Submerge’s Fourth Annual Bicycle Mural Tour

Ride along with Submerge for its fourth-annual Bicycle Mural Tour. Yes, that’s right: the journey inspired by street art returns and features some of the city’s newest pieces—blasted in the alleyways of businesses like the Wilkerson Theatre on 25th Street, or covering a vacant building near busy railroad tracks. As this story gradually developed, via random bike rides and a few wrong turns throughout midtown and downtown, an underlining theme emerged from the select layers of paint: Change is ever-present. As more corrugated and concrete walls in Sacramento become skillfully decorated canvases, some veteran pieces fade behind new concepts and transition into mere memory. Submerge revisits and remembers one mural in particular, highlighted in 2012, by self-taught artist Skinner. His longtime homage to the monsters of heavy metal at the former Java Lounge coffee house on 16th Street was recently painted over with a new mural by artist Mynas. Much like the flux in businesses, the spot now hosts Good Hands Barbershop. In this year’s feature, explore the hidden designs of the outdoors, remember past works of art and pedal along with a magazine that will continue to document this ever-evolving art form.

Space Babe

The Wilkerson Theatre
1723 25th St. (In the alley)
Sacramento

A full-bodied space woman in an orange and red uniform stares down at passersby. Her white eyes encased by a clear astronaut helmet and colorless, outlined arms hint that this mural is yet to be finished by artist Cyber Punk. Sharp letters in many shades of brown and yellow are accented by several blue and purple orbs guiding viewers from one end of the alley to the next. Clue: If an older man framed in gold with deep brown eyes appears, smoking a cigar, X marks the spot.

The Land Before Crime

1905 S St. (Next to Jim’s Color Corner Inc.)
Sacramento

A red van parked near the S Street railroad tracks reads “Mystery Machine” on one side. Its owner, artist Anthony Padilla, stands on the highest step of his paint-speckled ladder, and accents a navy palm tree with bright, aqua blue in the background of his mural, The Land Before Crime. Padilla says the owner of the building wanted a simple way to ensure that random incidents of tagging stopped. With this piece, he asks the public one question, “When will fossil fuels go extinct?” The query directly relates to the triceratops and pterodactyls featured throughout the plush scenery Padilla has created. “Instead of watching Miley Cyrus shake her flat ass, you could spend time thinking about serious shit,” explains Padilla. “This is the land before manmade laws. There wasn’t a judicial system. Everything was down to the laws of nature.”

Untitled

a Hidden treasure

Channel the inquisitive attributes of a modern-day Sherlock Holmes and discover this mural not too far from Padilla’s The Land Before Crime. To find this bonus piece, bike toward the alleyway of new music venue Witch Room, then mosey past two blue dumpsters, and finally, peek around the corner near the railroad tracks to reveal a three-piece set of script and prehistoric creatures. One blue-gray dinosaur glares behind dark shades and clutches a can of spray paint. Although the ground is decorated by empty Ben and Jerry’s ice cream pints and cigarette butts, and a pair of shoes dangles from the power lines above, this hidden design is worth the extra investigative effort.

Style Vault

Good Hands Barbershop
2416 16th St.
Sacramento

A police officer walks across a checkered floor and into the “style vault,” where stacks of gold coins act as a bread crumb trail of sorts. The word “end” is painted in gigantic letters in the foreground of this mural, with intricate details and color painted in each letter by artist Mynas. The piece quietly ends with the officer fast asleep on a wooden stool next to a box of glazed donuts. Owner of Good Hands Barbershop, Joshua Green, recently opened his business in March and says he simply wanted to start something fresh for the city. So, the choice to paint over Skinner’s mural of monsters was made. “I feel I made the right call,” explains Green. “I made sure I found the right person. It’s not like I said, ‘Screw it. It’s got to go.’ The art that was done previously by Skinner was kind of demonic with blood and people’s heads getting cut off. I got families and kids coming through here.” Eventually, Green wants to keep the wall in question as a rotating art space filled with layers by future artists. “I left a section up there that I had Mynas leave alone. It’s not 100 percent forgotten.”

Our Time

7th and K streets
Sacramento

An ominous figure stands tall, his eyes shaded behind neon green words that blatantly ask, “Our time?” This is the latest mural by artist David Garibaldi (@garibaldiarts) on 7th and K streets. The piece presses the question of time, perhaps coincidentally or intentionally adjacent to what will be formerly the Downtown Plaza Mall. As the mural tour comes to a close, change again surfaces. This time, it’s found within the deep purple of this figure’s jacket, accented with vibrant green and warped and smeared in a brown and gray background.

Fun Facts Before You Go

In a creamy ice cream, a stiff margarita or simply grilled with salt and pepper, asparagus is one springtime vegetable that is enjoyed and savored in myriad forms throughout the San Joaquin Valley and the world. Every spring, the Asparagus Festival in Stockton, Calif., dishes up massive quantities of the fibrous and potassium-filled stalk. On April 25 to 27, be entertained by ’80s alternative rock band Soul Asylum, or get funky with the guys from War before witnessing a Chopped-inspired chef cook-off located in the Civic Auditorium area. Visit white tents set up in Asparagus Alley to brave scoops of asparagus ice cream, pastas and more.

Now in its 29th year, the festival boasts 36,000 deep-fried asparagus servings, 10,100 scoops of green ice cream, 3,500 sandwiches, 3,400 pasta plates and 2,300 burritos. The grand total: 56,400 helpings of asparagus are consumed over the festival’s three-day period. Not to mention, $25,000 worth of perishables are donated to the Emergency Food Bank and Gospel Rescue Mission. As the festival approaches, we wanted to learn a bit more about the abundant stalky veggie. In the following interviews, Submerge magazine asks culinary experts, dietitians and festival organizers about tips, tricks and fun-facts behind the versatile veggie—and yes, we even asked what’s up with asparagus pee.

Oooo that Smell

That sulfuric odor and yellowish-green hue are two characteristics of asparagus consumption a majority of fans are all too familiar with. Luckily, Submerge turns to registered dietician Cathy Carmichael of the Sacramento Native American Health Center (2020 J Street) to ask the age-old question.

Why, oh why, does asparagus pee smell so pungent?
CC: It’s actually a byproduct of the amino acid, asparagine. When it breaks down in your body, it produces a byproduct that ends up in the toilet from your urine and you can smell it.

