”

First Edition will open on Feb. 12, 2011 Second Saturday. After that they’ll have normal hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. And just because it’s a men’s-focused shop, ladies should not be intimidated to shop for their BFs or hubbies, as Hearing’s super friendly 19-year-old sister will more than likely be behind the counter working. Even if she’s not, you’ll be greeted by either Hearing himself or one of his close friends. “This is going to be a place where, it’s weird using the word ‘safe,’ but it will be,” Hearing said. “People can come in with no pressure to buy anything and just kick it until you have to go to dinner.”

One of Sacramento’s most talented songstresses, Ricky Berger, is working on her second album in San Antonio, Texas, alongside one hell-of-a producer in Gordon Raphael (The Strokes, Regina Spektor). “The scene here has been exploding as of late in all genres of music,” Berger told Submerge of San Antonio. “I’m going to be recording 11 new, original songs. I have a thing about the number 11.” After a week-and-a-half or so of tracking, she’ll head out on a three-month U.S. tour with best friend and equally talented Adrian Bourgeois. Berger said that for the last six months or so she’s been “holed up in my bedroom with my laptop, working out the musical arrangements.” Of her new record, she said this: “With my sophomore album, I aim to make a dynamic and tender, romantically fantastic sonic reflection of my personal life.” She does have a title picked out for the new record, but wasn’t ready to divulge it just yet. “Shh, it’s a secret!” she said.

Sacramento psychedelic lo-fi group Ganglians are wrapping up their yet-to-be-titled new full-length record with local producer Raleigh Moncrief. “It’s pretty different than any of the old shit,” Moncrief told Submerge of the band’s new material. “This record is borderline hi-fi and more deeply tailored for headphone listeners, you know, more textural and colorful and, for lack of a better term, ‘psychedelic.’ Maybe not as blatantly psych as some of the older stuff, more subtle or something. I like to think of it as ‘new’ sounding psych.” They’ve recorded 14 songs, 11 or 12 of which will make the final cut. The album should be out this summer; Moncrief said, “June/July-ish, but honestly we’re not sure.”