S-2013-02-07

suburban-sprawl

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see frontlines, page 9 see Editorial, page 15

E CENSOR

D

dead hookers (and more valentine’s day options) see night&Day, page 28 see streetalk, page 6

school boar boarD’s sEcrEt agE agEnDa?

see bites, page 13

sacto pickErs’

paradise see scene&heard, page 23

by DEnisE grollMus

18

natomas parties Prosecutors team with debt collectors to terrorize consumers in ways that are highly profitable—and usually illegal Sacramento’S newS & entertainment weekly

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Volume 24, iSSue 43

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thurSday, february 7, 2013

don’t suck see 15 Minutes, page 55

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Whale of a fail Let’s play make-believe—Sacramento’s been good at this lately, no?—and imagine that the Kings somehow don’t bail for Seattle.

Let’s close our starry little eyes and pretend that the 916-hating Maloofs agree, for some reason, to sell the team to local-friendly owners. And that City Hall forks over millions for a publicly financed arena. I know this is hard, but work with me: Where should this shiny new arena go?

Last year, the answer to this question was the rail yards. City leaders insisted that a rail-yards Kings HQ was the only way to both revitalize downtown and also kick-start development on the toxic dirt lot. We spent millions studying this proposed site.

But now, Mayor Kevin Johnson’s billionaires—those savior “whales” who hope to save the Kings—apparently don’t like the rail yards.

No, they want this hypothetical, imaginary new arena at the Downtown Plaza.

And that’s fine. It’s a game of pluses and minuses—or so I’m told—and, what with new ownership, Downtown Plaza is suddenly a more desirable location.

Yet, even if you support using hundreds of millions of public dollars to finance a Kings arena, last week’s about-face should raise eyebrows.

It’s not that a Downtown Plaza arena wouldn’t be cool. I embrace the vision of a privately financed Kings home at the dying mall: games end, Kings win, 20,000 fans flood “The Kay” and its restaurants, shops, bars and clubs. This, as the mayor says, is called “Playing to Win,” right?

The red flag is how, in this unreal and probably unlikely arena world, City Hall and the mayor so willingly acquiesced to these Kings-suitor whales.

Who knows what’s being promised to 1 percenters like Ron Burkle and Mark Mastrov behind the scenes.

I fear that if we keep putting out for billionaires, Sacto’s setting itself up for bad deals. And a whale of a fail.

—Nick Miller

February 7, 2013 | vol. 24, Issue 43

38

06 07 09 15 18 22 25 28 31 35 36 38 40 55

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“He got arrested, and we never actually got to the date.”

Asked at American River College:

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Xochitl Alvarez general-ed major

Met this guy online and we talked for a couple of months online. I knew him from pictures, but it was blind date. ... He was handsome.

The day he came to pick me up, we got pulled over. He got arrested, and we never actually got to the date. He had a warrant out for his arrest, and … I had to find a way home.

Gaelan O’Neil music-engineering major

I went on a date with one of my co-workers. ... She was asking me all of these questions like, “What do you do? What’s your favorite music?” I’m into music, so I love everything.

She was this girl who hates rap. I started talking about rap, and then from there, I just made all of the wrong moves.

Sandra Robison gerontology major

We were friends on Facebook. I’m dressed really nice with heels on.

He had on swimming trunks and a polo shirt and shoes with no socks on. ... We wanted to go to the little bar down the street. … On the walk, he puts out his hand to help me balance while I take off my heels, and he lets me fall.

Joseph Bernardo science major

It was a blind date set by some friends. We went to the movies. We just had nothing in common. It was really awkward. I was really shy; [back] then, I wasn’t really used to dating. It was me coming out of my box, and I probably could have done a better job with that. …

I forgot what we saw. It was some cheesy girl movie.

Tiffanie Baranovic

Dylan DeMars

psychology major

ARC employee

We went to the shooting range. My [date, my now-husband] had a large-caliber weapon that I didn’t want to shoot. He said, “You have to shoot it just once.” This thing is like a hand cannon. ... I smacked myself in the head with it. ...

I rocked into him after I shot it. He thought I dropped it because I put it down so fast.

One of the last dates with my ex. We went to the hookah lounge where I saw my new girlfriend. … [My ex] totally caught me staring at her dancing ... and she was watching me. I didn’t even know. She was probably watching me for about five minutes, and when I looked at her, it was just like the devil looking at you!

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Separate the weed from the chaff

THIS MODERN WORLD

TOM TOMORROW

Re “Legalize it, ban it” by Nick Miller (SN&R Midtown&Down, January 31): As your column pointed out, the leadership of the city of Sacramento is unwise to close most of the dispensaries. It would have been far better to try to separate the weed from the chaff by appointing someone to head a commission to regulate the dispensaries, thereby helping medical users.

However, it is clear that the Sacramento leadership is, letter of the week as usual, more concerned about the whereabouts of the Sacramento Kings than about filling the city’s coffers. The wholesale closing of dispensaries only demonstrates the short-term view of those who are temporarily in a position of power.

Weed will not disappear, but unfortunately, common sense has. Marijuana is a relatively innocuous substance that should be studied, not outlawed. Our elected officials need to show more integrity. The hypocrisy has to stop, and revenues must increase.

Caroline Bigard

via email

Not the right rifle?

Re “Teachers financing guns” by Darwin BondGraham (SN&R Frontlines, January 31): I find it irresponsible to publish a story filled with disdain for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System for supporting a company that makes “weapons like the one used in at Sandy Hook Elementary School.” It was published by the coroner’s office in Newtown., Conn., that the dreaded assault rifle was never used and was not the cause of death of anyone involved in that terrible tragedy. To push untrue information to push the “gun control” movement is unethical and offensive.

Don Krug Sacramento

Sandy Hook misinformation?

Re “Teachers financing guns”

by Darwin BondGraham (SN&R Frontlines, January 31): The truth came out over two weeks ago that an assault weapon was not used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. I don’t forgive the big media for sensationalizing and outright lying about the devastation that took place. And perpetuating a lie that has become public knowledge is not only inexcusable but downright stupid. Don’t expect to win any arguments if you can’t get facts straight, especially when the facts are apparent.

Robert Scott Sacramento Editor’s response: It has been widely reported that three firearms used by Adam Lanza were recovered at Sandy Hook, including a Bushmaster XM-15 E2S rifle, which was used in the attack.

BEFORE

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What about the whales, indeed Re “Whale bites” by Cosmo Garvin (SN&R Bites, January 31): The question “What exactly is the mayor promising these whales?” is of major concern and is not getting the attention it should get. The Sacramento Bee, with its daily blast of articles ad nauseam, has become the chief cheerleader for the proposed new arena. The Bee has not asked the tough questions about where Mayor Kevin Johnson is going with his discussions with the whales. These people are very shrewd investors and will dance circles around the mayor just as they did the Maloofs.

If the city council doesn’t get involved, Johnson will give away the store, and the people of Sacramento will get stuck with the bill.

James G. Updegraff Sacramento

That’s fracked up Re “Leader of the frack” by Christopher Arns (SN&R Frontlines, January 24): I read this article with mounting frustration, not understanding why California, with all its environmental concerns, has allowed fracking. Are people and the state really naive enough to believe that when someone injects chemicals, known or unknown, into the soil along with water that is precious to the survival of agriculture and for drinking, that this practice is not going to affect and deteriorate our state’s environment? WTF! OK, so most people don’t worry about a future environmental crisis. They wait until it happens and then wonder why nothing was done about it, even though the problems might have been dealt with in the beginning. The food grown in California is some of the best in the world, and it seems that the state

FRONTLINES

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F E AT U R E

STORY

is willing to allow the farmland that produces that food to be jeopardized in the name of money and a small bit of gas that will result from this practice.

If businesses that are involved in fracking would put their creativity, money and time into developing innovations in alternative, sustainable energy, we would all win. But they, like so many in the world, insist on trying to profit from sucking up the last bit of gas from the earth with no thought about the survival of future generations.

So what will it be? Poison for profit or survival?

Ellen McMahill Sacramento

Kings should take K.J. with them Re “‘Maloofed’” by Nick Miller (SN&R Editor’s Note, January 24): I seldom agree with your paper’s opinions. However, you got it right on the Sacramento Kings, the Maloofs and the waste of public funds on an arena. The city has cut police officers and garbage services, and all the mayor can talk about is a basketball team and an arena. The Kings can’t leave soon enough; perhaps they will take Mayor Kevin Johnson with them. One can hope.

Clyde Campbell Sacramento

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Congressman McClintock responds Re “Poor choice, Tom” (SN&R Editorial, January 10): SN&R recently attacked my vote against the so-called fiscal-cliff deal, posing it as a choice between recession and recovery.

Hardly. The bill increased the obligations of the federal government by more than $300 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office, sapping future economic growth and funding special-interest carveouts for politically connected concerns.

Worse, the deal left in place massive tax increases that impact 76 percent of net small-business income—precisely the income they use to create two-thirds of the new jobs in our economy. Both the Congressional Budget Office and Ernst & Young have warned this policy will result in hundreds of thousands of lost jobs.

I wonder what the editors plan to say to those families who are thrown into unemployment because of this policy?

“Cheer up, we really socked it to your ‘ultrawealthy’ (former) employer”?

Congressman Tom McClintock Roseville

AFTER

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photo illustration by india curry

Bait and switch Supervisors approve major suburbansprawl project Cordova Hills despite public outcry, likely loss of funding, possible lawsuits It’s a process as time-honored as it is ass-backward: Construct a massive development, then by worry about filling it with people and Raheem businesses later.

F. Hosseini The interests behind a nearly 2,700-acre housing and retail developra h e emh@ newsr evie w.c om ment known as Cordova Hills won approval to do just this by baiting elected officials with a promised university they’ve yet to deliver on.

Since local private Catholic school the University of Sacramento backed out of the development pitch two years ago, Cordova Hills LLC has been unable to land a new tenant. This didn’t stop four out of five Sacramento County supervisors from granting an array of approvals that could lead to an 8,000-unit housing boom across a prism of land that brushes along the southern border of Folsom and snakes down the eastern edge of Rancho Cordova.

Only one supervisor thought this wasn’t such a good idea.

Citing “a glut of residential lots in the area and a glut of vacant retail space,” Supervisor Phil Serna told SN&R he didn’t see a need for Cordova Hills, especially once the notion of a university became speculative at best.

“I and a number of speakers questioned the need [for the project],” the District 1 supervisor said of the meeting on January 29.

Additionally, there’s lots of acreage across the region already zoned for university development, several officials pointed out. An area west of Roseville in Placer County is the furthest ahead, with land entitlements and financial incentives. But spots near Mather Air Force Base and the city’s rail yards are also zoned appropriately and in the hunt. All of which potentially stiffens the competition to attract a university campus to Cordova Hills. If no university is built in 30 years, the 23-acre spot is turned over to the county.

BEFORE

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Critics say the approval of the Cordova Hills project on the eastern outskirts of Sacramento County will likely spark lawsuits and the loss of federal and state funding.

Serna was the lone holdout at last week’s five-hour marathon hearing.

Along with the lack of an identified university tenant, supervisors had to rationalize their blunt-force approval over concerns that Cordova Hills could single-handedly torpedo the region’s rep as a smart-growth leader, endanger crucial federal transportation dollars, run afoul of the state’s greenhousegas-emissions standards and screw up

“In 2035, we’re on the knife’s edge of meeting the target,” he told supervisors. “And a development that is as much above the regional average in [vehicle miles traveled] and greenhouse-gas emissions as this project would be raises the possibility that … the region would not meet that target.”

The author of S.B. 375, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg,

Environmental Council of Sacramento president Jonathan Ellison said his organization was meeting with its environmental attorney this week to discuss the possibility of suing. the development plans of neighboring communities.

Mike McKeever, chief executive officer of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, a.k.a. SACOG, outlined many of these problems. With or without the university, the odds of meeting California Air Resources Board’s targets under Senate Bill 375 are sketchy, he said.

is keeping mum on the board’s decision for now. His spokesman told SN&R that Steinberg’s letter to the board of supervisors before last week’s decision was simply informational, leaving it to local officials to interpret whether they were keeping with the spirit of the emissionscontrol legislation or not.

Others may not wait so long.

Jonathan Ellison, president of the Environmental Council of Sacramento, said his organization was meeting with its environmental attorney this week to discuss the possibility of suing. Ellison

noted others have expressed potential interest in joining any legal action.

“There are some other organizations and individuals that are interested if litigation is appropriate,” he told SN&R. “I can’t say whether it is or not.”

Serna said he would be “very surprised” if no litigation attached itself to this project, both because of its size and controversy.

But he was more worried about the precedent last week’s vote set about supervisors being willing to accept baitand-switch land-use proposals. Cordova Hills garnered steam and overcame an earlier board rejection by making a regional university its centerpiece attraction, Serna pointed out.

“It sends the message that we’re willing to approve these types of projects just based on the promise.”

Meanwhile, the region may pay for the county’s optimism.

The region, which has gained a reputation of being a leader in smartgrowth planning over the past decade, could see its political capital reduced by a big, sprawling development like Cordova Hills. McKeever said the trend at both the state and federal levels is to parcel out an increasingly limited pot of transportation funds to high-performing locales.

“If that’s how it’s taken—that Sacramento County is turning away from those regional-growth principles and goals—we’ve got a problem,” he said. Ω

F E A T U R E S T O R Y | A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R | 02.07.13

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SN&R

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9

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The whole world is your own.

— Sri Sarada Devi

Sacramento has a thing for trunks.

It’s not what you’re thinking. The selfproclaimed City of Trees has a thick green by Christopher Arns canopy known for keeping neighborhoods cool during steamy Northern California summers.

And who doesn’t love a stroll or bike ride through leafy neighborhoods like Midtown and East Sacramento?

The rest of the country is starting to notice.

Sacramento has, as they say, hella trees—and now the capital’s urban forest recently was named one of the top 10 in the United States.

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Earlier this month, a conservationist group called American Forests released a new study giving major props to Sacramento’s tree canopy. The capital was named one of the top 10 urban forests in the United States.

The study didn’t including rankings, so there’s no way to truly rate Sacto’s awesomeness when it comes to trees.

Scott Steen, CEO of American Forests, did say the city has worked hard in keeping the forest healthy while linking up with leaf-friendly volunteer groups such as the Sacramento Tree Foundation.

Not bad for a place with summers hotter than purgatory.

“Sacramento has done so much right in this area to create a city that really is now heavily forested in a climate that is not really ultraconducive to building a forest,” said Steen.

The American Forests study, which was funded by the U.S. Forest Service, used several criteria to pick the top cities, including volunteer involvement, management plans, tree health and public access to green spaces.

Other burgs listed in the study included New York City; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; and Washington, D.C. Steen also said that Sacramento’s forestry program has done a number of progressive things to stand out, including a unique partnership with SMUD to plant free shade trees throughout the city. He called that program “a model for the rest of the country.”

It wasn’t always that way.

Believe it or not, Sacramento’s urban canopy had humble beginnings. The city’s leafy dome actually started with just a handful of eucalyptus trees in the 1850s, when most of the surrounding landscape looked like flat prairie land, said former Sacramento City Councilman Ray Tretheway, who now leads the Sacramento Tree Foundation.

“Sacramento has this legacy of valuing trees, planting trees and protecting trees,” he said.

Tretheway should know. His organization plants roughly 20,000 trees every year in the Sacramento area with help from about 2,000 volunteers.

“Historically, they’ve been a great partner,” said Joe Benassini, a manager in the city’s urban forestry program. “They have been the folks that since the early ’80s have really stepped up to have a long-term vision.”

Benassini said the foundation especially helps with planting trees on private property, where 80 percent of Sacto’s urban forest grows. The city, which has roughly 100,000 trees, also relies on Tretheway’s group for outreach.

“It’s not only getting trees in the ground,” said Benassini. “They promote awareness of how important trees are.”

Part of that awareness includes talking about the environmental benefits from urban forestry. According to the foundation’s website, 100 trees remove 5 tons of CO2 per year. Trees release moisture into the air, which helps cool temperatures, while also providing shade that helps reduce energy costs by up to 30 percent. For those reasons, the foundation wants to plant 5 million trees by 2025.

The city has roughly 100,000 trees.

That’s welcome relief for a city used to baking in the sun.

“We couldn’t live without air conditioning,” said Benassini. “Trees kind of buffer all of that.”

Lately, it’s not just the trees. The latest recognition from American Forests is just the most recent green kudos awarded to the city.

Sacramento took fourth last year in a nationwide study of green cities and also had the second-ranked park system, according to The Trust for Public Land.

“Sacramento is doing great stuff,” said Steen. “You should be proud to be there.” Ω

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On 50 years’ worth of constituent photo ops and other by-the-numbers goodies Cataloging all the condemnations heaped on politicians would require a stupefying amount of square footage. Even if the list went back only to Pete Wilson instead of Pericles, it would still take serious shoehorning just to wedge everything into one of those Moffett dirigible hangars.