Gross.
CC: All amino acids are found in protein foods. If you think about the smell, like with eggs. While you’re hard-boiling eggs, or steaming artichokes, they have a very unique smell. All of those are the byproduct of amino acids that are changing their formation, whether they’re changing in your body or changing when cooking. [Asparagine] was one of the first amino acids to be isolated by scientists in the 1800s. It’s also found in many other foods.

What are some nutritional benefits of asparagus?
CC: Asparagus is high in potassium, vitamin A, folate and fiber. I would say a cup of asparagus is about 40 calories. It’s a low-calorie vegetable that is very nutrient-dense. As a dietitian, asparagus is such a great vegetable because it’s handheld and that’s great for kids; you can cook it in the microwave, you can steam it, it’s very versatile. It adds great color. It’s a terrific vegetable. We are very lucky in the state of California to have a lot of it, if we have enough water to grow it right.

California Grown

Drian Perez is the chef-in-charge at Skyline Restaurant in the Sleep Train Arena. With more than 15 years of experience professionally dishing up meals, Perez and his team of culinary artists serve anywhere from 3,500 to 4,000 guests on game nights alone. With five games left in the NBA season, Perez looks to fresh asparagus for inspiration in the kitchen.

What is an asparagus faux pas?
DP: Never boil asparagus. When you boil asparagus, it washes away all the good stuff that you don’t end up eating. It’s actually best to just grill it right out. The best way to do it for me is to cook it with salt, pepper and olive oil on the grill.

How is the Sleep Train team dishin’ out asparagus?
DP: Right now, we’re doing a cream of asparagus soup. We also like to do roasted asparagus served with a balsamic reduction as a salad item. We also like to use asparagus for our pastas, like our pasta alfredo with asparagus and mushrooms. Seasonal vegetable is what’s good about living in Northern California. We can get asparagus right away. Especially, with the whole farm to fork push that’s going on everywhere, asparagus is definitely a part of that.

Did you enjoy the vegetable as a kid?
DP: I wish that kids could eat a lot more of it in schools. Going to school, we never had a taste for asparagus in lunch programs and that is something that I would like to see incorporated in school menus.

Boil ’em, mash ’em, stick ’em in a stew

Executive chef and owner of Blackbird Kitchen and Beer Gallery, Carina Lampkin may be a stranger when it comes to the Asparagus Festival, but she is definitely familiar with the vegetable. Lampkin features the perennial veggie on Blackbird’s latest menu alongside a nice portion of wild king salmon. She also plans to incorporate asparagus tips and when it’s their turn, other fern veggies and artichokes with beef tartar rounds. Look for chef’s take on springtime goodies throughout their respective seasons all year round.

How do you prefer asparagus?
CL: My favorite way to eat anything is simply with butter and salt. Done. Give me a grill. Give me some butter. Give me some salt. Call it good.

Tell me about Blackbird’s asparagus dish.
CL: Blackbird is hyper-seasonal. So, as soon as something pops out of the ground, we like to cut it and plate it. I’m doing a seared wild king salmon dish with a bacon and potato hash, [and] poached egg with asparagus tips on top, lightly sautéed in the pan.

What happens to the stalks of the vegetable? Do they go to waste?
CL: I do a butter sauce with the stalks that I don’t use from the asparagus. I trim them down so that they’re white. Then, I chop them up and infuse them in cream to really layer the flavor. I also use that cream to finish my sauce. What I like to do with flavors as much and often as possible is bring in every component of cooking to layer and add depth and character. So, you get the asparagus tips in this dish and what would be waste, I infuse into the sauce to reinforce the flavor.

What inspires you seasonally?
CL: What I’m doing artistically with the menu right now is becoming a monochromatic chef. With my pasta dish, all of the elements are different varying shades of green. I have another dish on my menu right now, which is varying shades of orange and yellow. It’s a fun way to play with color. I enjoy turning every plate into a piece of edible art. That’s the goal at Blackbird.

How about a handy asparagus cooking tip?
CL: When I blanch asparagus, the goal is fork-tender. Bring your pot to a soft boil, like 120 degrees, if you want to get precise. You don’t have to use a whole pot full of water either; you can kind of steam them. When you’re steaming them, you want to season your water as you would pasta water. You can add aromatics to your blanching water; but with asparagus, I don’t want to overpower it, yet I want to give it some characteristics to its flavor profile.

What do you add to blanching water?
CL: I add some citrus acid, which is a fancy chef ingredient that keeps the green color. Then, add some lemon juice, chili flake, kosher salt and a little bit of thyme. You always want to be cooking in a broth; you don’t want to cook in water. When you cook in a broth, you add depth, you add character and you create a story.

Interested in the various ways to enjoy asparagus? Visit the 29th annual Asparagus Festival in Stockton, Calif. (Weber Point 221 N. Center St.) April 25 – 27. Tickets start at $13 and children 12 years and younger are free. Asparagusfest.com.

(waning) taps into Northern California folklore on their latest album The Funeral Mountains

A canopy of branches and leaves rustle softly; they whisper, almost in cadence, with the squeaks and chirps of Mother Nature’s most cherished creatures. Beyond these sounds, found deep within the sacred forest of the eastern Sierra Nevadas, dwells one woman with mystical powers and abilities. She belongs to an elder sisterhood of 4,000-year-old trees and possesses the gift to transform from human to the form of her ancient sisters—a shape-shifter. Sometime in the 1800s, one silver miner met eyes with this mysterious woman and was promised wealth and wisdom, but at a price. The miner, although enticed by the woman’s proposition, was unaware of the ulterior motives at large, wealth and wisdom for the lifelong promise to live alongside the woman as a tree forever. The choice was ultimately his and the story further unfolds within the latest, six-track album, The Funeral Mountains, from psychedelic doom metal band (waning).

Buriedinhell Records, based in Sacramento and operated by Kenneth Hoffman of local grind and punk bands like Knifethruhead and Cura Cochino, released (waning)’s first concept album in early January. The main idea behind The Funeral Mountains was not only inspired by native myths, California history and fairy tales, but sprung straight from the childhood dreams of keyboardist/vocalist Susan Hunt.

“One of the first things I can remember is having a dream that I was turning into a tree,” Hunt says over a pint at the Hideaway Bar and Grill. “I still remember that dream and it’s been a while. It was frightening.”

Frightening enough to inspire an album full of the band’s signature ambient tones and psychedelic spells, all compressed with an auditory heaviness arranged with the intent to inspire mood within a room full of listeners.

“Mood is really what dictates a lot of our music,” vocalist/guitarist Jim Willig explains. “We used to call ourselves doom a lot, and we do have a lot of slow songs, but the psychedelic or ambient element of the music is pervasive. There’s always been a hazy, trippy sort of vibe that we have cultivated, but we try and maintain the mood.”

Conceptualized in 2007, (waning) emerged when Willig nudged a reluctant Hunt to jump on a neglected keyboard she owned since youth. Hunt, with no formal training, was eventually convinced by Willig to give keys a chance in the form of “textural, weird sounds” with him on guitar at a noise fest in Eugene, Ore. As years progressed, so did the band’s song structures and a need to add more depth and opportunity for endless musical possibilities with the addition of percussion and bass guitar.

“I was not confident enough to play with real musicians because I’m not studied and I just sort of learned by the seat of my pants,” Hunt admits. “Then Jim bugged me into doing it. It’s taken a long time to gain some confidence and sort of move beyond that to contribute to a full band and challenge myself more.”

Now comfortable with her black and white keys, Hunt says the band is better than when it started and credits bassist/vocalist Ian Black and drummer Benjamin Carpineta. Black, a fan of (waning) before talks of joining surfaced during a Portishead concert, admits the slower, long-form style (waning) is known for was unlike any genre he’s ever experienced.

“Pretty much everything I’ve ever done before has been really up tempo, fast and aggressive,” Black says. “I was in an industrial band for 11 years and before that, I was in a couple punk bands [and] an ’80s-style hair metal band when I was 17.”

He adds, “This band’s music has always been really intense and powerful with a lot of beautiful aspects. It all works together and I haven’t been a part of any other band that has given me the same kind of feeling.”

In fact, feelings, moods and emotions are all sensations (waning) attempts to ignite during its live performances, which is what initially sparked the model for the band.

“I’ve wanted a band where if people close their eyes they don’t imagine people playing instruments, they imagine something else,” Willig says. “That’s why I talk about mood a lot and vastness. Transporting, that’s what we want to do.”

Sacramento loves noise—proven with an 18-season running event in the annual Norcal Noisefest. A mecca for all doom, noise, trance and experimentation, Noisefest hosts a mixed bag of genres, ranging from the more raucous sounds from bands such as Liver Cancer, to the more doom-oriented sounds (waning) emitted in 2007. Ultimately, the noise scene is where (waning) found its home—an odd and at times, raucous environment that allowed the band to express its creativity and gain inspiration for new techniques amid like-minded musicians.

“I’d say when we first started out we were really involved with the noise scene. Now, we’re primarily a part of the metal scene, which is almost an outgrowth of the punk or crust mentality. So, a lot of house shows, a bit more underground with a lot of people in their 30s and 40s,” Willig explains of the band’s new audience.

(waning), a band for the aged crusty at heart, who traded anarcho-punk for the contemporary doom metal scene.

Visit Waning.bandcamp.com to listen to their new album, The Funeral Mountains, and catch a live performance on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at the Café Colonial (3520 Stockton Boulevard) with The Body, Amarok and Plague Widow. The show starts at 8 p.m. and costs $10.

The Kennedy Veil doesn’t sacrifice vitality for technicality

The Kennedy Veil is Sacramento’s personal pathway to all the aggression, intricacies and power death metal offers its listeners. Since 2009, the guys supported longtime metal and death grind acts like Cattle Decapitation, Macabre and Origin. Now, the band prepares for its album release show for Trinity of Falsehood with support from Inanimate Existence, Cyanic and more on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014, at On the Y. Over a pitcher of beer at the Old Tavern Bar and Grill, drummer Gabe Seeber and guitarist KC Childers sat down with Submerge to discuss the symbolism behind the album, the newest addition to the band (19-year-old vocalist Taylor Wientjes) and the overall charms and attraction to the death metal genre.

What song is most satisfying to perform off the new album, Trinity of Falsehood?
KC Childers: The song “Ashes” is my favorite. It showcases what the whole album’s about. The whole album literally goes through stages. We’re not a death metal band that sticks to a specific style. [The album] has melodic, heavy and brutal parts. It’s all movements in a sense and comes out like total chaos, but there’s structure.

Are perfection, levels of difficulty or challenging techniques a priority during the writing process?
KC: We want our album to sound perfect, but at the same time, people know that we can play every single fucking note that we write live. There are very few bands that play with some type of balls. A lot of it is over-polished studio magic. To me, that’s the biggest problem in our genre, is that music’s become this precise thing. I want to see a band that has a chip on their shoulder live.
Gabe Seeber: People don’t like Pantera because they play perfect live. They like them because they’re aggressive live and they get the crowd moving.

Is there an overall theme to the album?
GS: There are definitely some religious aspects to it, but it’s more the downfall of society and the degradation of mankind. A lot of people follow faiths blindly: is it a sense of morality, or is it you being a good person because the Bible tells you so?
Tell me about the symbolism behind the album’s artwork.
KC: On the album cover, there are three beings, which relates to the Bible [and] the trinity of falsehood, like the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. The way I describe it best is, what would humanity do if three beings came down and were presenting themselves as gods? Would you know the difference? Would you answer to the same beliefs that you were raised with? Would you know the difference between being a good human being or would you follow set rules?

What lured you both toward death metal?
GS: A lot of metal in general was interesting to me because it was reminiscent of classical [music], but done in a different way with heavier drumming and distortion. It caught my attention easily. If you listen to older, classical piano and compare it to something like Necrophagist, the guitar solos will be really reminiscent of what you hear in classical piano.
KC: The music had a lot of power. It got people moving. It was always real and it has this blue-collar aspect to it that I love.

What sets The Kennedy Veil apart from other bands?
KC: When I play guitar, I’m not worried if you give a shit about how many notes I’m playing or how fancy you think what we’re doing is. I want the overall feeling of what we’re doing to be epic. You should feel accomplished as a musician. We don’t mind pounding our chest, I guess. I think that’s what our genre needs. If you get the chance to come see us live, our music has more of that raw vibe to it.