A common condemnation is that elected officials don’t do squat about what’s really important, as defined by the S CA

by GREG LU condemner, naturally. Skirting the wildly subjective question of caplowdown@newsreview.com what’s truly important, a big chunk of understanding elected officials is doing the numbers on who they actually represent.

Take a California state senator.

(Please!) California’s senators have the largest legislative districts by population in the country.

Sacramento’s very own Darrell Steinberg represents 936,301 people who live in Senate District 6, centered around Sacramento, Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova.

California’s senators have the largest legislative districts by population in the country.

Greg Lucas’ state-politics column Capitol Lowdown will appear every-other week in SN&R. He also blogs at www.californias capitol.com.

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As elected representatives go, Steinberg is darn conscientious.

Conscientious enough that he might, no matter how briefly, think it would be swell to personally meet all of his 936,301 Senate District 6 constituents.

Shaking hands with 50 of his flock each day—a challenging but doable number given the other duties Steinberg shoulders as the unspeakably powerful president pro tempore of the Senate—would take 51 years.

If he started today, Steinberg would be 104 when he finished and would have been term-limited out of being the 6th District senator for 49 of those 51 years.

He could blow off shaking hands with all the kids in the district. Elected representatives routinely say they’re striving to create a brighter future “going forward” for lil’ kiddos everywhere. (Can there be a future going backward?) But kids don’t vote.

Statewide, 24.6 percent of Californians are under the age of 18. The percentage is a bit higher in

District 6, which would mean 244,261 fewer hands to shake.

As a compromise, Steinberg could kiss the 62,732 nippers under 5, leaving a net handshake reduction of 181,529. Just short of 42 years would cover that smaller universe.

Not all of the 692,040 residents who are of voting age can vote: Only 565,628 are citizens. Sticking to adult citizens yields a more manageable 31 years.

Another option would be not shaking hands with constituents of various ethnicities, or shaking the hands of only the percentage of those ethnicities that share the elected official’s party affiliation.

If he wanted to, Steinberg then could shake just 49 percent of the hands of District 6’s white, Latino, Asian-American and AfricanAmerican constituents, which are 40 percent, 25 percent, 19 percent and 13 percent of the district’s population.

Respectively.

But that would be bad. Steinberg would receive a welt-raising publicrelations flogging for trying to marginalize Republicans. (Why bother? They got that covered themselves.)

What would really cut down on glad-handing time—probably not so glad after even a few 50-a-day weeks—is meeting only those constituents registered to vote. That’s a mere 433,215 persons in District 6.

Under 24 years.

Better yet: Meet only those votingage residents who are citizens and registered to vote but actually cast a ballot.

In 2010, when Steinberg was re-elected, 224,888 persons cast ballots of which 61 percent, or 137.012, voted Democrat. Meeting those 224,888 voters would take just 12.3 years.

Steinberg would be barely 66, which is now the new 65.

If Steinberg was a partisan, tool nozzle scum bucket, he could only meet voters who cast a ballot for him, endorsing the bang-up job he’s done representing the people—or at least some percentage of the people—in District 6.

Darrell Steinberg is many things.

Tool nozzle scum bucket, or even one of the two, he’s not.

But if he were either or both of the above, personally thanking those who demonstrated their deep appreciation for him by their votes would take scarcely 7.5 years. Ω

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Sacramento city district in an awful hurry to close 20 percent of elementary schools The more you peel back the layers of the Sacramento City Unified School District’s brutal “rightsizing” plan, the weirder it gets.

The administration wants to shutter 11 elementary schools—one out of every five run by the district. It’s a drastic solution, suited for a drastic problem.

Unfortunately, it’s not clear what problem the school board and Superintendent ARvin Jonathan Raymond are trying to solve.

by CoSMo G Is it the district’s short-term budget cos mog@ n ewsrev iew.c om deficit? We won’t know the size of the shortfall until the state budget becomes clearer, but we do know school closures—estimated to save only $2.5 million a year—likely won’t close the gap. Where will the rest of the money come from? What alternative cost-saving measures have been considered, and then rejected, before escalating to the nuclear option of closing schools?

Or is the district trying to solve a long-term problem of declining enrollment and structural deficit? That’s not a new problem. Why ram the solution down the public’s throat at the last minute? (District officials are allowing just five weeks between announcing the closures and the final vote by the district board of trustees, scheduled on Thursday, February 21.)

Maybe some school closures make sense.

The California Department of Education suggests a number of “best practices” to help the public decide. It starts with formation of something called a District Advisory Committee “before decisions are made about school closure.”

The CDE says: “Gathering the facts must be as credible, transparent and non-political as possible. So, at the very least, the DAC … should be involved in the fact-finding necessary for an informal recommendation about school closure.”

The SCUSD has a spotty track record of convening such committees; sometimes the district uses them, sometimes not. But in the past, citizen committees have spent months considering all the factors that go into a school closure, including the age and integrity of the school site, the number of schools in a neighborhood, the kinds of programs at a school, the demographics of students at the school, the costs of transportation for displaced students—basic important facts.

No citizen committee this time. The district is just counting rooms and counting bodies, doing some simple division and closing the schools it deems to be the most underenrolled.

Crude, but it’s in a big hurry to close a lot of schools.

“It’s like they have a secret agenda,” says Maricela Sanchez, president of the PTA at Clayton B. Wire Elementary—one of the schools on the chopping block. The district’s method of measuring school capacity and underenrollment has proven controversial, to say the least. “It’s not realistic at all. At one BEFORE

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point, they were counting the library as classroom space. They are counting the computer room, they are counting the preschool.”

Yes, the space used by preschools or Healthy Start or other programs counts toward a doomed school’s capacity, though it doesn’t add anything to enrollment. District spokesperson Gabe Ross says that’s because programs can move around. The classrooms they use are still “teachable space.” But that policy penalizes schools that need those services. Same with the large number of “portable buildings” still in use at many schools.

Other things don’t add up. Bret Harte Elementary School in Curtis Park will be closed.

But the Curtis Park rail yards development will add thousands of families to that school’s attendance area in the coming years. Tahoe Park won’t have any school, and the central city will lose Washington Elementary School. But other neighborhoods will continue to have elementary schools operating within just a few blocks of each other.

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The weirdness goes on.

School capacity seems to be fluid, changing to suit the purposes of district bosses.

The weirdness goes on. Several months ago, when district officials were trying to sell the public on school bonds (Measures Q and R), detailed assessments of each school facility were worked up. At that time, the district recommended scrapping old portable buildings at C.B. Wire, and adding 17,280-square feet of classrooms “to align with the District’s student capacity goals of 552-672 students.” Today, the district says C.B. Wire has a capacity of 1,027.

Parents at other schools are starting to pore over these facility reports, and they are finding similar contradictions; school capacity seems to be fluid, changing to suit the purposes of district bosses.

The closure decision is being fast-tracked in part to give parents time to hurry up and enroll in new schools. “You risk families around the district enrolling at private schools, charters and/or other districts because there is uncertainty,” Ross explained.

That’s some mighty cold comfort. “I don’t know what to do. We don’t want to go and enroll in these other schools and give up on our school,” says Sanchez. “Instead of just throwing this at everybody and creating all of this disruption, it would have been nice if they had given us a heads-up at the end of last year.” Ω STORY

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I grew up in a little town in Ohio, Vermillion, about 50 miles from Cleveland. In the early 1960s, there was an extremely popular television show called the The Fugitive, loosely based on the true story of a Cleveland physician, Sam Sheppard, charged with murdering his wife.

One day, my brother and sisters were glued to the television set when my dad, who was also a doctor, walked by and told us that he knew Sheppard.

We were stunned. Our dad knew the Fugitive.

We, of course, asked him if he thought that Sheppard had killed his wife. l

by Jeff VOnKaene My dad paused. And then he said, “I do not know if he killed his wife, but he sure killed a lot j e ffv @n e wsr e v ie w.c o m of people on the operating table.” I don’t know which shocked us more: that our dad knew the Fugitive, or that the medical profession was standing by while doctors killed people on the operating table.

Doctors, lawyers, police and now bankers are known to protect their own. This brings me to teachers.

Teachers, and in particular, teachers’ unions, who protect bad teachers.

I had some great teachers. Wonderful, dedicated human beings who meant so much to me. I will be forever grateful to them. But I also had some stinkers: without a lesson plan It sucked to teachers who took too many breaks. spend a school year Teachers who did not care whether there was any real with a teacher who learning going on.

As a student, it sucked. It did not care. sucked to spend a school year with a teacher who did not care or whose personal problems were overwhelming.

The kids all knew it. It shocked me then, and it shocks me now that we let this go on.

My son went to C.K. McClatchy High School. He had some great teachers. Really great teachers.

But when NEWS & REVIEW BUSINES Sacramento High School closed, some of those teachers DESIGNER ISSUE DATE moved to McClatchy High. You can debateAL whether or 06.18.09 not Sac High should have been closed, but can tell you, FILEI NAME some of those teachers should not haveTRINITYCATHEDRAL061809R1 been teaching.

I support higher teacher salaries. I support raising our taxes to provide more income for education. But USP I do(BOLD not SELECTI PRICE / ATMOSPHERE / EXPE support messing over our children because there is no effective way to fire a bad teacher.

PLEASE CAREFULLY REV It is easy to blame the administrators or the principals.

ADVERTISEMENT AND VERIFY T Jeff vonKaenel They clearly deserve some blame. But I cannot support AD SIZE (COLUMNS X INCHES) is the president, the idea that incompetent teachers should be able to SPELLING CEO and incompetent majority owner of keep their jobs any more than I believe that NUMBERS & DATES the News & Review surgeons should be allowed to keep operating.

CONTACT INFO (PHONE, ADDR newspapers in Just as I think doctors have a responsibility to police APPEARS AS REQUESTED Sacramento, their own, so do teachers. If Sam SheppardADtruly was a bad Chico and Reno.

APPROVED BY: doctor, then his peers shouldn’t have let him continue to operate. And when a teacher can’t teach, they should be fired. I resent the fact that the California Teachers Union has put the rights of some bad teachers ahead of the right of our students to have a good education. Ω

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Head-scratcher Sacramento County is back in the sprawl business with last week’s approval of Cordova Hills: a vast, nearly 3,000-acre-development project east of Rancho Cordova. SN&R is confounded and disappointed by the board of supervisors’ 4-1 vote (kudos to Phil Serna for the nay). As for supervisors Roberta MacGlashan, Don Nottoli, Susan Peters and Jimmie Yee, we must ask: What the hell are you thinking?!

It’s bad enough that Cordova Hills will be built on sensitive environmental habitat, and that the project flippantly defies the region’s smarth-growth design plan.

But what’s truly a head-scratcher is that by greenlighting this very ungreen housing/commercial/retail/ unlikely university-campus development, Sacramento will likely lose millions in federal and state funding.

Here’s why: In 2008, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and the Legislature passed Senate Bill 375, which mandates meaningful greenhousegas-emissions reductions for passenger vehicles in California. If Sacto doesn’t meet benchmark reductions—which will happen, according to studies, if Cordova Hills is actually built—then Sacto is expected to lose beaucoup bucks.

SN&R hopes that Cordova Hills suffers death by lawsuits. And that in the future, the aforementioned board of supervisors are a helluva lot smarter about growth in the region. Ω

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Brave new school We were skeptical at first when we heard of Gov. Jerry Brown’s push for increased online higher education at the University of California and the California State University systems. Could a digital professor coming at you over the Internet at home really substitute for a live and in-person instructor lecturing from inside a standard college classroom?

The answer turns out to be yes.

In fact, it’s become clear that a revolution is underway in this realm—one that could actually transform how future generations learn and become fit for employment and primed for innovation. In a recent New York Times article, Thomas L. Friedman (author of Hot, Flat, and Crowded) wrote on the topic with unrestrained enthusiasm: “Nothing has more potential to lift more people out of poverty—by providing them an affordable education to get a job or improve in the job they have,” he effused. “Nothing has more potential to unlock a billion more brains to solve the world’s biggest problems.”

Instead of thinking of higher education as connected solely to a brick-and-mortar experience, proponents of online classes argue that advances in communication technology will allow students by the millions the opportunity to take high-quality classes from the best professors and to interact with them as well as students from around the world, all at reduced costs.

Gov. Brown is keen on all this potential learning.

And now, we are, too. Also encouraging has been the unexpectedly positive responses he has received so far on the subject from leaders at the CSU and UC systems. Thank you, governor, for disregarding the first-wave of skepticism, for remaining a leader capable of seeing what’s up the road and around the corner. Ω

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A local writer’s thoughts about religion and mortality There’s nothing to get you thinking about your own mortality like watching your father die shortly after you turn 50. by Amy Yannello I wasn’t prepared for losing my a Sacramento-based father, not by a long shot. freelance writer and At 81, my father was a study in longtime contributor contradictions. A lifelong Catholic, to SN&R he had two marriages and one divorce under his belt, five children, and four grandchildren. I know when he and my mother were together, he was unfaithful, which ultimately led to their divorce. He was the one who brought us to church each Sunday; we were with him, and he bought us special dresses at Easter. Sunday was always “family day,” which we celebrated with morning Mass, brunch, then Sunday dinner. Yet my father didn’t do a particularly good job at balancing his two families and their competing needs throughout his lifetime.

It was one of those “God” moments—something that I couldn’t have orchestrated myself.

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But he tried. I remember him making lots of trips between Redding and Chico to see my swim meets or other school activities that my siblings and I were in. (Often, because of the animosity between our parents, he wasn’t even allowed to take us out for a Coke afterward.)

Still, for a divorced parent in the 1970s, my father was one pretty involved dad. It’s too bad that anger, jealousy and resentment crept in with his second marriage and forced him into untenable positions.

I went to Catholic school, took first communion and confession and went on to confirmation in the ninth grade because of my father. It was fitting, then, that I happened to be at my father’s bedside on October 29, 2012, when his friend and pastor, Fr. Michael Canny, looked in on Dad following surgery.

This was the eve of the last day of his life.

Fr. Canny silently walked up to his bedside and started reciting what I quickly noted was the prayer of the “anointing”—or the last rites.

It was amazing to me how quickly my Catholic kicked in, as I started reciting the prayer to myself, along with the priest. Afterward, Fr. Canny said, “Your father’s sins have been absolved—whatever happens today or tonight, (he’s covered).”

It was a special moment to share with my dad, even though he wasn’t fully awake. It was one of those “God” moments—something that I couldn’t have orchestrated myself.

At the time, I had no way of knowing that only two hours later, Dad would be rushed from the rehab facility to a full-service medical center, as he was failing to wake up from the anesthesia. My stepmother and I stayed with Dad from 6:30 that evening through 2 p.m. the next day.

Other family members gathered at the hospital that afternoon, and Dad passed peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.

I’ve long been a “lapsed” Catholic for personal and political reasons.

Still, some of the Catholic ways and beliefs linger, and I find myself questioning long-standing tenets in the wake of my father’s death.

Is there a purgatory? And if there is, then why all the hubbub about absolving sins prior to exiting our earthly carriages? For that matter, why, if Jesus died on the cross for our sins, would we need a purgatory?

Still, there’s some part of me that likes the thought of a way station of sorts, where a soul can go through additional “purification” if needed.

In spending time with Dad in the final hours of his life, I had a lot of time to reflect: on forgiveness, on life lessons, on charity.

As I was whispering to him that it was “OK to go now,” and that “we’d be OK,” I remember the overwhelming sensation I wanted him to feel at that moment was peace.

Wherever you are right now, Dad, I hope you are at peace. Ω

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Prosecutors across the country team with debt collectors to terrorize consumers in ways that are both highly profitable and usually illegal

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In just a few years, she has gone from running a successful advertising business to being a single mom on disability. Hers is a dilemma of American life: A leg injury keeps her from working, but she can’t afford the surgery without health insurance.

Yet Orr says her woes weren’t what led her to write a bum check at the grocery store. “Sure, we’ve fallen on tough times,” says the 54-year-old. “But I’ve never bounced a check before in my life. I’ve always been on top of my finances.”

Accidentally overdrawing on a bank account isn’t a crime. It is, however, a hyperlucrative business, allowing banks to collect $30 billion per year in overdraft fees while their customers frantically swim back to the surface. Such is the bounty of faulty math.

Orr was shocked when she received a letter from the Riverside County district attorney’s office accusing her of fraud. In May, she had written a check for $91 at an Albertsons. A few days later, while reviewing her bank account, she noticed the check had bounced.

Orr headed back to Albertsons to make good on her payment. But she was told the store had already placed her in collections. It was out of the grocer’s hands.

A month later, Orr received a letter from the county DA’s office. It inexplicably accused her of intent to commit fraud, noting she was now eligible for “up to one year in the county jail.” The only way to avoid criminal charges: participate in a “voluntary” badcheck-restitution program.

“The letter really made me think I’d go to jail if I didn’t,” she says.

But the DA wanted more than the store’s $91 back.

Though California law restricts the penalty on bad

18 | SN&R | 02.07.13

checks to $25, the letter demanded $333.51, which included $175 for a “voluntary” financial-accountability class she’d have to take.

Orr didn’t even consider arguing her innocence.