Do you feel death metal has an audience in Sacramento?
KC: To be honest, we have some of the strongest groups of bands death metal-wise here in Sacramento. Even younger bands like the guys in Extirpate are so talented. I see a lot of talent in our scene, so there’s growth in that sense. I think Sacramento’s biggest problem in general is there is a scene here, but the only way you destroy a scene is overpopulating it with so many stupid shows where the same band you saw play Saturday, plays next week.
GS: I think another part of the problem is there are so many young kids and the only places they can go to see a show is the Boardwalk or Ace of Spades. With this genre in Sacramento, there are so many kids that want to go to these shows, but they can’t. Most of the metal scene here is younger kids.

Taylor Wientjes, at 19 years old, is the new vocalist of The Kennedy Veil. Was his age an intimidating factor in the search for a frontman?
KC: For me, not at all. My big thing was always confidence. Outside of that, it was important to get somebody into the band that would be like a family member. We’re like a family. We argue like a family, but we’re very business-savvy as far as our time and our money goes because we plan on this being our careers.

What is The Kennedy Veil looking forward in 2014?
KC: I’m looking forward to a great year. We didn’t get into this to be millionaires—thousandaires would be nice. [Laughs] When I listen to the new album, I think we could be one of those bands that breaks into new demographics. [Our music] isn’t verse, chorus, verse, chorus. It’s not a radio song. There’s enough emotion there to catch people.

Visit Facebook.com/thekennedyveil for more info.

The Knockoffs and their place in Sacramento’s punk rock history

Country licks with a traditional punk-rock style. Twenty years of street cred earned within the ever-fluctuating Sacramento music scene. Not to mention the immeasurable amount of respect from bands such as 7Seconds, the Groovie Ghoulies, festival organizers and promoters alike. That old school, independent, do-it-yourself mentality all in the spirit of punk rock is still essential for members of The Knockoffs after all this time.

The days when flyers were handed out at shows and littered the walls of bedrooms instead of sidewalks. The times before the Internet was a main tool of promotion, when actual footwork and word of mouth were the standard codes of conduct for bands. These forgotten practices continue to resonate for these four men and after a three-year pause, they’re back and ready to play as loud as they can at this year’s second annual Punch and Pie Fest on Aug. 24, 2013 at Old Ironsides.

“They’re kind of like the elder statesmen of our community. I think that they’re a really important part of Sacramento’s punk rock history. They have been around for 20 years and they have been a great influence on the punk rock community,” says Punch and Pie Fest organizer and Bastards of Young bassist Sean Hills. “I have a lot of respect for them, and I think they are a great example of how to be in a band for that long without killing each other. They’ve been doing it right.”

It’s a roundtable meeting of sorts within the living room of vocalist and guitar player Tom Hutchison, or as his mates like to call him, “Little Tom.” On this Sunday afternoon Danny Secretion, Tom Amberson (aka “Big Tom”) and Bobby Jordan gather around a coffee table, television muted, to speak with Submerge about their love for punk rock music, keeping the scene healthy by ways of encouraging young talent and laughing so hard during practices until their muscles ache and eyes water.

“It’s like we’re in the eighth grade and someone’s parents are gone,” says bassist Jordan of the band’s camaraderie. “It’s one of the fibers of my life.”

Forming in the early ’90s, The Knockoffs have had their fair share of lineup changes. At times, certain members would even jump from guitar to bass and then back to guitar just to keep the process moving. Eventually, the guys found what worked and ultimately solidified their lineup.

Each person comes with their own unique set of experiences or outlooks complete with a list of either a second or third punk rock band they’re also heavily involved in. Like Secretions’ longtime run with The Moans, The Shitty Ramones and The Secretions; or Bobby Jordan doubling up with The Mr. T Experience. Hell, Amberson credits The Knockoffs giving him the opportunity to sit behind the drum kit and learn a completely new instrument by simply joining the ranks. All of these elements are finished with a traditional punk and rock ’n’ roll-style of vocals with just the right amount of gruff, thanks to Hutchison, especially heard within the playful lyrics during songs such as “You Make Me Sit Funny” from The Knockoffs’ second full-length album Sell the Move.

Yet, after all the changes, instrument shuffles and years tacked behind them, their chemistry works. And their time spent performing and practicing as The Knockoffs means more to each member than just another punk rock band they’re a part of. In the end, all members say they genuinely enjoy one another and have witnessed each go through life changes ranging from marriage to welcoming Jordan’s new baby girl to the family.

“Having a baby has made me want to do this even more,” says Jordan. “I want music to be around her while some people retreat in music with babies and families.”

Encouraging music within a younger audience is a duty each member of the band adopts with no questions asked; to them it’s necessary to keep the tight-knit punk rock community healthy. Both Secretion and Jordan recall bands like 7Seconds and the Groovie Ghoulies mentoring them, by means of showing them the unspoken codes of ethics, respect and even honesty when it comes to door money.

“We were really lucky that we had those bands take us under their wing,” remembers Secretion. “The thing that I notice is that the older bands kind of groom the younger ones. When you see bands like Mad Judy or Abandoned Generation, these kids are too young to even get into the shows we’re playing, but seeing them and the younger generation of punk rock, I know it’s going to be OK in Sacramento.”

These four men remember performing shows at Old Ironsides 20 years ago for five bucks. Fast forward a couple decades later and the guys are still playing shows at that price—and happily, which Jordan says is a testament to The Knockoffs, genuine love for the music alone. And they aren’t planning on closing their guitar cases or retiring their drum sticks ever—they’re all here to stay.

“We’re like an old, wore out, stinky pair of shoes,” jokes Jordan, sitting next to Hutchison and directly sending the rest of the guys into laughter.

“I’m looking forward to just playing my guitar as loud as possible and looking over my left shoulder and seeing these guys play their asses off,” says Secretion. “That’s going to mean so much. You ain’t seen the last of us.”

Photo by Allyson Seconds

Punch and Pie Fest 2 will heat up Sacramento Aug. 21–25, 2013 at The Press Club, Old Ironsides, Midtown Barfly and Luigi’s Fungarden. The Knockoffs will perform at Old Ironsides on Aug. 24, 2013 with Dr. Frank, Bright Faces and Arts and Leisure. For a full Punch and Pie Fest schedule, go to Punchandpiefest.com or go to Facebook.com/punchandpieproductions.