She just wanted the problem solved. So she called the 1-800 number on the letter to make arrangements to pay in cash at the sheriff’s department. When she was told she could only send a check to a P.O. Box, Orr grew suspicious.

“That’s when I asked if I was actually talking to someone in the DA’s office,” she says. “And they said no, that they were a company being paid to represent the DA.” In fact, Orr had contacted CorrectiveSolutions, a private Southern California-based company. According to its website, it handles bad-check cases for 140 district attorney’s offices nationwide, jurisdictions that oversee 65 million people, from Colorado to Florida, Michigan to Washington.

Consider it the privatizing of justice. Instead of investigating bad-check complaints, prosecutors simply pass them along to CorrectiveSolutions. The company then uses official DA letterhead to threaten jail time if consumers don’t pay up. CorrectiveSolutions also runs the voluntary financial-accountability classes, and prosecutors get a cut of the profits while barely lifting a finger. The entire system runs on a one-sizefits-all presumption of guilt. No one’s bothering to investigate whether the check writer was working a scam or merely suffering from a momentary lapse of mathematics.

Orr emailed CorrectiveSolutions, saying she’d be happy to repay the $91, plus a $50 fee. But she wanted to skip the voluntary class. She simply couldn’t afford it.

CorrectiveSolutions didn’t respond—and the threatening letters kept coming.

“When no one wrote me back, I’d had it,” Orr says. “I’d tried everything, even calling the district attorney’s office directly. No one could help me. I just don’t see how this is right or even legal.”

history of sCams Debtors’ prisons were outlawed in 1833, when America decided it was counterproductive—as well as a waste of time and money—to imprison people for being broke. Despite myth to the contrary, most people avoid bills simply because they can’t pay them, not because they’re on the make.

“There was a [federal] study done in 1974 about why people didn’t pay their debts,” says Bob Hobbs, deputy director of the National Consumer Law Center.

“And the number of people who could but didn’t pay their debts was 0.4 percent. ... The most typical reasons were they lost their jobs, got divorced. Some overspent but were encouraged to. Others got cheated, and so on and so forth. Some people had even died. It’s not right, but it’s life. And it’s the cost of doing business.”

“i had never been in trouble with the law before. ... i assumed that i must be in a lot of trouble if i was getting a letter from the distriCt attorney [saying] that i Could be arrested.” kristy schwarm, Northern California mom So Congress passed the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in 1978, barring collections agencies from threatening jail time and deceiving consumers.

“We have members that collect on behalf of the government, from federal student loans to meter fines,” says Mark Schiffman of the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, the industry’s largest trade association. “We can’t put the logo of a government agency on our letterhead. We can’t say we’re from the Department of Education. We have to say, ‘We’re ABC, a company working on behalf of the Department of Education.’”

Yet Congress created a loophole in 2006, granting what amounts to immunity from deception charges for collection agencies working on behalf of law enforcement.

CorrectiveSolutions paid handsomely for the bill.

Between 2003 and 2006, the company spent more than $660,000 on lobbying. It also slathered donations on key senators such as Connecticut Democrat Christopher Dodd.

The exemption essentially allowed such companies as CorrectiveSolutions, BounceBack and Diversion Solutions LLC to operate above the law. They can send out notices on DA letterhead, threaten people with jail time and rake in upward of $200 in fines per person.

And it’s all perfectly legal. (See sidebar, “Checkmate in Sacramento” on page 20 for more info on local check restitution.)

“While the rest of us are playing by the rules, they aren’t,” Schiffman says.

Consumer advocates and legal experts were horrified, naturally.

“You don’t hand out guns and badges to just anyone,” says Adam Levin, former consumer-affairs commissioner of New Jersey. “And this is effectively creating a gun-and-badge situation for people who, frankly, not only don’t deserve it, but also have a long history of abusing it.”

“ CheCkmate!” continued on page 20 B E F O R E | F R O N T L I N E S | F E A T U R E S T O R Y | A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R |

02.07.13 | SN&R | 19

“CheCkmAte!” continued from page 19

CheCkmAte in sACrAmento Don’t bounce a check at ‘The Galleria’—lest ye face the wrath of CorrectiveSolutions if you’re going to write A bAd CheCk, don’t do it in roseville.

Placer County is the only local government to partner with CorrectiveSolutions, the private company featured in this week’s cover story, “Checkmate!” by Denise Grollmus. CorrectiveSolutions is notorious for threatening jail time and fines against individuals who most of the time accidentally ink bad checks. In many cases, these check writers have already paid off the bounced check and associated fees— yet still find themselves hassled by CorrectiveSolutions.

The Placer County District Attorney’s Office told SN&R this past week that it has referred all check-restitution cases to CorrectiveSolutions for “more than two years,” according to a spokeswoman.

CorrectiveSolutions is known for using district-attorney letterhead to contact bounced-check writers. These letters keep arriving in the mail, stating that the individual will face jail time and hefty fines, unless they pay up.

The company rakes in millions off its partnerships with more than 140 district attorneys in the United States.

Paul Arons, a Washington state consumer-rights lawyer, agrees. What’s startling, he says, isn’t the shady tactics of companies such as CorrectiveSolutions; it’s the fact that district attorneys, charged with protecting the public good, are abetting the deception. “Check collectors have a long history of running scams, such as pretending they’ll have people arrested or that they are with government agencies,” he says. “I was shocked to find out that prosecutors were actually authorizing check collectors to do this in district attorneys’ names.”

Congress did include a small caveat in the 2006 bill that was supposed to protect citizens. “The prosecutor must determine that probable cause exists to charge a person with a crime before the program sends the letter,” Levin says.

Unfortunately, they’re universally blowing this off.

Take the Riverside County DA’s office. Chief Deputy Vicki Hightower says her program is meant to target badcheck writers who intend to defraud victims, not well-meaning people who accidentally bounce a check. “We understand the concerns people have,” Hightower says. “That’s why we review the checks before they go to CorrectiveSolutions. And while the correspondence that goes out has our logo, it does say that the program is administered by a third-party vendor.”

Yet her words don’t appear to match the facts on the ground. In order to open a bad-check case in Riverside County, merchants only need to provide the check writer’s information, along with the assurance they tried contacting them at least once. But its own records show it is routinely threatening jail time for people who’ve done nothing criminal. During the first 10 months of 2012, CorrectiveSolutions sent out 8,973 letters on the county’s behalf. Just 23 of those cases were deemed worthy of prosecution.

Florida’s Miami-Dade County is even more lax. There, merchants’ complaints go directly to CorrectiveSolutions, which then decides which ones merit prosecution.

20 | SN&R | 02.07.13

“Our office has set the intake criteria for checks to be accepted into the program,” says Assistant State Attorney Marie Jo Toussaint. “This criteria insures that only checks that have violated our Florida statutes are eligible for this pre-arrest diversion program.”

Again, the records say otherwise. Of the 1,863 cases opened by CorrectiveSolutions, only 106 were actually filed in criminal court.

“There is no question that defrauding someone is a crime,” says Kara Dansky, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer.

“But in these circumstances, there is no evidence that’s what happened. People could have written a check on accident with no intent to defraud. But the DA isn’t investigating that. …

Instead, debt-collection companies are using the auspices of the DA’s office to threaten someone with jail when there is no investigation.”

Absolutely mAddening CorrectiveSolutions had good reason to buy immunity from Congress. At the time, the industry was losing one class-action lawsuit after another.

In 2004, Kristy Schwarm was a stay-at-home mother of five, with another child on the way. Over the course of one week, the Northern California mom wrote a check to Walmart for $69.26 and one to FoodMaxx for $83.41, as well as making an ATM withdrawal, according to court records. Unfortunately, the ATM withdrawal overdrew her account, racking up seven rejected checks and 21 overdraft fees totaling $560.

“It had a snowball effect, leaving the account continually overdrawn, even though I made several deposits,” Schwarm says in court documents. Her bank erased most of the fees.

And local governments such as Placer County even bring in a tidy profit off CorrectiveSolutions work, too.

Sacramento County does not partner with private check-restitution companies like CorrectiveSolutions.

That’s encouraging—but it isn’t necessarily a good thing, either: Nobody in the county assists checkfraud victims with revenue recovery.

In 2009, the Sacramento district attorney’s office said it could no longer help out with bad checks due to budget constraints. The DA kicked the responsibility to the sheriff’s department, which picked up the slack “for a couple months,” according to Sgt. Jason Ramos.

But, since October 2011, the sheriff’s department hasn’t been able to help out, and the county has, essentially, disbanded its checkdiversion program.

“So, by and large as a general practice, we have nobody doing them,” Ramos told SN&R. Meanwhile, Yolo County still helps merchants collect on bad checks the old-fashioned way: in house.

—Nick Miller nic k a m@ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m

But a few months later, Schwarm received a letter from the Mendocino County district attorney. She had been accused of fraud and was ordered to repay the checks, along with penalties and a “diversion fee.”

“I was in a panic,” Schwarm said in court documents.

“I had never been in trouble with the law before. ... I assumed that I must be in a lot of trouble if I was getting a letter from the district attorney [saying] that I could be arrested.”

Schwarm called the number on the letter, assuming she was speaking with someone from the DA’s office. She promised to pay as soon as she could. But with her husband out of work and eight mouths to feed, she just kept falling further behind.

A year later, she still hadn’t paid her debts. The letters and phone calls kept coming.

Then, she was pulled over in a traffic stop with her six kids in the car. Schwarm was sure it had to do with the letters.

“I was terrified. I thought ... my children were going to see me get handcuffed and taken away,” she says. “I was giving my children instructions on calling their father to come pick them up when I found out I was just being warned for not coming to a complete stop at an intersection.”

By that point, she was so deep in debt that she filed for bankruptcy. Only after she consulted an attorney did she discover it wasn’t the DA sending her all those letters. It was an Arkansas company called District Attorney Technical Services.

“The real district attorney had not investigated me or considered filing charges against me,” she says.

Meanwhile, the letters kept coming, threatening her with arrest.

She eventually became part of a class-action lawsuit filed by Arons, the civil-rights lawyer, against the company’s owner, Henry Craighead. The suit claimed that District Attorney Technical Services illegally disguised itself as a government entity in order to

accideNtally overdrawiNg oN a BaNk accouNt isN’t a crime. it is, however, a hyperlucrative BusiNess, allowiNg BaNks to collect $30 BillioN per year iN overdraf t fees. extort penalties and fees. In 2011, a federal court awarded 36,000 victims nearly $750,000 in damages.

But it was too late. That same year, Craighead declared bankruptcy himself and only paid $160,000. He’s now retired and living comfortably in Oregon, says Arons.

“That’s what they do,” Arons says. “Whenever we win one of these cases, they declare bankruptcy in order to avoid paying out damages. It’s absolutely maddening.”

The exact same thing had happened a year earlier, when Arons won a similar suit against American Corrective Counseling Services. A federal court ruled that, despite the company’s claims of immunity, it had misrepresented itself, made false threats of prosecution and charged exorbitant penalties.

Once again, Arons’ clients were unable to collect on their victory. American Corrective also declared bankruptcy, saying it couldn’t repay investors—despite having amassed $47 million in fees over the previous four years.

A few months later, it was back in business, reformed as CorrectiveSolutions and “free and clear” of all liability, according to court records. And today, it’s the biggest bad-check collector of them all.

New coNsumer headaches Mike Wilhelms is president and CEO of Corrective Solutions.

His LinkedIn profile boasts a photo of a fresh-faced surfer in charge of more than 200 employees. His biggest customers are the district attorneys of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties, the latter of which signed a two-year contract in 2011. All are within driving distance of his palm-tree-lined headquarters in San Clemente, where it’s clear business is booming.

Consumer-rights lawyers estimate the company sends out around 2 million letters annually. (The company did not respond to repeated interview requests.) The CorrectiveSolutions website does its best to imply it’s an arm of law enforcement. A slideshow gently fades in and out with statements about “holding offenders accountable for their actions.” An interactive map shows its 140 contracts with DAs nationwide.

Nowhere does it say that most of these “offenders” have never been investigated or formally charged with a crime.

The site boasts dozens of quotes from pleased prosecutors, who sing praises of reduced caseloads and crime rates.

Yet Contra Costa District Attorney Robert Kochly offers the most telling endorsement, noting he’s grateful for “more revenue to my office.”

District attorneys don’t pay a cent for CorrectiveSolutions’ services. Instead, the company pays them to run bad-check programs. All a prosecutor must do is hand over official letterhead, along with a list of bad-check writers and a bit of “case criteria.”

Between 2005 and 2008, Los Angeles County raked in more than $1 million. Miami-Dade made more than $375,000.

When asked whether Miami-Dade’s program was little more than a moneymaking scheme, Toussaint balks. “Diverting such cases out of the criminal-justice system gives an individual with no prior record an opportunity to avoid having a criminal record,” she says. “It makes the victim receiver of the worthless check whole, and it is done with no cost to the taxpaying citizens of our community. Pretrial diversion programs also allow the courts to focus on other types of criminal activity.”

But while prosecutors claim they use collection agencies to decrease caseloads, some companies actually promise to expand them—for the sole purpose of generating more money.

Take BounceBack, the industry’s second-largest player. It owns Check Connection and makes no bones that generating fees is mission No. 1.

“Is your program suffering from diminishing checks?” asks the company’s website. “Visit Check Connection to learn how you can substantially increase the number of checks in your bad check program.”

The site offers examples from places such as Palm Beach County in Florida, which switched to BounceBack in 2006 after “merchants and other victims were complaining that they felt intimidated by the people administering the program. Check writers complained of strong-arm collection tactics.”

Since then, Palm Beach has “passed the $1.5 million … mark.”

BounceBack won’t discuss its business practices, believing it has been unfairly vilified by the media. “The press usually doesn’t take anything we say seriously, so we’ve begun to decline to make comments,” says company vice president Gale Krieg.

Still, prosecutors eagerly rise to the industry’s defense.

“They’re not just some debt-collection company,” Louis Alvarez, head of the Los Angeles County DA’s check program, says of CorrectiveSolutions. “What they are doing is trying to help us recoup money for victims.”

The real victims, at least in Alvarez’s mind, aren’t mathchallenged consumers, but merchants who lose more than $120 billion annually to bad checks, according to the Federal Reserve.

He argues that CorrectiveSolutions is simply helping his overburdened and underfunded office get restitution—while “rehabilitating” check writers who are likely guilty of fraud.

“We do get people who made a mistake,” he says, “but a good majority of the students who take our class say they just procrastinated and didn’t intend to pay until they saw the mail from the DA’s office.”

Yet once again, internal records dispel any notion of rampant criminality. In 2011, CorrectiveSolutions sent out 33,202 letters on behalf of L.A. County. Less than 1 percent of those cases were actually recommended for prosecution. “They’ve prosecuted more glue sniffers than bad-check writers in a lot of these counties,” Arons says. “This is not an overwhelming problem. The feds keep stats on this, and only one in every 200 checks doesn’t clear. And

of those, about half clear on redeposit, so we’re talking about 0.5 percent of all checks written.”

It’s hard to fault prosecutors for ridding themselves of a nuisance. Fraud charges require investigations, and most prosecutors have nowhere near the manpower to handle them, admits Scott Burns, executive director of the National District Attorneys Association. “The real issue is that prosecutors’ offices are almost across the board underfunded, while suffering hiring freezes and, in some offices, up to 30 percent cuts in personnel,” he says. “The only logical thing is to prioritize those cases and those issues that are the most important.”

But by ridding themselves of a headache, they’re creating a new one for consumers, who are presumed guilty without investigation or chance of appeal.

That’s the basic sentiment of Ed Griffith, spokesman for the Miami-Dade Office of the State Attorney. He believes that if a check writer ignores contact by a merchant, that’s proof enough of a crime. “Your failure to make good on that check is an issue of intent,” he says. “The opportunity to make good and not take advantage of that opportunity speaks to your attitude.”

Griffith argues that even innocent mistakes merit sentencing to financial-accountability class. “Even if someone says that their child overdrew their account, we believe putting them in a diversion program is the right move,” he says.

Yet some believe the classes are just a ruse to generate fees.

“Their financial-responsibility class is nothing more than learning how to balance a checkbook,” says Adam Levin, New Jersey’s former consumer-affairs commissioner. “It’s garbage. If people aren’t passing a bad check with intent, they shouldn’t be going to a class. And if they are, they shouldn’t be going to a class; they should be going to jail. Don’t tax overburdened consumers with a course that is effectively worthless.”

Dansky agrees. “There are far better ways of dealing with the problem,” she says. “If the cases are truly baseless, then the prosecutors shouldn’t be involved, period. Merchants can use debt collectors directly without getting prosecutors involved.”

BouNciNg arouNd Advocates hope Congress will finally close the 2006 loophole.

They received a glimmer of hope in October 2012, when President Barack Obama’s new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it would be overseeing debt collectors, starting this year. For the first time in history, the feds will require those making more than $10 million a year to supply regular reports to ensure they’re not deceiving and threatening consumers.

Still, Moira Vahey, an agency spokeswoman, declined to comment on how it would deal with the bad-check programs.

For now, the only oversight comes from those making money on the deals: the district attorneys themselves. And they show little interest in policing the industry.

Take the Minnesota company once known as Financial Crimes Services. In 2009, it was sued for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The company agreed to pay $75,000 in penalties and court costs.

In 2011, it changed its name to Diversion Solutions, and it’s still operating throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. “We’re not a debt-collection company, but a diversion program,” says CEO Scott Adkisson. “We send out approved letters. And it’s the DA’s decision who gets them, not ours. We just manage the program.”

The evidence suggests otherwise. In Minnesota’s Goodhue County, the program is run by the Red Wing Police Department, which referred inquiries back to Adkisson.

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson would not respond to interview requests, either.

Levin believes this lack of oversight may be the key to dismantling the programs: If prosecutors aren’t reviewing the cases, collection agencies aren’t legally eligible for immunity.

In the meantime, victims such as Orr and Schwarm have little recourse but to hire lawyers, paying thousands to defend themselves for bouncing double-digit checks at the grocery store. Ω This story originally appeared in OC Weekly and is being reprinted with permission.

B E F O R E | F R O N T L I N E S | F E A T U R E S T O R Y | A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R |

02.07.13 | SN&R | 21

by LOVELLE HARRIS

photos by LISA BAETZ

CULTIVATING

change The Flywheel Arts Incubator bridges the divide between creation and commerce

C

ontract negotiations, branding materials and business plans—for artists and entrepreneurs looking to fulfill the promise of critical acclaim and start-up riches, navigating the tricky landscape of sole proprietorship can be a grisly endeavor.

Now, Sacramento creative types have an ally when it comes to solving their entrepreneurial woes. The Flywheel Arts Incubator’s mission is simple: to nurture and cultivate local artists by providing them with an armory of tools to help establish and sustain their businesses—and get them in the public eye. Indeed, Flywheel residents are set to take over the Crocker Art Museum on Thursday, February 14, with an interactive group show.

Flywheel program manager Tre Borden says the incubator is a way to bridge the divide between art and commerce.

“Artists don’t think of themselves as business people,” says Borden. “If you’re an artist, and that’s how you make your living, you’re basically a small-business owner.

You’re not just an artist who paints, you’re an artist who pays your taxes and does your marketing and your sales.”

Flywheel was born out of collaboration between Borden and the Arts & Business Council of Sacramento executive director Michelle Alexander, the latter of whom approached the UC Davis business-school

22 | SN&R | 02.07.13

grad with an idea to start an incubator as a means to engage, support and mobilize the local art and business community.

Borden says Alexander wanted to augment an existing ABC program called Business Volunteers for the Arts, which served as a bank of professional volunteers who provided pro bono services to artists and nonprofits.

Flywheel launched in June, and already the fledgling organization boasts an impressive roster. So far, Flywheel’s inaugural class supports nine creative ventures, including the celebrated Chalk It Up! festival; style savant Kari Shipman’s fashion blog, Juniper James; experimental musical-theater group New Helvetia Theatre; the hip-hop crew Project4Trees; and the community-based art, education and technology outfit Sol Collective. This first class of participants was selected, Borden says, after an application and interview process that culminated with each hopeful presenting before a panel of Flywheel board members.

“The first time around [with the application process] was difficult, because it was something new and had no track record, but we ended up receiving 40 applications,” Borden says.

Drawing from the startup model made successful by Silicon Valley tech types, such incubators are not a new phenomenon, but have gained popularity in art and business development. These days, they’re part of the larger macrocosm of business incubators, of which there are more than 500 in North America, according to the National Business Incubation Association.

By nurturing small and emerging organizations, Flywheel endeavors to establish an environment where local artists and organizations want to set up shop and stay in Sacramento.

“We lose a lot of our top talent to larger markets,” says Borden. “You can only get to a certain point in Sacramento, in most people’s minds, before you have to depart for [Los Angeles] or San Francisco or New York [City]. … I want people to understand how they can grow their business organically … and make a living here.”

Borden says Flywheel residents benefit from myriad services, including businessplan assistance and marketing, as well as financial, legal and communication tools.

By partnering with various community organizations such as Sacramento State University, the Urban Hive and the California Museum—where Danny Scheible,

“You can only get to a certain point in Sacramento, in most people’s minds, before you have to depart for [Los Angeles] or San Francisco or New York [City]. … I want people to understand how they can grow their business organically … and make a living here.”

Tre Borden program manager Flywheel Arts Incubator

one of Flywheel’s artists in residence, is currently exhibiting his masking-tape sculptures—is paramount to Flywheel’s success.

“We have partnerships that are strategic.

We partnered with the California Museum, and Danny got his first museum show through that partnership,” says Borden, who also works independently with Scheible’s Tapigami project. “We’ve worked with Good: Street Food + Design Market, and we have a partnership with Sac State, where they’ve allocated staff to head up our design house—whether it’s marketing, branding, website design or photography.”

At Sol Collective, the community-based partnership whose mission is to use art, education and technology as a way to galvanize community action, director and founder Estella Sanchez says Flywheel not only helped her enhance Sol Collective’s visibility, but a recent “finance boot camp” it hosted also provided her with tools to help grow the business.

“Our vision is to provide the richness of arts and culture through workshops, exhibitions and mentorship programs,” Sanchez says. “And Flywheel has helped us figure out where we are, but more importantly, where we want to be.”

After eight years in business, Sanchez says she jumped at the chance to be a part of the Flywheel experience, because it connected her with other members of the arts community. It also opened her eyes to the idea that she wasn’t alone in her mission to bring the arts and community activism to the masses.

“One of the biggest benefits for me [with Flywheel] is discovering that there are a lot of people committed to the arts in the city, and we are facing a lot of the same issues,” Sanchez says. “It’s nice to know our organization isn’t alone in all of this.”

Flywheel’s first year will culminate on Valentine’s Day with the aptly named Local Love interactive art installation at the Crocker Art Museum.

“We want this event to be a kind of love letter to the Sacramento art scene,” Borden says.

Partnering with the Crocker has proved to be essential, he adds. The museum, for example, granted hip-hop group Project4Trees access to film a music video there in January.

Now, as the incubator’s first year comes to a close, Borden says he’s looking forward to ushering in the next class of artists-in-residence.

“The idea is that we have to do a lot of work on the front end to brand this community to say that Sacramento is a place where the arts are thriving,” he says.

“I think that the reason Flywheel is necessary is that there is a lot of creative talent that exists here, and they’re going to replace the old guard of successful artists,” he says. “We need to make sure that we nurture that talent so it stays in Sacramento.” Ω

No flavor packets See DISH

31

This one’s for the lit nerds See COOLHUNTING

34

Step away from the edge See ASK JOEY

35

Party in the 916 See 15 MINUTES

55

SCENE& HEARD Pickers’ paradise It seemed harmless enough. There, hiding between the vacuum-sealed comforters, bags of generic caramel candy and what I think were exotic kitchen utensils, was just another cardboard box filled with packets of dehydrated food.

Maybe I should have looked closer. Maybe I should have read the fine print. But deep-rooted character flaws aside, I felt truly repulsed when I flipped the squished and shiny bag over in my hands only to see that this was, in fact, something called a “fart bomb.”

The upper corner of the bag seemed to be stamped with the faded letters “exprd,” which should likely be interpreted as a declaration of expiration. Adding insult to possible injury, the rosy-cheeked cartoon face printed on the front seemed to be laughing—as if he had been the perpetrator of this cruel joke all along.

But that kind of shock just might be glory of the Folsom Boulevard Flea Market (8521 Folsom Boulevard).

There’s something here for everyone—even if you don’t want it.

I quickly made my retreat from the deadly explosive, but not before asking the owner of the shop if they sold any celebrity blankets that didn’t have Justin Bieber’s face on them—a comfort on which I wouldn’t spend 25 cents, much less $25.

Back into the fray: Families, couples, groups and awkward solitary buyers (such as myself), all move at a relatively steady pace through the open area, from tent to table to tarpaulin. Cheap-clothing vendors in particular seem to take advantage of the foot traffic. And, from a distance, (I’ll be honest) it’s easy to fall victim to their ploys. In fact, I caught myself thinking—not once, but twice—“My God! Who is that gorgeous looking—oh ... mannequin.”

But if cheap T-shirts and knockoff jeans aren’t your jam, there are plenty of other low-cost tchotchkes to go around.

For the aspiring contractor or construction worker, in fact, there’s no shortage of power tools for sale—although you might want to be careful the first time you plug one in. And for those with a passion for DIY home surgery, dentistry or taxidermy, open boxes of surgical equipment lay ripe for the picking (though some sterilization may be required).

Elsewhere in the market are three warehouses that stand unobtrusively behind rows of mangled car radios and largely go unvisited during the week. Visitors will find Books Etc., tucked away in the last building—a visit to which makes for a gem of a Sunday-afternoon outing. This is the used-book vendor that time forgot, and it seems that tightly compressed stacks of paperbacks, hardcovers and leather-bounds are the only thing keeping that corner of the warehouse from crashing straight down onto my head.

While far from alphabetical, the organization here is good enough to provide one helluva book-searching adventure. Ultimately, I end up walking away from the packed parking lot unscathed—and with two purchases: Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut and Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man, each for a dollar apiece. Take that, Barnes & Noble.

Flywheel Arts Incubator program manager Tre Borden observes as the hip-hop band Project4Trees (pictured, center) shoots a music video.

There’s something here for everyone— even if you don’t want it.

Flywheel Arts Incubator and the Project4Trees crew prep for a Crocker Art Museum video shoot—an event made possible by a collaboration between the fledgling arts program and the established fine-art museum.

BEFORE

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FRONTLINES

—Josh Archer

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F E AT U R E S T O RY

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A RT S & C U LT U R E

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AFTER

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02.07.13

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SN&R

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23

1SPKFDU 5SFFT t .VTJDBM $IBSJT t "VUVNO 4LZ t +BNFT $BWFSO t #FMM #PZT t /FX )FMWFUJB 5IFBUFS t 4PM $PMMFDUJWF t -BDJO $SJTUPQIFM .VSBM %FTJHO t 5BQJHBNJ t 1PFU -BVSFBUF +FGG ,OPSS

THE Party of the Year!

QSFTFOUFE JO QBSUOFSTIJQ XJUI UIF 4BDSBNFOUP "SUT BOE #VTJOFTT $PVODJM

'FCSVBSZ t 4:30 PM Memorial Auditorium ALL INCLUSIVE

On the grid. Off the wall.

Food.

Drinks.

Live music.

Dance if you want to!

(Costumes Admired, Not Required)

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 5–9 PM SMALL BITES t $5 AND UNDER DRINKS 21+

#ARTMIX

crockerartmuseum.org 24 | SN&R | 02.07.13

February 7 - 10

at The Community Center Theater

916.552.5800 x2 sacballet.org/tickets

February picks by SHOKA

“A Million Boxes: An Exaggeration” by Linda Nunes, encaustic, 2012.

Waxy buildup Linda Nunes claims her most recent works of art are her most personal, and it shows. The Sacramento artist’s abstracted images look thoughtful and visceral, with her emotions both covered and emerging through layers of wax and tree resin (encaustic, her medium of choice).

She’s most successful when she doesn’t rely on collage, such as in the effusive “Bloodline—The Generational Pull,” and the microscopiclike “A Million Boxes: An Exaggeration,” with its hundreds of square cells and their blood-red nuclei. Nunes explains this piece: “My husband often says, ‘If you want the facts, ask me. But if you want a better story, ask my wife.’” He’s right: She’s written a pretty good story.

Where: 1880 Fulton Avenue, (916) 482-2787, www.artisticedgeframing.com.

Second Saturday reception: February 9, 4 to 7 p.m. Through March 31.

Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Slice of nature Randy Won’s artwork is earthly—not just inspired by the dirt and materials on the surface, but the minerals deep within its crust. He creates slices of nature that are accessible and, ultimately, eye-pleasing. Catch a glimpse at the Sacramento Temporary Contemporary this month, along with works

by Charles Centers, Sonya Fe, Peter London and Scott Martin.

Where: 1616 Del Paso

Boulevard, (916) 921-1224, www.stcgallery.webs.com.

Opening reception:

Thursday, February 7; 7 p.m.

Second Saturday reception: February 9,

“Good Journey” (detail) by Justin Marsh, oil and enamel with continuous video loop, 2012.

Fame and failure The public’s fascination with celebrities is bizarre: Why should anyone care what an attention-starved, callipygous wannabe starlet does? And “I like big butts and I cannot lie” is not a suitable answer.

6 to 9 p.m.

Through February 28.

Hours: Thursday through Saturday, noon to 8 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Such varying degrees of interest in those with fame— voyeurism, vicariousness, idolization, stalking—is what artist Justin Marsh explores in his solo exhibition at Axis Gallery, Countless Tongues and Ears. Marsh investigates the concept of the glamorous entertainer as the embodiment of ordinary folks’ ideals and how it plays into “defining the structure of failure.”

Where: 1517 19th Street, (916) 443-9900, www.axisgallery.org.

Artist’s reception: Thursday, February 7; 6 to 8 p.m.

Second Saturday reception: February 9, 6 to 9 p.m. Through February 24.

Hours: Saturday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.; or by appointment.

“Time Flies” by Randy Won; clay, wire and glass; 2012.

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18TH ST.

17TH ST.

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13TH ST.

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Saturday, Feb 9th

Tribute to African American Doll Artists

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1pm - 5pm Baby Doll Quilt Display 1pm Doll Presentation by Gloria Grandy

2nd Saturday Open Mic

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6pm-11pm Featured Poet “V.S. Chochezi”

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Stitching For The Soul

Keynote Speaker: Alice Beasley

1pm - 2pm Alice Calhoun, Hand Quilter 3pm Jan Hollins, Textile Designs & Quilter

“Threads of Time: Breast Cancer Quilt Project”

1pm - 2pm Quilter and Artist Presentation Alice Beasley has been creating fabric portraits & quilts in San Francisco

3 Kings Show

Thursday, Feb 28

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th

8pm-11pm

Closing Reception

Featuring DESTRUCTIKONZ w/ ALGORYTHMS

6pm-8pm Come to the last day of this wonderful exhibit

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THIRD ST.

Saturday, Feb 16th

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with film, ‘Scenes of Siddi Life’ by Henry John Drewal

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www.thebrickhousegalleryoakpark.com

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ART MAP

our We ltoovmeers! cus

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THE 2ND SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH 10:30AM – 3PM FOOD • FREE PARKING • $3 ADMISSION

300 VENDORS!

21 and X St.• Midtown st

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13 ELLIOTT FOUTS GALLERY 1831 P St., (916) 446-1786, www.efgallery.com

14 GALLERY 2110 2110 K St., (916) 476-5500, www.gallery2110.com

15 INTEGRATE 1529 28th St., (916) 594-9579, http://integrate servicessacramento.blogspot.com

16 KENNEDY GALLERY 1931 L St., (916) 716-7050, www.kennedygallerysac.com

17 LITTLE RELICS 908 21st St., (916) 716-2319, www.littlerelics.com

MIDTOWN

7 BLUE LAMP 1400 Alhambra Blvd.,

1 ALEX BULT GALLERY 1114 21st St.,

8 BOWS & ARROWS 1815 19th St.,

(916) 476-5540, www.alexbultgallery.com

2 ART STUDIOS 1727 I St., behind Michaelangelo’s; (916) 444-2233

3 ARTFOX GALLERY 2213 N St., Ste. B; (916) 835-1718; www.artfox.us

4 AXIS GALLERY 1517 19th St., (916) 443-9900, www.axisgallery.org

5 B. SAKATA GARO 923 20th St., (916) 447-4276, www.bsakatagaro.com

6 BARTON GALLERY 1723 I St., (916) 443-4025, www.sacartz.com

(916) 455-3400, www.bluelamp.com (916) 822-5668, www.bowscollective.com

9 CAPITAL ARTWORKS 1215 21st St., Ste. B; (916) 207-3787; www.capital-artworks.com

10 CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, SACRAMENTO 1519 19th St., (916) 498-9811, www.ccasac.org

11 CUFFS 2523 J St., (916) 443-2881, www.shopcuffs.com

12 DEEP ART AND YOGA 2030 H St., (916) 470-9959, www.deepartandyoga.com

18 MIDTOWN FRAMING & GALLERY 1005 22nd St., (916) 447-7558, www.midtownframing.com

19 OLD SOUL CO. 1716 L St., (916) 443-7685, www.oldsoulco.com

20 PHONO SELECT 2312 K St., (916) 400-3164, www.phonoselect.com

21 RED DOT GALLERY 2231 J St., Ste. 101; www.reddotgalleryonj.com

22 SACRAMENTO ART COMPLEX 2110 K St., Ste. 4; (916) 476-5500; www.sacramentoartcomplex.com

23 SACRAMENTO GAY & LESBIAN CENTER 1927 L St., (916) 442-0185, http://saccenter.org

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24 SHIMO CENTER FOR THE ARTS 2117 28th St., (916) 706-1162, www.shimogallery.com