Gluten Free Specialty Market

2612 J Street • Sacramento

With the fast-paced foot and vehicle traffic constantly buzzing down J Street and an estimated 5,000 Sacramentans with Celiac disease, it’s no surprise that the Gluten Free Specialty Market just celebrated their five-year anniversary. But the store caters not only to those seeking gluten-free foods, according to co-owner Melanie Weir.

“Our goal is to help provide you with the things that make you thrive,” says Weir. “We cater to all kinds of allergens, all kinds of specialty diets, modifications—anything that people need, we look at.”

The store began as a Web-only idea, operating out of a small rented room in a neurology clinic. According to Weir, many who were seeking gluten-free nourishment out of desperation would stop by, inquiring if she was in fact a fully operating grocery store. At the time, she was not. But in five years, Gluten Free Specialty grew from carrying fewer than 60 items to packing over 9,000 options into the 1700-square-foot space at their current location (2612 J Street).

Prior to opening Gluten Free, Weir, who is severely allergic to gluten and has followed a gluten-free diet for the last 12 years, noticed that gluten-free items in everyday grocery stores were scarce to nonexistent; either expired and dusty, or buried and forgotten about under the more mainstream foods. But what made her situation even worse was when hunger struck, gluten-free choices were stored next to foods and areas containing gluten, ultimately making her already limited options contaminated and inedible.

“There wasn’t access to quality foods. Foods weren’t being taken care of properly,” says Weir. “You’d have to dust off the gluten-free products to actually see how long it had been sitting on the shelf. Everything was stale or crushed up and you were lucky if you even got it.”

Weir now enjoys operating a store where people who seek quality and safe food options can turn.

“It only takes one bread crumb with someone with celiac disease to go into an auto-immune reaction for up to six months,” says Weir. “It’s a really serious thing. It’s not like, ‘I’m not going to eat gluten because it’s a fad.’ With celiac disease, you have two pairs of sympathetic nervous systems that turn on; and the systems, as they activate, can create all kinds of things like cancer and inflammation. Basically, all things that eventually lead to death and degeneration of the body.”

Knowing the logistics of gluten and the potential harm it can cause to those allergic is something naturopathic doctor Dennis Godby specializes in. Godby’s practice operates out of Sacramento Naturopathic Medical Center, which happens to be neighbor to the market, only a few doors down. The goal of his establishment is to care for all patients with natural remedies including herbal, vitamin and mineral treatments.

“Wheat has 50 percent more gluten than it did 30 years ago. Gluten is a very serious thing,” says Godby. “[Eating a gluten-free diet] is a trend, but it’s not a fad. It’s a trend because people are finding out the truth. Most people aren’t doing it for fashion; people are doing it to see if they feel better if they take gluten out of their diet. Part of the reason Gluten Free Specialty Market has gotten so popular is because people want to have options. Because for some people, [gluten] is like a toxin, literally like a poison.”

Gluten is found in the protein of wheat, rye and barley and is also cross-contaminated in most oats. According to Weir, the safety of oats is still a questionable thing for those with celiac disease. She adds that just about any packaged food on the market from 10 years ago to date contains gluten.

“Basically, not just pasta, bread and rice, but if it’s made in a factory and that flour dust is in the air, anything that’s made in that factory has gluten in it,” says Weir. “It could be in green beans, it could be in your peanut butter. There are so many elements.”

Registered dietitian Jo Miller explains there are close to 5,000 people in Sacramento with celiac disease, a condition where the body attacks gluten as a foreign invader. For those living with the disease, a gluten-free diet is the only way to ensure good health.

“Having a resource like the Gluten Free Specialty Market is an asset for the daily challenge of meal planning,” she says.

Eventually, Weir’s goal is to incorporate a gluten-free kitchen, which she projects will happen over the next several years. In addition, she’d like to expand the store’s square footage for more storage, office space and room for extra gluten-free goodies. And don’t fret, if the store doesn’t carry an item, just ask Weir or one of the staff on shift. Not only will they will take note, but also look into ordering it.

“Basically we started with a notebook and 60 products. When people walked into the store we wrote down what they asked for. To this day, we keep track of what people want,” she says. “This really is the heart of the community store,” she continues. “The products here are the icing on the cake and allow for a little more excitement. It’s fun to bring in something new, like a blood orange olive oil or a lemon butter; because when you have multiple allergies, a lot of times you lose that creativity in the kitchen. This store is really designed to maintain creativity for people who have food allergies.”

See Sacramento as an Open Air Art Museum

May is Bike Month is back, challenging all to abandon four wheels for the environmentally friendly alternative of pedal power, (which means riding bicycles versus gas guzzlers…keep up!). With miles logged and events listed, there’s still one more idea to add to this sunny month’s itinerary: the annual Submerge Bicycle Mural Tour. For three years now, we’ve scouted the entire Midtown and downtown areas looking for eye-catching artwork decorating businesses, like HR Sports Cards and Collectibles (2231 10th Street) and even discovered a growing number of collaborative art murals brightening up dingy alleyways. Grab a date, some friends or all of the above and visit each location to see the work of artists such as Shaun Burner, Mike Rodriguez, the women of the Few&Far movement and many who prefer to remain nameless. This year, I’ve included some bonus murals for all participants to find along the way. Plus, the routes are near many local businesses to turn a tour of alluring wall art into an all-day affair that ends near the Sutter’s Landing river entrance on B Street. Will you spot the lion’s head with a multi-colored headdress, or perhaps successfully stumble upon the woman underneath the moon? Pedal forth, keep an eye out and most of all ride safe.

Few&Far Animal Rights Mural
1800 24th Street alleyway

This marks the beginning of this two-wheeled journey. It appears that Sacramento’s alleyways, once dark and desolate locations, reeking of piss, have now transformed into a sort of new wave art exhibit. Who knew a splash of color and a concept could turn an industrial building with broken windows (1800 24th Street alleyway) and rusted fans into a tribute to all the cute, furry creatures of the world? Last September all day and throughout the night the Few&Far movement, a group of women all experienced in graffiti art joined together for animal rights. See doe-eyed giraffes, pink leopards and even a brown-eyed girl with butterflies, birds and daisies decorating her flowing locks. The mural is the collaboration effort of over a dozen artists from all around the world and yes, even Sacramento. Get involved at http://fewandfarwomen.com/.