25 SHINY NICKEL ART GALLERY 1518 21st St., (916) 224-7051

35 ARTISTS’ COLLABORATIVE GALLERY 129 K St., (916) 444-7125, www.artcollab.com

36 CROCKER ART MUSEUM 216 O St., (916) 808-7000, www.crockerartmuseum.org

26 TIM COLLOM GALLERY 915 20th St., (916) 247-8048, www.timcollomgallery.com

27 UNION HALL GALLERY 2126 K St.,

37 E STREET GALLERY AND STUDIOS 1115 E St., (916) 505-7264

38 LA RAZA GALERÍA POSADA 2700 Front St., (916) 446-5133, www.larazagaleriaposada.org

(916) 448-2452

28 UNIVERSITY ART 2601 J St., (916) 443-5721, www.universityart.com

29 THE URBAN HIVE 1931 H St., (916) 585-4483, www.theurbanhive.com

30 VIEWPOINT PHOTOGRAPHIC ART CENTER 2015 J St., (916) 441-2341, www.viewpointgallery.org

39 SMITH GALLERY 1020 11th St., Ste. 100; (916) 446-4444; www.smithgallery.com

40 TEMPLE COFFEE 1010 Ninth St., (916) 443-4960, www.templecoffee.com

41 VOX SACRAMENTO 1818 11th St.,

31 ZANZIBAR GALLERY 1731 L St.,

www.voxsac.com

34 ARTHOUSE UPSTAIRS 1021 R St., (530)

ARTISTIC EDGE 1880 Fulton Ave., (916)

482-2787; http://artisticedgeframing.com

BLUE LINE GALLERY 405 Vernon St.,

Ste. 100 in Roseville; (916) 783-4117; http://bluelinegallery.blogspot.com

University Art

THE BRICKHOUSE ART GALLERY

2837 36th St., (916) 457-1240, www.thebrickhousegalleryoakpark.com

(916) 572-5123, www.evolvethegallery.com

(916) 923-6204, www.archivalframe.com

(916) 444-2787

OFF MAP

EVOLVE THE GALLERY 2907 35th St.,

42 ARCHIVAL FRAMING 3223 Folsom Blvd.,

33 ART FOUNDRY GALLERY 1025 R St.,

(916) 453-2999, www.jayjayart.com

1001 Del Paso Blvd.

DOWNTOWN/OLD SAC EAST SAC (916) 442-6014, www.appelgallery.com

(916) 456-1058, www.gallery14.net

46 JAYJAY 5520 Elvas Ave.,

DEL PASO WORKS BUILDING GALLERIES

(916) 443-5601, www.zanzibartrading.com

32 APPEL GALLERY 931 T St.,

45 GALLERY 14 3960 60th St.,

43 COFFEE WORKS 3418 Folsom Blvd., (916) 452-1086, www.coffeeworks.com

44 FE GALLERY & IRON ART STUDIO 1100 65th

PATRIS STUDIO AND ART GALLERY

3460 Second Ave., (916) 397-8958, http://artist-patris.com

SACRAMENTO TEMPORARY CONTEMPORARY 1616 Del Paso Blvd., (916) 921-1224, http://stcgallery.webs.com

Palo Alto

St., (916) 456-4455, www.fegallery.com

San Jose

Visit UniversityArt.com

979-1611, www.arthouse-saramento.com

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NIGHT&DAY 07THURS DON’T MISS! WHITE WASH: Catch a

screening and join a discussion of the film White Wash. The film explores the history of surfing culture and breaks all “surfer dude” stereotypes by uncovering the lesserknown history of blacks riding waves and the hardships they’ve faced due to systematic racism.

Featured guests include director Ted Woods and producer Airrion Copeland.

Th, 2/7, 6:30pm. Free. Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento, 1519 19th St.; (916) 498-9811; www.ccasac.org.

List your event!

Post your free online listing (up to 15 months early), and our editors will consider your submission for the printed calendar as well. Print listings are also free, but subject to space limitations.

Online, you can include a full description of your event, a photo and a link to your website.

Go to www.newsreview. com/calendar and start posting events. Deadline for print listings is 10 days prior to the issue in which you wish the listing to appear.

Art Galleries LITTLE RELICS BOUTIQUE & GALLERIA: Sacred Heart, Meet Rob-O and view his new fine art pieces constructed of sugar.

Th, 2/7, 6-9pm. Free. 908 21st St.; (916) 716-2319.

Comedy THE MIKES: This comedy troupe is made up of Mike Betancourt, Michael Calvin Jr., Michael O’Connell, Mike Osborn and Mike Sinclair. They’ve joined together to create a show that covers the whole gamut of stand-up styles. Th, 2/7, 8-9:30pm. $10, two-drink minimum. Laughs Unlimited, 1207 Front St.; (916) 446-5905; www.laughsunlimited.com.

Classes CAJUN CUISINE: Celebrate Mardi Gras with Chef Dionisio Esperas as he prepares an authentic feast of Lousiana-style cooking.

This is a demonstration-style class. Th, 2/7, 6:30-8:30pm. $35-$45. Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op Community Learning Center & Cooking School, 1914 Alhambra Blvd.; (916) 868-6399; www.sacfoodcoop.com.

Dance THE SLEEPING BEAUTY: Under the artistic direction of Elena Radchenko, a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet, the Russian National Ballet Theatre was founded during Perestroika, when many principal dancers from the great ballet companies migrated to RNBT. This production features music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikowski. Th, 2/7, 7:30pm. $29-$49. Three Stages Peforming Arts Center, 10 College Pkwy. in Folsom; (916) 608-6888; www.threestages.net.

Now Playing THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES: See Sacramento State University’s production of The Vagina Monologues, based on Eve Ensler’s monologues with real women exploring intimacy, vulnerability and sexual self-discovery Th, 2/7, 7:30pm. $5-$10. Sacramento State University Union Ballroom, 6000 J St.; (916) 278-6997; www.sacstateunique.com.

Concerts ANTHONY HAMILTON: Grammy Award-winning singer Anthony Hamilton, who also serves as the national spokesman for Court

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Appointed Special Advocates, is the keynote speaker for the 2013 Black History Celebration at University of the Pacific. He will lecture and then perform a short intimate set of songs.

Th, 2/7, 7pm. $30-$40. Bob Hope Theatre, 242 E. Main St. in Stockton; (209) 946-7707; http://go.pacific.edu/anthony hamilton.

08FRI

DON’T MISS! SACRED CITY DERBY GIRLS:

Join the Sacred City Derby Girls for its season opener at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. The the Sacred City home teams—the Midtown Maulies, the Roseville Trainwreckers, and the Donna Party—will be taking each other on in roundrobin style matches. F, 2/8, 6pm. $20-$25. Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, 1515 J St. 1515 J St.; (888) 588-7234; www.sacredcity derbygirls.com.

Special Events BE MY VALENTINE DATE NIGHT: Brought to you by T-Mo Entertainment, this event features dinner, slow jams, live jazz, games and dancing. Performers include vocalist Lenoris Louis, saxophonists Shawn Raiford and Ava Lemert, and poet Terry Moore. F, 2/8, 6pm-midnight. $40-$50 per couple. Sekou’s BBQ, 455 Bercut Dr.; (916) 208-7638; http://bmyv.eventbrite.com.

Art Galleries JOHN NATSOULAS GALLERY: Bark!: An Artistic View of Mans Best Friend, an exhibition of dog pieces from many local artists.

Also, a solo exhibition by renowned dog artist Roy De Forest. F, 2/8, 7-10pm. Free.

521 First St. in Davis; (530) 756-3938; www.natsoulas.com.

Concerts CLASSICAL GUITAR ENSEMBLE SERIES: The Davis Art Center’s fourth annual Classical Guitar Ensemble Series kicks with a performance by guitar and oboe ensemble D’Amore Duo. Featuring guitarist William Feasley and oboist Yeon Jee Sohn, the duo has released three critically acclaimed recordings and performed around the globe to enthusiastic reviews. F, 2/8, 8pm; F, 3/15, 8pm; F, 4/19, 8pm; F, 5/17, 8pm. $5-$15.

Davis Art Center, 1919 F St. in Davis; (530) 756-4100; www.davisartcenter.org.

09SAT

DON’T MISS! ARTISAN EXPO: Fusion

International Arts Center’s monthly Artisan Expo features gifts, handmade items, and crafts. Browse from 40 local vendors, hear live music and participate in art workshops. Sa, 11am-6pm.

Free. Fusion International Arts Center, 501 Arden Way; (916) 538-4008; www.fusioniac.com.

Special Events DIPPED IN CHOCOLATE WINE TOUR:

BY JONATHAN MENDICK

Spend a day with Shari Fitzpatrick, founder of the Shari’s Berries brand of gourmet chocolate-dipped strawberries, on this exclusive and behind-the-scenes tour of Shari’s neighborhood in the Sierra Foothills. Taste wine, and take in breath-taking views. Sa, 2/9, 10am-4pm. $99 for one, or $169 per couple. Butterfield Station, 9363 Butterfield Rd.; (916) 505-0990; http://dippedin chocolatewinetour.eventbrite.com.

VALENTINE SECRETS LINGERIE FASHION SHOW: Reunion Nightclub and Beautimark Productions present a fashion show featuring loungewear, pajamas and intimates. Come early for a free styling and makeup touch-up by Beautimark artists. Sa, 2/9, 7pm-2am. $30. Reunion Nightclub, 4370 Town Center Blvd., Ste. 100 in El Dorado Hills; (916) 939-0777.

Art Galleries ARTHOUSE UPSTAIRS: Insights Beyond Form, Taylor Gutermute and JJ Jacobs exhibit thoughtprovoking non-objective works in various mediums. Sa, 2/9, 4-9pm. Free. 1021 R St.; http://arthouse-sacramento.com.

BRICKHOUSE GALLERY & ARTS COMPLEX: A Stitch in Time: The Past, Present and Future, in celebration of Black History Month, Sisters Quilting Collective higlights African-American quilters and quilts. The program will feature a tribute to AfricanAmerican doll artists and a quilt display. Sa, 2/9, noon-5pm. Free.

2837 36th St.; (916) 457-2502; www.brickhouseoakpark.com.

DEL PASO WORKS BUILDING: Second Saturday, enjoy a handbuilt ceramic sclupture gallery and ceramic artist studio featuring member art. Join a clay studio group, which meets weekly on Wednesday. Second Sa of every month, 6-9pm through 10/12. Free.

1001 Del Paso Blvd.; (916) 333-4833.

EVOLVE THE GALLERY: The Fabric of Race, celebrate Black History Month with an introspective look at race relations by Renee Billingslea. Her experience of being part of an interracial family deepens her interest in issues of race identity in American history, leading to the development of her book series and her mixed-media installation work. Th-Sa, 1-6pm through 2/24. Opens 2/9. Free. 2907 35th St.; (916) 572-5123.

FRANCIS HOUSE CENTER: The art of Judy LewLoose, enjoy an evening of art, wine and appetizers to celebrate Friends of Francis House, donors who have pledged to support the organization. One of Judy LewLoose’s beautiful pointillism paintings will be raffled at the event. Sa, 2/9, 5-7pm.

Free. 1422 C St.; (916) 443-2646.

NORTH COLUMBIA SCHOOLHOUSE CULTURAL CENTER: Valentine Erotique, an annual classic, this extravaganza of erotica returns with a brand-new array of poetry, sexy skits, a chocolate dessert contest, love raffle and other sensuous entertainment.

The chocolate dessert contest is open to the public. Bring your favorite chocolate delight for a chance to win prizes in several categories. Sa, 2/9, 7:30-10:30pm. $12-$20. 179894 Tyler Foote Rd. in Nevada City; (530) 265-2826.

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VALENTINE’S DAY IS A CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE

at chez Mendick. While I strongly disagree with any commodification of love, my fiancée believes Valentine’s Day is cause for all sorts of pomp and circumstance.

Anyway, for those of you who aren’t V-Day traditionalists, here are five celebrations that don’t involve boxes of candy, flowers or dinner dates:

1. NAUGHTY GRAS Sure, this isn’t technically Valentine’s Dayrelated, but KSFM 102.5 FM’s annual Mardi Gras event just happens to be the weekend before Valentine’s Day. It’s a good place to bring a 21and-over V-Day date who enjoys dancing at flashy parties, Mardi Gras drinks (hurricanes, Louisiana lemonade, etc.) and the singer Jonn Hart—known for his risqué single “Who Booty,” which will be performed live. Saturday, February 9, at 8 p.m.; $24-$75. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Boulevard; http://ksfm.cbslocal.com.

SMITH GALLERY: Vibrant

2. DEAD HOOKERS BALL II: MY BLOODY VALENTINE Zombie and freaky-costume lovers will enjoy the second Dead Hookers Ball. Costumes at this party are encouraged, especially zombie-hooker and pimp costumes. There will be ’70s disco music, a “Hooker of the Night” competition, art exhibitions, games and drink specials. Organizers caution that the event features “explicit themes and role playing,” and attendees must sign a waiver and agree to act in a “responsible manner.” Saturday, February 9, at 9 p.m.; $15-$20. Shenanigans, 705 J Street; www.deadhookersball.com.

and creates her own sea glass for her jewelry. Su, 2/10, 2-5pm.

Free. 6295 Main St. in Georgetown; (530) 333-2787.

Landscapes, bold and heavy strokes of color bring life to Scott Anderson’s unique landscape compositions. Sa, 2/9, 6-9pm. Free. 1020 11th St.; (916) 446-4444.

GALLERY 1855: Cross Pollinating

TEMPLE COFFEE: Second Saturday Art Reception, art by Vinay Sharma. Sa, 2/9, 6-9pm. Free.

1010 Ninth St.; (916) 443-4960.

VOX SACRAMENTO: Art and Poetry at Vox, artists explore questions like: What is it about our essential human nature that inspires devotion and expressions of love on Valentine’s Day? There will also be an open-mic poetry night. Sa, 2/9, 4-9pm. Free. 1818 11th St.; www.voxsac.com.

Run in a 4-mile or 1.8-mile race to raise funds for Legal Services of Northern California, an organization that’s mission is to serve underrepresented citizens and help the poor achieve justice. Walk or run, bring a canine companion or dress up—it’s a lighthearted and untimed affair. It’s kid friendly and same-day registration is available starting at 7 a.m. There will also be refreshments, vendors and entertainment after the run. Saturday, February 9, at 9 a.m. (kids’ events start earlier); $20-$35. Macy’s parking lot, corner of Butano and Lusk drives; www.lsncrun.info.

4. DON’T TOUCH MY PRIVATE Check out an art exhibition that is sort of related to love, but that also pushes boundaries.

It’s called Don’t Touch My Private, and it shows the artwork of recent Sacramento State University graduate Cat Hellxia. Her work “questions tabooed objects or daily things that we want to hide,” according to the artist. Monday through Friday, February 11-15; from noon to 4:30 p.m., with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, February 13; free. R.W. Witt Gallery at Sacramento State University, 6000 J Street; www.facebook.com/hellxiaart.

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HISTORY OF THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CREW: How did

Concerts holiday of the heart, enjoy passionate classical music from some of the greatest composers of Europe’s romantic age. The repertoire includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, Richard Strauss’ “Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare,” music for brass ensemble by Gabrieli, and Ravel’s Bolero. Sa, 2/9, 7:30pm. $20-$42. Three Stages Peforming Arts Center, 10 College Pkwy. in Folsom; (916) 608-6888; www.threestages.net.

EBO OKOAN: Celebrate Black History Month with Ebo Okoan.

Explore the rich tradition of the Afro-Cuban culture through drumming, dance and song with this exciting folkloric music and dance ensemble. Su, 2/10, 2pm.

Free. Sacramento Public Library (Central Branch), 828 I St.; (916) 264-2920; www.saclibrary.org.

TRIBE OF THE RED HORSE: The Tribe of the Red Horse brings its musical tribute to the artistry of Neil Young and Crazy Horse to the Sutter Creek Theater.

The event promises to recreate a very special musical history of Neil Young’s music, live. Sa, 2/9, 7-10pm. $14-$16. Sutter Creek Theatre, 44 Main St. in Sutter Creek; (209) 295-6440; www.suttercreektheater.com.

10SUN

DON’T MISS!

With stops for treats at Rick’s Dessert Diner (2322 K Street), TreyBCakes (1801 L Street, Suite 70) and Devine Gelateria & Café (1221 19th Street), this walking tour led by historian William Burg is a sweet alternative to a box of chocolates. It starts at Midtown Village Café (1827 I Street) and lasts two hours, so you can burn calories while you’re gorging on sugary confections. For more information, see “Cake walkabout” (SN&R Food Stuff) on page 33.

Saturday, February 9, at noon; $30. Midtown Village Cafe, 1827 I Street; http://sacheritage desserttour.brownpapertickets.com.

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Bring your valentine to a special I Heart Sacramento Zoo day organized by the Sacramento Zoo Teen volunteers. The event features valentine-themed animal enrichment programs, informative talks and activity tables. Su, 2/10, 10am-4pm. $7.25 -$11.25.