Coexist
2321 10th Street on W Street

Members of the Kids Crew warn passersby that this wall, the second destination of the tour, is a “mural in progress.” The mural displays six gods of various religions—representing everything from Shiva, a Hindu deity, to Sikh and even Buddha. Each god is depicted in various colors and holds unique distinctions like the Koran or lotuses scattered below one figure, the lotus flower being a symbol of purity and enlightenment. What better way to bring peace to a neighborhood where according to manager of HR Sports Cards and Collectibles (2321 10th Street on W Street), Parker, is an unfortunate hot spot for tagging. “We have this mural because it protects the building from getting tagged,” he says. “Here, even the taggers respect mural art. It’s a really nice work of art and it gets so much attention.” Parker explains his interpretation of the mural as a call for all to coexist peacefully within all religions. After sifting through a box of comics—it was Free Comic Book Day after all—he then offered a little insight to what became two bonus stops on the tour.

Bonus find: Lion’s Head
W and 10th streets

Head up 10th Street just past the comic book shop where a Mayan-inspired lion’s head with multicolored headdress growls from the top corner of a gray building, protected by fencing. Spot the lion and pedal forward.

Bonus find: Woman Beneath the Moon
W and 10th streets

Just before reaching Osaka Ya (2215 10th Street) a downtown joint known for their enormous shaved ice treats and mochi. Turn right into the alley to spot the second bonus find on this year’s mural tour painted by artists Shaun Burner and friend Rubio. A solemn-faced woman with golden eyes stares into the alleyway, two male figures on either side of her raise their hands to a white moon at the peak of this decorated garage.

“I painted the outer sides with the two figures giving it up to the heavens praising the sacred feminine,” says Burner. “They are just giving up blessing to the universe. The sacred feminine has been so lost and disrespected at this point in time.”

Crest Theatre Alleyway
Alley between J and K streets near 10th Street

Behind the Crest Theatre (1013 K Street) is an alleyway. And, along the walls of this alleyway is an astronaut floating through a space of vibrant blues, magentas and various shades of greens. The mural, painted by Jason Bove and various artists, extends halfway through the entire stretch of building lining the alley and ends with all the colors of the rainbow dripping in succession from rooftop to pavement.

The Showplace of Sacramento
25th between J and K streets

A boy dressed in ‘30s-style knickerbockers and suspenders gazes into the past of Sacramento’s historic Alhambra Theatre, demolished in 1973 to make way for a Safeway supermarket. Even though all that remains of this historic building is the original fountain still working at the south side of the parking lot, this mural on 25th between J and K streets, with its complementary blues and oranges will forever be a window to the past.

Contemporary Dance Conservatory
213 26th Street

Starting the tour at W Street and ending at the Contemporary Dance Conservatory (213 26th Street) is perfect for two reasons, one being the mural at the entrance of the building painted by Mike Rodriguez, Shaun Burner, Letter D, Miguel Perez, Stephen V. Williams and Mark Prick. And secondly, it’s next to the Sutter’s Landing river entrance on B Street. Owners of this building grew tired of painting over tagged walls, so they invited a few good artists to hold a freestyle session using their dance studio as the canvas. Neighbor to the studio, Evan Duran, brought the collaboration together, “People respect art. If there’s already art on the wall, they won’t tag on it. But if it’s a blank canvas such as a buff building, it’s pretty much just asking kids to paint on it,” he says. The mural portrays a young figure riding in a car at the edge of a cliff; a shaman-like character to his right holds a key in one hand and blesses him with vision from a heart as the young figure faces the obstacles in front of him.

The PedalHard Team documents their coast-free ride from Portland to San Francisco

Eight hundred and four miles in seven days, 26,000 feet climbed and about 44,000 calories burned were all well worth it in the end for cyclists Shawn Remy, Adam Beltz, Darin Morgan and Josh McCann. Their starting point: Chrome Industries in Portland, Ore., with San Francisco as their ending location. During their endurance-heavy journey, the guys rode track bikes (or fixed gears), meaning constant pedaling remained the only option mile after mile. Coasting was out of the question. PedalHard team manager, Remy, organized the idea and wanted to document the group’s experience, so he enlisted the filmmaking skills of 22-year-old Bobby Gee. With a GoPro taped to the hood and a handheld Cannon T3i, Gee captured Remy, Beltz, Morgan and McCann’s entire venture up and down the Pacific Northwest coast, forever cementing their achievement in the short documentary No Coast.

“When you have a track bike, you deal with what you have in front of you,” explains Remy. “It’s your push and your motivation to make it on that single speed. For me, [cycling] is more mental. It’s just a passion that I have. I am so intrigued by how it makes me feel.”

The whole project began with Remy’s urge to ride 200 miles from Sacramento to San Francisco last July. The ride took him a total of 11 hours and 20 minutes with him starting at 5 a.m., arriving in San Francisco by 1 p.m. and getting home to the PedalHard headquarters (1703 T Street) by 7:30 p.m. that evening. After the miles were logged, Remy, now inspired to ride further, began organizing a bigger plan and a longer trip with No Coast.

“It’s just a small documentary. It’s not super long,” says Remy. “It’s just to share what we’re doing in Sacramento and how good of a thing we have going. It was just a group of friends that went out and worked together as a team and made something really cool happen; positive things.”

After arranging bike races to raise money in Land Park, gathering sponsors like Chocolate Fish coffee roasters, American Icon Wheels, Cadence Cycling in Philadelphia and hand picking his team, Remy says the financial and major detail worries of their trip finally melted away as soon as they arrived in Portland. During the film, Gee, who also happens to be a mechanic at The Bicycle Business (3077 Freeport Boulevard) and driver Jordan Yee, both followed the four men in an assist vehicle, lending a hand with broken bicycle chains, flat tires or general first aid if needed.

“We were lucky to have the assist vehicle with the cameras,” says Beltz. “If we ever had bike trouble, we could get in touch with them and Bobby and Jordan were amazing in the sense that any time we had a flat or a bike issue, they took care of it. All we had to do was relax and eat food while we were stopped and get water. That was really helpful.”