Sacramento Zoo, 3930 West Land Park Dr.; (916) 808-5888; www.saczoo.org.

FEATURE

STORY

part of the Bell Boys, presents an acoustic singer-songwriter showcase at Old Soul Co. It features five or six songwriters showcasing original music every week. W, 6pm. Free.

Old Soul Co, 1716 L St.; (916) 443-7685; http://face book.com/activelylistening.

13WED

ONGOING DON’T MISS! THE GREAT GATSBY: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby will be brought to life through dance in world premiere by Sacramento Ballet Artistic Director Ron Cunningham, with the help of live period music from Billy Novick’s Blue Syncopators. Th, 2/7,

7:30pm; F, 2/8, 7:30pm; Sa, 2/9, 7:30pm; Su, 2/10, 2pm.

$17-$70. Sacramento Community Center Theater, 1301 L St.; (916) 552-5800, ext. 2; www.sacballet.org.

Special Events LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER: Celebrate Mardi Gras with the Clarksburg Wine Company at this event, which translates to “let the good times roll.” Hear live music from Zydeco on Our Mind and eat kings cakes and jambalaya. Sa, 2/9, 11am-5pm; Su, 2/10, 11am-5pm. Free. Old Sugar Mill, 35265 Willow Ave. in Clarksburg; (916) 744-1615.

WINE AND CHOCOLATE WEEKEND: Sip

Special Events DISNEY ON ICE PRESENTS DARE TO DREAM: Join Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald and Goofy as they follow three of Disney’s most inspirational princesses on their adventures to fulfill their dreams in Feld Entertainment’s newest ice spectacular, Disney on Ice presents Dare to Dream. It combines the contemporary stories of two modern-day princesses—Rapunzel and Tiana—with the classic elegance of Cinderella. W, 2/13,

profit arts organizations are encouraged to attend this informational workshop about the 2013 Day of Giving for the Arts. This will be a great way to introduce new donors to your organization. RSVP is requested. M, 2/11, 5pm. Free.

Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, 300 Richards Blvd., Ste. 200; (916) 808-3996.

reception for Victoria Perez Motton featuring her jewelry designs created using semiprecious stones, pearls, bone, wood, metal and her favorite medium, glass. She uses a torch and kiln to create her lampwork glass beads, fuses plate and dichroic glass in her kiln

ACTIVELY LISTENING: Erik James,

lounge and techno meets modern classical music when the Swarmius duo performs at Sacramento State University.

Saxophonist Todd Rewoldt is a former skateboard champ and punk bassist. Electronics artist Joseph Martin Waters’ music juxtaposes hip-hop and Beethoven. Tu, 2/12, 8pm. $5-$10.

Sacramento State Music Recital Hall, 6000 J St.; (916) 278-5191; www.csus.edu/music.

DAY OF GIVING FOR THE ARTS: Non-

ART ON THE DIVIDE COOPERATIVE GALLERY: Hearts on the Divide, a

Concerts

SWARMIUS FUSES MUSIC AT SAC STATE: A mix of hip-hop, house,

Special Events

Art Galleries

$5. Fusion International Arts Center, 501 Arden Way; (916) 538-4008; www.fusioniac.com.

Concerts

GOSPEL GROOVE SESSION: Stolen Legacy and Mydas Touch Entertainment presents Chris O’Neal, the Skye Davis Project, Joshua James and K. Ross. This event will be hosted by Yardley Griffin Jr. and the 3-N-1 band.

This is a family-friendly event so be sure to bring the kids. Su, 2/10, 7pm. $5-$10. Guild Theatre, 2828 35th St.; (916) 732-4673.

W, 2/13, 7-10pm; W, 2/27, 7-10pm.

Sacramento Public Library will help families learn to classify birds and reptiles by their special characteristics at a free nature program. Effie Yeaw Nature Center representatives will invite participants to examine animal artifacts and meet some of the center’s live animals. The library program celebrates National Science Literacy Month. Tu, 2/12, 3:30pm.

Free. Pocket-Greenhaven Library, 7335 Gloria Dr.; (916) 264-2920; www.saclibrary.org.

local romance authors discuss their romantic suspense novels. The authors will answer questions from the audience as well as discuss writing romance in all shades of grey, from PG to erotica, historical to contemporary. Su, 2/10, 2pm.

Free. The Market Place Folsom, 1325 Riley St. in Folsom; (916) 984-4220; www.marketplacefolsom.com.

Symphony Orchestra continues the celebration of its 50thanniversary season with a concert program featuring local cellist Richard Andaya performing the solo in Dvorak’s Cello Concerto. Sa, 2/9, 6pm. $8-$24.

Sacramento City College Performing Arts Center, 3835 Freeport Blvd.; (916) 929-6655; www.camelliasymphony.org.

not by yourself, mix your voice with others and hear the harmony in the room. This is a fun and relaxing way to move your week forward. No experience is necessary, just a will to enjoy yourself and sing some songs.

NATURE PROGRAM: The

FIFTY SHADES OF ROMANCE: Four

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY: The Camellia

CHOIR BAR: If you love to sing, but

Kids’ Stuff

Literary Events

I HEART SACRAMENTO ZOO:

5. HERITAGE DESSERT TOUR

ISABEL WILKERSON: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Isabel Wilkerson spent 15 years interviewing more than 1200 people to write The Warmth of Other Suns, her epic work of narrative nonfiction that tells the story of three people who made the decision of their lives in what came to be known as the Great Migration. Don’t miss out on a chance to hear her talk about her non-fiction narrative and address various other topics. Tu, 2/12, 8pm. $20-$40. Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, 9399 Old Davis Rd. in Davis; (530) 754-2787; www.mondaviarts.org.

Classes the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge get started and who built it? Learn about the Civilian Conservation Crew that worked there and take a walk to see what they built. Pre-registration recommended. Su, 2/10, 2-3pm. $6 per vehicle.

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, 752 County Rd. 99 in Willows; (530) 934-2801; www.fws.gov/sacramentovalley refuges/index.html.

Meetings & Groups

DON’T MISS!

Music with Paint, pieces from three different Bob Bralove art series. Bralove’s vision, filled with shifting perspectives and unexpected turns, may have been influenced by his years with Stevie Wonder and Wayne Petersen, as well as the Grateful Dead. Su, 2/10, 1pm.

Free. 820 Pole Line Rd. in Davis; (530) 756-7807; www.daviscemetery.org.

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED: For this

3. VALENTINE RUN FOR LEGAL SERVICES OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

12TUES

California State Capitol, 10th and L streets; (916) 672-1048; www.thcal.us.

7pm; Th, 2/14, 7pm; F, 2/15, 7pm; Sa, 2/16, 11am, 3 & 7pm; Su, 2/17, 11am, 3 & 7pm; M, 2/18, noon & 4pm. $17-$65. Sleep Train Arena, 1 Sports Pkwy.; (800) 745-3000; http://ticketmaster.com.

STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF TIBET:

handcrafted Lodi wines paired with decadent chocolate delights at more than 45 Lodi appellation wineries. There is no charge for designated drivers. 2/9-2/10, 11am-4pm. $45-$55. Lodi Wine Country, Participating Wineries in Lodi; (209) 365-0621; www.lodiwine andchocolate.com.

Wait, there’s more!

Looking for something to do? Use SN&R’s free calendar to browse hundreds of events online.

Art galleries and musems, family events, education classes, film and literary events, church groups, music, sports, volunteer opportunies—all this and more on our free events calendar at www.newsreview.com.

Start planning your week!

ROSEVILLE GEM FAIRE: The Roseville Gem Faire features fine jewelry, gems, beads, crystals, silver, rocks and minerals for sale. More than 40 exhibitors from all over the world will be on site. Jewelry repair is available while you shop. F, 2/8, noon-6pm; Sa, 2/9,

10am-6pm; Su, 2/10, 10am-5pm.

$7 for a weekend pass. Placer County Fairgrounds, 800 All America City Blvd. in Roseville; (503) 252-8300; www.gemfaire.com.

Join others at the steps of the State Capitol and express your solidarity with the people of Tibet. W, 2/13, 3pm. Free.

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Ryu Jin Ramen House 1831 S Street, (916) 341-0488, http://ryujinramen.com Ramen is undoubtedly the Harajuku girl of the noodle world. While Japanese teenage Harajukus by bedeck themselves in rainbow kneesocks, Garrett McCord Lolita dresses and steampunk goggles—usually all in the same outfit—with this Japanese noodle dish you’ll find ramen served with minced pork, bok choy, miso and kamaboko (pressed fish paste), all in the same bowl.

Ryu Jin Ramen House is another restaurant bringing this culturally popular dish to Sacramento. It’s admittedly a challenge, considering that many North American eaters’ only experience with ramen involves cheap rating: rectangular packages that come with a flavor HH packet.

Upon entering, guests are quickly welcomed dinner for one: with a cheerful “Ohyao gozaimasu,” from the $10 - $25 staff. It’s a pleasant start, as ramen should always be a relaxed and friendly meal.

Diners can order green tea that comes in a large mug, an appreciative change from the traditional 2-ounce teacup found in many restaurants. There is also box sake—interpret that as you will.

Most of the appetizers offered here are frozen and reheated. I was informed the gyoza H (potstickers) were made in the kitchen, but flawed they were mushy and bland—no bite of scalHH lion or sour ping of vinegar, not even a hint of haS momentS ginger. Total gyoza sacrilege.

HHH Regardless, it is best to save your appetite appealing for the main event: ramen. And I mean it, as the servings here are so overwhelmingly large, HHHH authoritative you’ll likely end up taking some home.

The biggest pull at Ryu Jin are the tonkotsu HHHHH epic ramens. Tonkotsu (pork bone) is a type of ramen in which the broth is made by boiling pork bones, collagens and fats over high heat, imparting to the broth an intense pork flavor along with a creamy color and a milklike consistency.

Ryu Jin tonkotsus come in three styles.

The shiro is a straightforward tonkotsu ramen that tastes delightfully of pork. There’s also the kuro, one of the true stars of the menu: Still hungry? It’s served with a fermented black-garlic oil Search Sn&r’s that pools on the surface of the broth, as if a “dining directory” tiny oil tanker had run aground the pickled to find local ginger. This ramen offers husky earthiness, restaurants by name with that telltale balsamic sweetness that’s or by type of food.

Sushi, mexican, indian, so characteristic of black garlic. Finally, the italian—discover it aka tonkotsu glows ember red due to its being all in the “dining” drowned in a pool of sharp chili oil. At first section at taste, some may feel disappointed. Where’s the www.news review.com. heat? But then—wham!—it comes up hard and fast, like the broth is putting out a cigarette on the back of your throat. A few seconds later, it vanishes. It’s one note, but a delightful one.

Each tonkotsu has plenty of noodles, a sparse offering of thinly sliced barbecued pork called chashu, often some greens, scallions, and an ajitama (soft-boiled egg) that may or may not be cold when it should be meltingly warm with a custardy yolk.

BEFORE

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FRONTLINES

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Elsewhere on the menu, the tan tan men should not be missed. It’s ramen in a soy sauce broth with an adolescent level of spice served with ground pork, minced shiitake mushrooms, bamboo, sesame paste and a salad’s worth of spinach. Warm and comforting with a nutty sweetness, it looks and tastes like a slice of Tokyo street life.

The shoyu ramen has a soy-sauce-laced broth that comes off as salty and musky and offers everything you might want from it.

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The gyoza were mushy and bland—no bite of scallion or sour ping of vinegar, not even a hint of ginger.

Total gyoza sacrilege.

Elsewhere on the menu, best avoid the katsu don where a breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet is served over rice and adorned with bland sauce and a fresh egg. The egg and sauce saturate the pork, leaving the breading soggy. The rice is unseasoned, and the whole dish comes off as a tasteless lukewarm mess. (Katsu don should be an appealing and piping-hot mess.)

Overall, Ryu Jin offers pleasant food at a decent price. None of it is revolutionary, but it is a relaxing way to fill up. Ω

r reservations r recommended

1217 21st St | 916.440.0401 | Kuprosbistro.com istro.com

FEBRUARY EVENTS (916) 444-2423 • theporchsacramento.com

February 9 pm pm 3 -6 Deep-fried lust The craving for a deep-fried repast hits.

But don’t bother with french fries. Far more interesting is aloo tikki, a comforting rainbow of savory flavor, at Kathmandu Kitchen (1728 Broadway, www.kathmandu kitchen.com/sacramento). The appetizer ($3.75) consists of two generously sized potato croquettes served with tamarind and mint chutney (the latter contains dairy, but a mango chutney substitute is also available). Of course, Kathmandu’s kitchen has been vegan friendly for years, with more than a dozen entrees and half-a-dozen appetizers that are animalingredient free, some of which will also fill a deep-fried lust, like the vegetable pakoras. Oh, yes, it will.

F E AT U R E S T O RY

—Shoka

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Where to eat?

Here are a few recent reviews and regional recommendations by Becky Grunewald and Greg Lucas, updated regularly. Check out www.newsreview.com for more dining advice.

tables and light wooden chairs, there’s an airy atmosphere, casual and cozy. Estelle’s offers an espresso bar and a wide assortment of teas and muffins and rolls for the breakfast crowd as well as sweets, including DayGlo macarons. For the lunch-inclined, there are soups, salads, sandwiches and meat or meatless quiche. One of the authentic touches is the spare use of condiments. The smoked salmon is enlivened by dill and the flavor of its croissant. Its tomato bisque is thick and richly flavored, and, in a nice touch, a puff pastry floats in the tureen as accompaniment. There’s a lot to like about Estelle’s—except dinner. Doors close at 6 p.m. French. 901 K St., (916) 551-1500. Meal for one: $5-$10. HHH1⁄2 G.L.

Grange Restaurant & Bar You won’t

Midtown Firestone Public House A sports bar

Shady Lady Saloon So

Thai and Lao food, but go for the Lao specialties, which rely on flavoring staples such as fish sauce, lime juice, galangal and lemongrass, lots of herbs, and chilies. One of the most common dishes in Lao cuisine is larb, a dish of chopped meat laced with herbs, chilies and lime. At Asian Café, it adds optional offal add-ons—various organ meats, entrails, et al—to three versions of the dish: beef with tripe, chicken with gizzards, or pork with pork skin. The beef salad

offers a gentle respite from aggressive flavors, consisting of medium-thick chewy slices of eye of round with red bell pepper, chopped iceberg and hot raw jalapeño. The single best dish here is the nam kao tod, a crispy entree with ground pork that’s baked on the bottom of the pan with rice, then stirred and fried up fresh the next day with dried Thai chilies and scallions. Thai and Lao. 2827 Norwood Ave., (916) 641-5890. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHHH B.G.

South Sac Bánh Xèo 46A Bánh Xèo 46A is named for its signature dish, a Vietnamese egg crepe. Each one completely fills an oval-shaped platter and is served shatteringly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Bánh Xèo also offers nem nuong, or grilled pork sausages on skewers, and chao tom, a grilledshrimp dish that arrives as a flamingo-pink paste melded into a sausage shape around juicy sugarcane. The staff is friendly and and a flat-screen TV emits a constant stream of saccharine Vietnamese love

Hip hops

Ho O P

ca

DOUBLE IPA

If you sip suds, you’d have to be a complete idiot not to know that IPA stands for India pale ale, a style that in America is typically a blend of hops that impart booming floral, citrus or bitter character. Sacramentans sure love them some IPA beers, which makes February a big month for 916 hopheads. There’s good stuff from all sorts of breweries, including hot-ticket brews by Drake’s Brewing—it has a Hopocalypse double and triple IPA this month—and, of course, Russian River Brewing Company’s Pliny the Younger, a piney, dry triple that’s considered the best beer in the world by some (it’s tasty, but naturally overrated). On the local front, Knee Deep Brewing Co. and Berryessa Brewing Co. excel at brewing hoppy beers and will surely enter the IPA fray during beer week in San Francisco and, at the end of the month, here in Sac. As they say: Hop to it.

lSy p

MUST DRINK:

Beer: Harvest Ale (English barley wine aged in port casks) Brewer: J.W. Lees & Co. Where: The Davis Beer Shoppe, 211 G Street in Davis; (530) 756-5212 First ever Red Headed Step Child double IPA festival Saturday, February 9; at Samuel Horne’s Tavern, 719 Sutter Street in Folsom; (916) 293-8207; 11:30 p.m.; no cover

ypse

many bars try to do bar snacks, and so many fail. Shady Lady, however, nails it. The fried green tomatoes are punched up with a tarragon rémoulade

Asian Café Asian Café serves both

hopocol

with a focus on craft beer isn’t exactly a groundbreaking concept, but two local and prominent restaurant families, the Wongs and the DeVere Whites, know what Sacramento wants: good beer; solid pub grub; and a casual, unpretentious atmosphere. Here, the bar is the centerpiece with a full stock of liquor and 60 beers on draught. The menu features savory appetizers—the tortilla soup with poached chicken, avocado and tomato is particularly noteworthy—and a selection of sandwiches and pizzas, including a simple pie with fresh mozzarella and tomato sauce.

American. 1132 16th St., (916) 446-0888.

Dinner for one: $15-$20.

HHH B.G.

North Sac

and the huge charcuterie board is more like a groaning board, stocked with abundant regional meats and cheeses. The pickle plate looks like Peter Rabbit’s dream, all teeny turnips and tangy carrot chunks. Generally excellent, the saloon’s cocktail list veers from the classics with a list of bartender-created drinks with unusual, but wisely considered flavor combinations: cilantro and tequila, blackberry and thyme, and the surprisingly sublime mixture of celery and pineapple. American. 1409 R St., (916) 231-9121. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHH1⁄2 B.G.

DRake's

find any “challenging” dishes on this menu—just delicious local and seasonal food such as the Green Curry & Pumpkin Soup, which has a Southeast-Asian flair. A spinach salad features ingredients that could be considered boring elsewhere: blue-cheese dressing, bacon, onion. But here, the sharply cheesy buttermilk dressing and the woodsy pine nuts make it a salad to remember. Grange’s brunch puts other local offerings to shame. The home fries are like marvelously crispy Spanish patatas bravas. A grilled-hamand-Gruyere sandwich is just buttery enough, and an eggwhite frittata is more than a

bone thrown to the cholesterolchallenged, it’s a worthy dish in its own right. American. 926 J St., (916) 492-4450. Dinner for one: $40-$60. HHHH B.G.

SH AY

BY HA YL EY DO

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HL Hot Pot HL Hot Pot is the type of place that lends itself to a convivial, communal experience where the food seems secondary. It works like this: Servers take your order and then wheel broth and ingredients over on a silver cart. Broths are served two to a segregated pot and plunked onto the table-side burner. The beef broth is essentially pho, heavy on the star anise. The house broth is hardly subtle, with whole cloves and Chinese dates floating therein. The miso shows a light hand with the dashi and miso paste, and the Thai-style broth exhibits tart lemongrass. The key is that the soup boils down over time and becomes saltier, more concentrated and deeper tasting as the meal progresses.

Choose from fish, beef, poultry, vegetable and tofu add-ins— the pleasant, layered, slippery texture of the tofu skin is a revelation. Asian. 6930 65th St., Ste. 117; (916) 706-3299. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHH B.G.

Tacos & Beer This is one of the area’s best Michoacán restaurants. Of its regional dishes, the enchiladas Apatzingán are unusual, filled with only a smattering of sharp cheese and diced onion, soaked in a vinegary sauce, and smothered in very lightly pickled, shredded cabbage with raw hunks of radish and avocado slices. Another specialty is the morisqueta—the ultimate

comfort dish due to the unique texture of the white rice, which is as soft as an angel’s buttock. Diners also have the option to order hand-shaped, griddled-to-order tortillas.

They are warm, soft, taste like corn and barely resemble those cardboard things you get at the store. Mexican. 5701 Franklin Blvd., (916) 428-7844. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHH1⁄2 B.G.

Arden/ Carmichael Famous Kabob It seems like if you’ve had one kebab, you’ve had them all. But as its name implies, Famous Kabob doesn’t disappoint. A skewer of juicy steak sports a nice chew to satisfy any craving. Another of ground beef is flavored with chopped onion and a hint of cinnamon. The braised lamb shank in a tomato-and-saffron sauce tastes best when the sauce has cooled a little bit and the lamb fat coats the meat like a silken sauce. With deft use of dried herbs and acidic flavors that brighten the dishes and stimulate the taste buds, these are meals that are quietly hearty and nourishing. Persian.

1290 Fulton Ave., (916) 483-1700.

Dinner for one: $10-$20.

HHHH B.G.

Phaya Thai Thai places seem to define heat differently. At some, requesting “medium hot” still leaves lips tingling for many minutes afterward, while “hot” causes eyes to bleed and steam to gush from ears.

Phaya is more circumspect in

its application of heat. Medium is barely so and hot is closer to medium. Here, the tom kha gai coconut soup is a bit sugary but, in its vegetarian iteration, brimming with plenty of tofu, dried red peppers with seeds, mushrooms, tomato wedges, galanga and cilantro. Thai fried—as with Thai sweet and sour—is far less heavy than entrees of the same name offered by the region’s northern neighbor, China. Pleasantly provocative is the avocado curry—a panang curry featuring myriad slices of avocado.

Portions are large here: The beef salad is enough for two and does have some heated heft. Another salad worth consideration is one featuring a sweet, chewy sausage with plenty of cucumbers, red onion and mint. Refreshing, particularly on a hot Sacramento day.

Thai. 4310 Marconi Ave., (916) 482-5019. Dinner for one: $10-$15. HHH1⁄2 G.L.

Land Park/ Curtis Park Pangaea Two Brews Cafe Tables, tall and short, are large and communal, fostering that casual camaraderie that should be the goal of any selfrespecting brewpub. There’s a fairly extensive menu, including breakfast items. Not to put too fine a point on it: Pangaea’s offerings are not beers that will be found at a Save Mart Supermarket or even Nugget.

They are nuanced. Brewed with artisanship. In some cases, for hundreds of years. There’s the

IllustratIon by Mark stIvers

songs. Vietnamese.

7837 Stockton Blvd., Ste. 700; (916) 476-4895. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHHH1⁄2 B.G.

usual panoply of French dip, hot pastrami, Reuben and so on.

Among the signature offerings is The Gobbler. Turkey, natch.

Cranberry sauce, natch. Then red onion, several roma tomato slices, a thicket of green leaf and pepper jack cheese, all shoehorned into a big baguette.

Brewpub. 2743 Franklin Blvd., (916) 454-4942. Dinner for one: $10-$20. HHH1⁄2 G.L.

Natomas Pork Belly Grub Shack Pork Belly Grub Shack encourages customers to pig out with menu items that include a catfish po’boy, steak options and several burgers. For vegetarians there’s the Porkless Bella Burger, a portobello mushroom and jack cheese sandwich with tomato and mixed greens. But who the hell wants steak and chicken and big-headed mushrooms at a place that so proudly promotes pork belly? Go whole hog with the Big Piggin. The first bite is salty and sweet with a rich beef patty, barbecue sauce, cheddar, a strong splash of garlic aioli and sliced pork belly. The Hot Mess is similar, sans pork belly burger and served on sourdough with a fried egg. This kind of hogwild legerdemain, mixing and matching items found elsewhere on the menu, is what elevates this grub shack to well beyond a simple sandwich place. American. 4261 Truxel Rd., (916) 285-6100. Dinner for one: $8-$12. HHHH G.L.

A Perfect Valentine Bite!

Cake walkabout If you’re looking to impress your significant other with an early Valentine’s Day surprise, then it’s a no-brainer to purchase tickets to the Sacramento Heritage Dessert Tour this Saturday, February 9. Hosted by Sacramento Heritage Inc., a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to promote and preserve Sacramento’s architectural heritage,” this stroll through Midtown is led by local history expert William Burg. He’ll meet participants at noon at Midtown Village Cafe (1827 I Street) and lead a walking tour that features dessert stores both old (Rick’s Dessert Diner, 2322 K Street) and new (TreyBCakes, 1801 L Street, Suite 70; and Devine Gelateria & Cafe, 1221 19th Street). In other words, it’s the best way to destroy your New Year’s resolution diet plan since Sacramento Bacon Fest. After the two-hour tour, prepare to be full of sugar as well as sweet tidbits of historical facts from Burg’s encyclopedic knowledge of the capital’s history. Tickets cost $30 in advance and can be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/299059.

—Jonathan Mendick

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new Loc Elk Grove 8555 Elk Grove Blvd • 54 .74 86 916.6

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B E F O R E | F R O N T L I N E S | F E A T U R E S T O R Y | A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R |

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02.07.13 | SN&R | 33

Come celebrate

ZeLDA’S PIZZA’S

35

TH

ANNIVERSARY

PARTY saturday, February 16 • 5pm

Featuring The

BONGO

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with special guests, including STeVe WALL

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FIND OF THE WEEK

Gateway subculture Well met Now that we’ve got the guys from The Big Bang Theory to make jokes about ’em on TV, the whole world knows about Renaissance fairs, those gatherings of fans of the nonindoor-plumbing, rough-spun past. In Well Met: Renaissance Faires and the American Counterculture (NYU Press, $35), Rachel Lee Rubin exambOOK ines their 50-year history, first as a getaway for unworldly hippie types, then evolving from an arts-and-crafts gathering to an entire subculture.

She’s less concerned with the role-playing aspects than with the way that the fair became a countercultural space that felt safe for those in the mainstream.

In other words: How did all those weirdos make a place that’s so much fun to visit with your kids?

—Kel Munger

Drama unleashed—finally marGaret Margaret is probably the most provocative, messy, brilliant, frustrating, relentlessly reckless and operatic drama that you’ve never heard of. Director-writer Kenneth Lonergan made a huge splash with 2000’sYou DVD Can Count on Me, spent two years on the script for Margaret, started shooting in 2005 and then struggled to meet the film’s contractual run time of 150 minutes. Now available as a DVD and Blu-ray Disc combination ($39.99, at Amazon.com), the film chronicles the emotional spasms of a Manhattan prep-school girl (Anna Paquin) traumatized by a fatal traffic accident is like saying Noah’s Ark is about a flood, so be prepared for a harrowing, lingering rollercoaster ride riddled with unforgettable hot-potato dialogue exchanges. Matt Damon also stars.

—Mark Halverson

Ride weird Pee-Wee InSPIred SkInSuIt

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—Aaron Carnes

34 | SN&R | 02.07.13

Pointe shoes and Prohibition Sacramento Ballet’S the Great GatSBy Good news, everybody: That English paper you wrote back in high school about the East Egg and the green light at the end of the dock is about to come in handy. With its recent resurgence via a much-anticipated DANCE film by Baz Luhrmann (due in movie theaters this spring) and now, the world debut of a production by the Sacramento Ballet, it’s safe to say that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel, The Great Gatsby, is going to be the theme of many a cocktail party this year.

The enduring cast of starcrossed characters stumbling through the Roaring ’20s and a world of decadence comes to life behind the choreography of artistic director Ron Cunningham—Gatsby is his first original ballet in five years. Accompanied by Billy Novick’s Blue Syncopators, the production promises plenty of glitz, glamor, scandal and heartbreak. Legendary choreographer George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, set to the Prohibitionera tunes of George Gershwin, is also on the program.

For anyone that is really into the Charleston and gin fizzes, the Great Gatsby Prohibition Party will follow the closing-night matinee at the Memorial Memorial Auditorium (1515 J Street) Street) on Sunday, February 10, at 7 p.m.; tickets are ary $250 and include dinner and $250 drinks. Thursday through Saturday, February 7-9, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, February 10, at 2 p.m.; $16-$67.

Sacramento Community Center Center Theater, 1301 L Street; (916) (916) 808-5181; www.sacballet.org.

—Deena Drewis

The passion of the purpose Burned out at age 48, I sold my house for a sizable profit and quit a wellpaying job to fulfill a lifelong dream. I marched into Hollywood with the vision that I would never have to work again. Four years later, I gave up and returned briefly to my former career. Since then, especially after taking care of my mother full-time before she died, I have spiraled. Addicted to baseball

by Joey ga cards and small gambling rcia junkets, I am broke and depressed. I cannot draw from a s kj oe y @ ne wsreview.c om my retirement savings for tax reasons. I have a modest pension that barely pays my rent Joey and essentials. Otherwise, I would be on the street. I have not worked is having trouble in five years, so I have an employstaying away from Rick’s Dessert Diner ment gap and no new skills. I feel on K Street. like I have nothing to offer. How do I reclaim my passion and purpose?

Passion and purpose are the result of being engaged with your vocation, a calling that aligns your talents and dreams with service to the world. That’s very different than your ego wishing for an endless vacation. Wait, that’s what you have now, right? You’re not employed, yet basic needs are met. The problem is that your lifestyle is in conflict with your

Healing begins when your addictions end.

That includes your addiction to thinking of yourself as a failure.

Got a problem?

Write, email or leave a message for Joey at the News & Review.

Give your name, telephone number (for verification purposes only) and question—all correspondence will be kept strictly confidential.

Write Joey, 1124 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815; call (916) 498-1234, ext. 3206; or email askjoey@ newsreview.com.

expectations. Why not adjust your expectations? Doing so will ease distress because resistance to your reality creates stress. It would also help to understand the spiritual difference between a dream and a fantasy. A dream is a vision that a person commits to birth into reality. Creation requires labor, internally (confronting the beliefs that attempt to distract or dissuade you) and externally (pushing that dream through the labyrinth of life’s obstacles until it can breathe on its own). By contrast, a fantasy is mind candy. It’s pleasant to think about, but not worth the sweat and grunt work required to heave it into existence.

To truly understand whether you pursued a fantasy or a calling, ask yourself what motivated you to be an actor. If it was the passion to embody stories, you were on the right track. You just misjudged the time it would take to complete the journey. But if your mind answers the question by conjuring images of you onstage accepting awards or smiling from the cover of People magazine, maybe what you wanted was to be admired. Admiration is one possible byproduct of a career well-done, but it is not sufficient motivation to ensure success.

Healing begins when your addictions end. That includes your addiction to thinking of yourself as a failure. Your stint in Hollywood was an adventure that taught you about your possibilities and limitations.

Celebrate the knowledge you gained about yourself. And stop worrying about becoming homeless. Learn to be at home within yourself instead.

Gambling and buying baseball cards burns cash, and that maintains your addiction to the fear of losing everything. What is it you really want to prove about yourself?

Living on the edge might be a symptom of grief. The death of your mother and the weight of serving as her caregiver may be affecting you more than you realize. You can grow in awareness of your gifts by volunteering to serve others, especially the homeless. Make a conscious effort to stop judging yourself according to the people who have climbed the ladder of success ahead of you. Begin instead to reach behind you and lift someone else up. When you are ready to seek employment, be honest. Explain your four years in Hollywood as self-employment. Then list yourself as caregiver for your mother. But before you begin to apply for jobs, see a mental-health counselor to process your depression and ensure that it doesn’t alternate with manic acts that could cause serious harm to your finances. Ω

Meditation of the Week “I felt it shelter to speak to you,” wrote Emily Dickinson. Would everyone you encounter say the same of you? Isn’t that what it means to love your neighbor?

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In short, it’s a good musical for grownups, and that’s precisely the way it plays at LOTS, as directed by Katie Daley.

One after another, the familiar characters— Cinderella (Sara Haugland); Jack, of beanstalk fame (John Unrath), Little Red Riding Hood (Kelly Cullity performs this role from February 1-10, after which it will be assumed by Jennifer Morrison)—and the characters added by Sondheim—the Baker (Mike Yee) and his wife (Danielle Hansen)—head into the woods. All of them want something. More precisely, they desire something enough to seek it out.

And, in this case, desires—wishes, if you will—have consequences.

The lead roles are all wonderfully cast, including Cinderella’s Prince (Chris Baad, who also plays the Wolf with lascivious hunger) and Rapunzel’s Prince (Elio Gutierrez). They’re joined by an outstanding performance from Margherita Valeriano as the Witch and excellent work from Mike Baad in

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dual roles (Narrator and Mysterious Man). The scene stealer—in a comic role with minimal singing—is Troy Turpen as Jack’s beloved cow, Milky White.

Production values are top-notch, with fantastically detailed costumes from Debbie Baad, including ball gowns and an udderly perfect cow outfit. The drawback is the usual difficulty with sound in the 24th Street Theatre; performers singing from upstage weren’t picked up clearly, and some lyrics sounded muddled as a result.

But on another note, the orchestra, under the direction of Philip Daley, deserves kudos. Live music always adds an extra dimension to a production, in this case giving us some “magic beans” with oomph and a giant with umph, not to mention outstanding accompaniment.

Be mindful that these particular fairy tales aren’t edited for tender eyes and ears; wishes have consequences, the woods are dark, and you never know exactly what might befall you in the wild. Ω

2No cause for rejoice A Life

Celebration Arts doesn’t seem to want to be taken seriously. Its latest production, A Life, written by Anne L. Peters and directed by James Wheatley, tells the story of septuagenarian Eunice Katem (Patricia Coleman), a Jamaican immigrant dealing with her declining years and friendships.

The play itself is a sound piece of theater, combining touching monologues with subtle character interactions. The harsh reality of geriatric care is given a strong voice in Peters’ work. The cast also performs to the best of its ability: always in the moment.

These issues, however, seem to be exacerbated by the poor quality of the production’s technical ability. A recurring issue at Celebration Arts occurs after the preshow announcements when the lights go down and the audience is left in silence and darkness as actors and technicians are heard scurrying and muttering behind the stage.

Sound cues are never on time and pull attention from the story. The lights also go up and down incorrectly throughout the play, and it’s obvious to any audience member that someone in the technical booth is listening to music and, what’s more, not paying attention to the stage.

This is not a new complaint about Celebration Arts, which should be able, after 27 years, to produce shows with basic lights and sound. The company, once known as a unique powerhouse in Sacramento, is in many ways one of the most important theaters we have in our city, but lately it seems to be settling on producing lazy theater.