Ask the guys what day proved the most difficult and all will agree—day one. But not because of hundreds of miles logged or steep elevations. Try 20 MPH head winds and seven hours worth of storm to welcome the beginning of their expedition. Still, Beltz describes the remainder of the trip full of light winds, sunshine and temperatures ranging from 65 to 75 degrees instantly changing any doubts the riders developed.

“We wanted everyone who started to finish,” says Beltz. “Most of this ride is climbing or descending. I can count on one hand how many times I remember riding just a stretch of flat. We would spend half the day climbing something and the rest of the half of the day going down it. We were on the bike like six to eight hours a day.”

The documentary is filled with landscape shots of both cities, architecturally pleasing buildings and moments where the four ride across bridges. There are both sunrises and sunsets as backdrops, and dramatic slow motion shots displaying the gusty weather blowing against the cyclists’ gear. All of this was filmed by Gee mostly hanging out a window recording every aspect of their story.

“The things that I like about shooting and filming is just detail, it has a lot to do with detail and bicycles have a lot to do with detail,” describes Gee. “I like showing people what I see. I don’t like to communicate with people. I don’t like talking. I just like to look at stuff and observe.”

The screening is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 11 at Hot Italian (1627 16th Street). With this day nearing, all involved in No Coast stress they aren’t looking for pats on the back or praise for finishing over 800 miles in seven days. Instead they simply aim to educate viewers about track bikes and share a story of four friends accomplishing a goal that began with a small idea, then a bigger idea, which eventually evolved into their finished product.

“The film itself isn’t about, ‘Hey, look what we did, we rode our track bikes from Portland to San Francisco, wow we’re so amazing,’” explains Beltz. “That’s not what it’s about. There are a lot of people that go and do that. It’s more about if you love cycling and you love the Northwest coast, you’re going to see both of those and it’s going to be put together in a beautiful way. That’s what it’s really about.”

For Remy, the greatest moment experienced was riding across the Golden Gate Bridge, his friends behind him and knowing their last destination was now only five miles away.

“I just get the biggest high from cycling and accomplishing a big ride like that,” says Remy. “My endorphins just went off… For me, it was like, ‘We did it.’ It was just like that nice peaceful moment of silence and I was just staring off into the Bay, I was going across the bridge and I just wanted to cry with happiness and laughter.”

Check out the official premiere of No Coast at Hot Italian on May 11,2013 at 9 p.m. Admission to this event is free! If you’d like to learn more about the PedalHard Team, visit their headquarters in Sacramento (1703 T Street) or online at Pdlhrd.tumblr.com.

Justin Wood’s work shows the possibilities of the digital image

The Vocal, 2003

An olive-skinned woman with a smooth, red cap and jet black hair silently calls out into the distance; her piercing dark eyes are accented with the soft hint of blue balancing the crimson star shaped buttons of her button-up shirt. Just behind her, a man of medium build stands quietly in a comforting manner, a 5 o’clock shadow casting across his solemn face. Behind both these figures, red triangles bond together resembling pine trees and what starts as a lightly colored background of yellow sky blends into a darken abyss of black medium running off the end of the hanging canvas.

This piece of art titled The Vocal, along with dozens of others, is part of artist Justin Wood’s latest body of work, Family Affair, displayed throughout March at Midtown Village Café on 19th and I streets, Sacramento. And although The Vocal does contain some paint, this piece and all his work displayed was ultimately created on a computer at the hand of Wood, then printed and pasted to a canvas for all viewers.

The University of Missouri’s Alumni Magazine, 2012

“What I’m really interested in is juxtaposition and mixing and smashing things together that don’t really work. The synergy between digital and analog is interesting,” describes Wood. “I was struck by the openness of [digital or mixed media] and that you could do so many different variations of everything you wanted to.”

The digitally crafted pieces that line the walls and hallway of the eclectic Midtown café log more than 10 years of Wood’s artistic career ranging from as far back as 2002, to a set of psychedelically colored women hanging toward the front of the business that he says were more recent. Wood credits his digitally contrived dexterity to his parents, his mom being an abstract painter, and his father, a computer software programmer.

“There’s this big mix between mom doing traditional painting and my dad hackin’ on the computer all the time,” explains Wood. “I think that’s kind of how my interests sort of came together or how the aesthetic came together in a way.”

Optogenetics, WIRED Magazine, Oct. 2009

Wood’s father also had a heavy influence in the early development of MIDI music, a computer software capable of not only allowing musical instruments to communicate with each other, but giving one instrument the ability to control another or multiples. Just think, if a piano is programmed to play a G-note, then a trumpet, or clarinet or whatever other instrument available would also follow suit. Technology, people, it’s rad.

But, despite how sharp, intense or intriguing Wood’s images are, the measurement of effort when it comes to digitally crafted work within the art community and between art enthusiasts remains indifferent. On more than one occasion during art shows, Wood found himself facing loaded questions from viewers like, “Where’s the skill?” or “Where’s the craft?” It’s an attitude he’s grown all too familiar with since displaying his work in galleries in San Francisco, Los Angeles and even Germany.

“Just because you work on the computer, it’s not just pressing buttons. It’s not just saying, ‘Do this,’” says Wood of his creative process. “But, everyone couldn’t get over the fact that I was doing art digitally. So, I would try to sell my work in galleries and people would be like, ‘Oh, so you just press the art button?’”

The art button.

Divers, 2012

Wood compares this imaginary art button odium to photography, asking critics if a photographer is just a mere, talentless dreamer armed with a fancy mechanical device and a shutter-happy trigger finger?

“It’s a huge stigma because people don’t understand how you do it. You know it takes a hell of a lot of effort to make a good photograph,” says Wood. “You might get lucky once in a while, but you have to be a really good photographer with a great subject to make a really compelling photograph.”

When Wood isn’t defending his digitally driven creative methods, he’s drafting editorial illustrations for various national and international publications like The New York Times, Money magazine and also reaching overseas with Men’s Health magazine in Germany. He candidly admits choosing art as a career proves difficult financially at times, especially with his budding family to provide for in wife Laura and two-year-old daughter, Ida.

Daft Punks, Las Vegas Weekly, 2007

“I thought if I’m going to be an artist, I’ve got to be able to put bread on the table,” says Wood. “My mom was an artist and we were dirt poor. [She’s] always telling me how sorry she is about where we grew up. But it gives you experiences that you cannot get anywhere else and new ways to look at and appreciate things. It was important for me to be able to figure out how to at least make a little bit of money.”

His wife Laura is an architect who explores art freely in her spare time and coincidentally, has several pieces of her handcrafted art displayed at Midtown Village Café alongside her husband, and she also has an installation inside the California Museum on O Street standing over 10 feet tall. Inside the café, her oblong-shaped mobiles hang from the ceiling or are mounted against walls in various colors reflecting light and embracing the shadows their cardboard angles create.

Justin and Laura Wood

Laura Wood’s hanging mobiles

“We have a similar aesthetic, but it’s totally from different ends of the spectrum,” says Wood. “She’s not into pretty pictures…she’s into figuring out how these forms relate to space and how to manifest them in 3-D. It’s inspiring.”

Still, Wood’s affinity toward the digital realm versus the more analog will never stop him from defending his techniques because while he enjoys creating from a computer screen, he often finishes his work with paint. He explains this push and pull between mediums as a reoccurring conflict while creating art digitally, but often finds himself slightly returning to the physical when he finishes a piece with paint and physically displays it at a small café or gallery.

“I hope that there is this certain struggle that is illustrated in the work, which is where do we fit in this new, digital world,” asks Wood, who then poses these questions for critics of the digital and mixed media art process.

“Do you like the image? Do you find the image compelling? Do you find it interesting? Do you find it controversial? Yes? OK, then, does it matter,” he says.

It’s a Family Affair, Justin Wood’s joint show with his wife Laura, is now open for viewing at Midtown Village Café in Sacramento. Midtown Village Café is open seven days a week and is located at 1920 I Street. For more information on Wood, visit his website http://www.singlecell.to/.

Instagon

Marilyn’s on K, Sacramento – Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013

No two shows are ever the same, and the band has been around the Sacramento and Southern California areas as long as Lob’s ponytail. Lob being the only consistent bass player and founding member of the amoeba that is the band Instagon.

Instagon is a free-form, experimental jam band that has performed more than 600 shows to date and has logged an equal amount of intentionally rotating band members. So, how does that work, exactly? Lob extends invitations to a wide variety of local talents, like guitarist Ross Hammond or Leticia Garcia of Ghostplay to join in; he’s even included Greg Ginn of Black Flag and Rikk Agnew from The Adolescents and D.I. during past performances. However, this past weekend at Marilyn’s on K, Instagon celebrated its 20th anniversary with a one-of-a-kind live show including more than a dozen musicians featuring eight guitarists, a drum circle at the foot of the stage, two drums sets, lots of brass and the list continues.

“When [Instagon] first started it was kind of like, let’s invite everybody out to make noise at once. Then, it kind of evolved into more of a band like it is now and it’s gone through many phases,” explains Lob. “In the early days, I would show up with a hand drill. We even did a show once where it was the Instagon Tool and Appliance Orchestra where there was even a blender section.”

Lob describes Instagon in many words, but two will do just fine—noise art. And it was certainly noisy at Marilyn’s this past weekend with audience members staring at the cluster of musicians before them.

Just before Instagon’s performance, Lob calls all participants outside for a few quick pointers, and there are only two guidelines to his improv orchestra, if he brings the tone low, go ahead and feel free to introduce a solo or take the music in a different direction. But, if the tone of his bass is louder or higher, then that’s the signal to just jam along with the rest of the band. After a bit of reefer is passed around and all was said and done, the 20-year rendition of Instagon shuffles one-by-one back inside the venue, some extinguishing their last cigarette before finding a spot on stage.

“It’s really an escape for me. I’m going to invoke this demon and ride it. It’s really like a voodoo ritual,” says Lob. “I’m going to feel the energy and the power from it. I really enjoy the energy of what Instagon brings to the stage and anybody that’s played will attest to that. To be a part of that is amazing and fun.”

Wails and screams emit from Instagon’s unique, 20-year anniversary performance courtesy of one short-haired woman. A masked man very reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter sits at the foot of the stage aggressively slapping his conga-looking drum, another woman fiddles with her Theremin radiating off-kilter, sci-fi notes while another man dressed in a black top hat and long fancy coat (like something Luciano Pavarotti might wear) gets weird on another Theremin. Then, there’s the saxophonist, who continually wails into a microphone. And then, there are the two drummers, jamming alongside one another toward the back. Plus, the single trumpet player from the band Egg of Winters is dancing about. Oh, and the eight guitarists. Not to mention countless extra musicians hidden behind one another on the crowded stage. In the end, the list of musical instruments goes on longer than “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song and all band members are contributing just about every note scaling the entire alphabet. It’s chaotic. It’s a bit Sun Ra. It’s a bit tribal. And at the center of it all is Lob, a conductor of noise art and his baton, a bass guitar.

Former guitarist of indie rock band Der Spazm and founding member of her newest project Ghostplay, Leticia Garcia, has performed in a couple versions of Instagon and says the music helped her the most at a time when she stepped away from music. She says the improvisational style kept her on her toes and often introduced her to new musicians.

“I really had no idea what to expect,” admits Garcia. “It was challenging and forced me to play a different style of guitar than I was used to. I was also surrounded by other very talented musicians including members of Musical Charis, ZuhG and the Trees. It ended up being a real rush because it was all improv. There was no way to tell what bass riff Lob was going to throw down and how the other musicians would react.”

And it was just that, which kept Garcia accepting Lob’s invites when Instagon scheduled another performance around town.

“You just never know what is going to happen. Sometimes, the music will be so-so, but then all of a sudden you have a moment of ‘Whoa! That was amazing!’” says Garcia. “That’s what [it’s] about, those little moments of amazing, those musical moments that will never ever happen again. It becomes something special for everyone there watching the show and the musicians playing.”

With more than 600 different combinations of musicians and more than 600 shows logged on Instagon’s website, which is like an intricately kept Internet database, one can read all the names Lob’s invited to play alongside him. He’s even attached dates to each name and whether or not the musician performed a second or third time. Yeah, it’s all there.

“I’ll see a player who’s really fluid and I’ll go, ‘Oh, I gotta invite him to [Instagon]’ because he’s gonna get it,” says Lob. “Sometimes, people are standoff-ish because they don’t want to join [another band]. I don’t want you to join my band. I just want you to come experience this on stage jam thing. Instagon’s the mistress band.”

Finally, a band you can cheat on your band with.