—Maxwell McKee

A Life, 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; $8-$15. Through March 3. Celebration Arts, 4469 D Street; (916) 455-2787; www.celebrationarts.net.

Now Playing

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ANASTASIA KRUPNIK

Lois Lowry’s Anastasia Krupnik has some comic episodes, but this show has some dramatic gravity as well, as 10-year-old Anastasia faces transitions such as the unexpected arrival of a baby brother. Anastasia stares down her parents and blurts out, “Aren’t you too old?” And where’s the baby going to fit in their tiny apartment? The fast-changing family dynamics play out believably, with Sara Perry as the energetic and mercurial Anastasia, Kurt Johnson as the 40-something dad, and Brittni Barger as the 30-something mom. Director Elisabeth Nunziato handles the story deftly. Sa, Su 1 & 4pm. Through 2/17. $18-$27. B Street Theatre, 2711 B St.; (916) 443-5300; www.bstreettheatre.org. J.H.

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ANNUAL COMEDY ONE ACTS

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CARAPACE

Here, David Pierini plays an arguably successful longtime sports anchor on a local TV news station, but early on, we sense that this is a cautionary tale, not a comedy, with a tragic outcome in store. Pierini seizes the opportunity and mounts one of the best performances we’ve seen him give. Pierini’s character is likeable, but he drinks too much. He can hide it from most people, but his family isn’t fooled—they eventually cut him off. Th 2 & 7pm; F 7pm; Sa 8pm; Su 1pm; T, W 7pm Through 2/24. $23-$35. B Street Theatre, B3 Stage, 2727 B St.; (916) 443-5300; www.bstreettheatre.org. J.H.

5

COMPLETE AND UNFINISHED

Jack Gallagher, a Sacramento homeboy who has successfully cobbled together a 30-year-comedy career, has also made a name for himself with his reflective one-man shows.

Previous efforts revolved around a particular person or issue, but Complete and Unfinished meanders through a cornucopia of subject matter. The set is a home office with a writing desk and a huge bulletin board where Gallagher jots down ideas, titles and names on index cards and tacks them up on the board. In a clever concept, he acts out the writing and creation of a new production by coming up with various ideas and themes, which results in observational storytelling and even some audience participation. Th, F 8pm; Sa 5 & 9pm; Su 2pm;

THINK FREE.

Though the production is held together with kite string instead of thread, the Actor’s Workshop of Sacramento, helmed by Ed Claudio, manage to score a handful of chuckles with its collection of hit-and-miss one acts. F, Sa 8pm; Su 2pm. Through 2/24. $15-$17. Actor’s Workshop of Sacramento at the Three Penny Playhouse, 1721 25th St.; (916) 583-4880; www.actinsac.com. M.M.

Tu 6:30pm; W 2 & 6:30pm. Through 2/24.

$23-$35. B Street Theatre, 2711 B St.; (916) 443-5300; www.bstreettheatre.org. P.R.

4

THE NORTH PLAN

This clever, kickass comedy about a Homeland Security takeover contains “strong language, loud gunfire and rampant conspiracy theories.” The unconventional heroine is Tanya, a sassy petty criminal with no filters (Katie Rubin, in a knockout performance) who joins forces with a local bureaucrat and two police reps while battling a couple of H.S. officers. Audaciously funny. Th, F, Sa 8pm; Su 2pm; W 7pm. Through 2/24. $22-$32.

Capital Stage, 2215 J St.; (916) 995-5464; www.capstage.org. P.R.

Short reviews by Jim Carnes, Jeff Hudson, Maxwell McKee and Patti Roberts.

Please drink responsibly.

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cheers, sacramento! celebrate sacramento beer Week February 22-march 3 Don’t miss your chance to aDvertise in our special beer Week insert, on stanDs February 21.

Dawn of the undead Warm Bodies Warm Bodies goes straight on to my guilty-pleasures list. It’s the latest entry in a rare but amusing pop-culture tradition dating back at least as by Jim Lane far as 1955’s Joe MacBeth, which reimagined Shakespeare’s famed play among the gangs of Chicago. More famously, there was Forbidden Planet, which used the bare bones of The Tempest to support a pre-Star Trek yarn of interstellar exploration.

Warm Bodies is set in the fairly near future, after a zombie plague has swept the globe, dividing civilization into survivors huddled in

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4 book your space now (916) 498-1234 38 | SN&R | 02.07.13

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the wreckage behind makeshift but formidable walls against those outside those walls: a race of staring, decaying zombies. These gray ghouls, shuffling around the runways and concourses of an abandoned airport, have no apparent memory of their past identities; all they know is to stumble into town occasionally on one of their periodic raids in search of living human flesh to feed upon. Among them is a young man (Nicholas Hoult) who may have been anywhere between 18 and 22 when the plague took him; he doesn’t remember his name, but he thinks it may have begun with an “R.” Meanwhile, on the human side of the wall, there’s the daughter (Teresa Palmer) of the enclave’s commander (John Malkovich); her name is Julie. Hmm …

“R” and Julie—is this ringing any bells?

Before R meets Julie—even before we do—he shows evidence of being less zombified than the other denizens of the airport.

He has a lair of his own in one of the derelict planes on the runway where he likes to listen to vinyl LPs from the heyday of rock ‘n’ roll.

He even has a friendship of sorts with a fellow zombie (Rob Corddry); they meet every day in one of the abandoned bars to sit and, after their fashion, converse in growling, inarticulate syllables. (You know, guy talk.) It isn’t much, but it’s more than any of the other zombies can manage—they barely acknowledge each other’s existence.

R and Julie’s paths cross when Julie, her boyfriend Perry (Dave Franco) and her best friend Nora, who happens to be an aspiring nurse (Sacramento native Analeigh Tipton), all venture outside the walls on a patrol to forage for supplies and dispatch any wandering zombies with bullets to their heads. R and a gang of his own attack them, R kills Perry and begins devouring him. But when he gets to eating the brain, he also ingests Perry’s memories of Julie. When he sees Julie cowering in the corner amid the slaughter, he recognizes her, and the late Perry’s memory kindles a spark of humanity in R. Rather than make Julie the next course on his menu, he smuggles her back to his airplane apartment, making her shuffle and stagger so the surrounding zombies will mistake her for one of them.

To be honest, it took me a while to get the Romeo and Juliet analogy in Warm Bodies, mainly because for much of the first half, it seems to be following more of a Beauty and the Beast arc, with a heaping dollop of zombie Tarzan learning to communicate with his human Jane while shielding her from the beasts of an undead jungle.

But in my own defense, at least it dawned on me before we got to the balcony scene. Yes, there’s a balcony scene, with Julie hissing by moonlight to R below: “What are you doing here? They’ll kill you!” It was one of those “duh!” moments—R, Julie, Perry instead of Paris, Nora the Nurse; even R’s zombie pal, his Mercutio, if you will, eventually remembers that his name is Marcus. Up to that point, I admit, I had been sneering and sniffing at Warm Bodies, but from there, it seem to get cleverer and sweeter—and more fun—by the minute. (We all know how Romeo and Juliet ends, but, ahem, well, let’s just say it doesn’t pay to be too literal.)

These gray ghouls, shuffling around the runways and concourses of an abandoned airport, have no apparent memory of their past identities.

Writer-director Jonathan Levine (who also directed 2011’s shamefully underrated 50/50) manages against all odds to maintain the delicate balance of horror, comedy and romance that marks Isaac Marion’s novel.

So, yes, for me, Warm Bodies is a guilty pleasure. But frankly, it’s high enough on the list that I really don’t feel all that guilty about it. Ω

by JONATHAN KIeFeR & JIM LANe

4

Amour

From the elegantly pitiless Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke, here’s a chamber play of sorts about the most basic human stuff: love and death. (Significantly, love alone is what the title comes down to.) It stars Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva as an elderly Parisian couple coming to terms with the end of their life together, along with Haneke regular Isabelle Huppert as a vexed daughter. Maybe no other living filmmaker can so frankly—and, yes, compassionately—assay the buildup to bereavement, that universal terror of lost companionship and certainty and consolation. It’s not just because the leads are elderly that this movie makes so many others seem like trite juvenilia. J.K.

2

Bullet to the Head

A New Orleans hit man (Sylvester Stallone) and a Washington, D.C., cop (Sung Kang) form an uneasy alliance when their respective partners are killed by the same gang.

Here, the French graphic novel by Alexis “Matz” Nolent is retooled by writer Alessandro Camon and director Walter Hill as a vehicle for Stallone, more or less indistinguishable from every other movie he’s made for the last, oh, 200 or 300 years. Stallone blew past self-parody years ago, but he’s always had a middling flair for comedy (Oscar and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot) that his audience never warmed to; still, it makes his snarling banter with Kang between gunfights the best parts here. For the rest, it’s business as usual for Stallone to charm yet another generation of fans. Some things never change; it’s almost comforting, in a way. J.L.

3

Django Unchained

Just know it’s the sort of movie whose premiere gets postponed in the wake of school shootings and whose dialogue contains so many N-bombs that people have glumly gotten down to counting them. Sure, the word was common enough in the 1850s, but Quentin Tarantino is not exactly a paragon of historical verisimilitude. Here, again, the audacious everadolescent revisionist just wants us to know how, like, awesome our history would’ve been as one big bloody badass overlong Westernblaxploitation whatsit. Christoph Waltz plays a voluble and worldly bounty hunter who frees the eponymous hero, played by Jamie Foxx, to rescue his wife, played by Kerry Washington, from a brutal plantation lord played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Gangsta vengeance and tedium ensues. All told, good taste might have been more offensive. Waltz is wonderful, Foxx is deliberately less a character than a trope, and DiCaprio a bit of a bore, except in that he seems to enjoy acting again. Maybe the real revelation is Samuel L. Jackson in a career-capping turn as the slaveholder’s elderly houseman, a sort of terrible and riveting Tarantino apotheosis, or at least an antithesis of the actor’s role as Spike Lee’s Mister Señor Love Daddy. J.K.

4

Gangster Squad

Director Ruben Fleischer and writer Will Beall (taking off from Paul Lieberman’s book) recount the efforts of Los Angeles police in 1949 to bring down mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn, succulently hammy) with a handpicked detail of maverick cops (led by an iron-jawed Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling, cranking the charm factor up to 11). The movie is largely fictitious, but golly gee, what swell fiction it is! A smart, snappy script, nonstop gun-blazing action, and a powerhouse cast (Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, Michael Peña, plus Emma Stone for glamour) all add up to an exciting throwback to the Warner Bros. gangster movies of the early sound era, punched over with grit, wit and the glowing retro sheen of L.A. Confidential (cinematographer Dion Beebe really outdoes himself). J.L.

2

A Haunted House

A Los Angeles suburbanite (Marlon Wayans) is thrilled that his girlfriend (Essence Atkins) is moving in with him, but gets more than he bargained for when she appears to bring a ghost along with her. Written

by Wayans and Rick Alvarez and (allegedly) directed by Michael Tiddes, this parody of found-video horror flicks has a few scattered laughs, but it’s missing one essential ingredient: somebody to tell Marlon Wayans when he isn’t being funny. Scenes that might have been good for a chuckle go on and on, as if Tiddes had left the camera running while he stepped out for a smoke. Wayans has real (if undisciplined) talent, and Atkins has a nice comic edge, but the most reliable laugh-getter is Cedric

BEFORE

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2 5 0 8 L A N D PA R K D R I V E L A N D PA R K & B R O A D WAY F R E E PA R K I N G A D J A C E N T T O T H E AT R E “STANDOUT PERFORMANCES FROM PACINO, WALKEN & ARKIN.” - Duane Byrge, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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Side Effects

Drawing plot parallels between insider trading and drug-company greed, this tale of comfortable yet variously depressed Manhattanites seems at first to lean toward deadpan satire. Then come the shades of retro thriller noir, and the mind games between a well-meaning dupe and a foxy femme fatale. As to the who’s who and what’s what, that’s best revealed by the movie itself, but it may help to know that key players include Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Also, the director is Steven Soderbergh at his coolly mercurial best and in that exciting middle ground between experiment and entertainment, where formal playfulness goes very well with great faces. Ultimately, this could be a movie that’s really only about the lethal dreamy beauty of its stars. Soderbergh says he’s quitting film after this, but he’s made similar threats before. Maybe he’s just depressed or hiding something. J.K.

the Entertainer as a phony minister spouting “scripture” cribbed from Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Pulp Fiction. J.L.

3

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Having done all right with his Lord of the Rings, director Peter Jackson returns to the fantasy fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien and another planned nine-hour trilogy, beginning with this overlong but eventually appealing first installment. As the eponymous diminutive, Martin Freeman excels at comporting himself with kooky company, particularly by means of self-effacement. Obediently, the movie also provides not just the requisite CGI spectacles but a few of the previous trilogy’s other human touches: the patient wizardry of Ian McKellen; the elfin nobility of Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving; the moistly sibilant voice and motion-captured form of Andy Serkis. J.K.

3

Les Misérables

The opera-lite smash from Victor Hugo’s novel comes to the screen, with ex-con Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), his dogged pursuer Javert (Russell Crowe), the doomed Fantine (Anne Hathaway), her daughter Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) et al, under the direction of Tom Hooper. There is much to respect in the movie, and the show’s fans will no doubt be satisfied. But they may find it less stirring here than on the stage as Hooper does make an occasional hash of things: unimaginative staging, often sloppy editing and the much-vaunted live singing on the set is at best a mixed blessing. Still, the production is lavish, the casting (including Eddie Redmayne as Marius and Samantha Barks as Éponine) is spot-on. The highlight comes early on, with Hathaway’s searing rendition of the show’s most famous song, “I Dreamed a Dream.” J.L.

2

Mama

A bohemian artist (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his goth-rocker girlfriend (Jessica Chastain) gain custody of his two young nieces when they are found in a remote forest cabin five years after being kidnapped by their suicidal father (also Coster-Waldau)—and they also acquire the malevolent presence that kept them safe all that time. A story so removed from reality is bound to be creepy and unsettling—it’s the menace in the commonplace that makes for real horror—and director Andrés Muschietti pulls every cheap trick (including executive producer Guillermo del Toro’s trademark bug fetish) to the

FRONTLINES

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SACRAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW

usual cheap-scare effect. Chastain nobly carries a script patently unworthy of her; her rise has been so swift that here she is “paying her dues” in junk when she’s already got two Oscar nominations to her credit. J.L.

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Parker

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Zero Dark Thirty

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When the leader of a million-dollar heist (Jason Statham) is double-crossed by his cohorts and left for dead, he trails them incognito to Palm Beach, Florida, where he enlists the unwitting aid of a struggling real-estate agent (Jennifer Lopez). Donald E. Westlake’s anithero makes a good fit for Statham (though it’s a mystery why the star’s hilariously clumsy Texas accent doesn’t blow his cover), and director Taylor Hackford and writer John J. McLaughlin do a creditable enough job with the material. True, Hackford lets the suspense go a little slack while he dawdles over the gorgeous scenery (courtesy of the Florida Film Commission and cinematographer J. Michael Muro), but the action is steady and the cast strong with Michael Chiklis as Statham’s antagonist, Nick Nolte as his mentor, Patti LuPone as Lopez’s soap-opera-addicted mother. J.L.

3.9 X 2.75

sacramento! celebrate sacramento beer Week February 22-march 3 Don’t miss your chance to aDvertise in our special beer Week insert, on stanDs February 21.

Unavoidably the movie of the year, Kathryn Bigelow’s controversial quasijournalistic thriller, dramatized from original reporting by screenwriter Mark Boal, surveys the decade-long quest to bring down Osama bin Laden. A taut procedural spun from the point of view of Jessica Chastain’s lone wolf CIA analyst, the film seems temperamentally more tenacious than triumphalist, and maybe therefore also as lucid an elaboration of the “war on terror” as we can ever hope to get from Hollywood. But has anyone asked why we should ever hope to get such a thing from Hollywood? Neither the Obama re-election commercial nor the torture apologia some blowhards feared it would be, Zero Dark Thirty certainly captures the cultural legacy of 9/11 and reveals the euphemized brutalities of recent American foreign policy. It’s also a superb example of contemporary political-thriller vernacular, all the way through to its methodical and disturbingly amazing night-vision climax.

If this endorses anything, it’s the opportunism of movies. J.K.

F E AT U R E S T O RY

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february tattoo specials

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Almost famous On its journey to becoming the not-so next big thing, Pomegranate survived the ’90s, lineup changes and continental divide

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Just a warning: Listening to Pomegranate’s cohesive, textured collection of alternative-rock songs as featured on the band’s latest EP, Ahead and by Aaron Carnes Behind, might not be the best preparation for one of the band’s diverse, high-energy live shows.

“We visit all of those different flavors in our live shows,” says drummer Michael Creason. “A punk song can sit next to a country song can sit next to a roots song can sit next to a jazzy-style song.”

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buzz, in fact, Billboard magazine featured it on its cover in 1994, naming it one of the top 10 unsigned bands in the country. Eventually, the band landed a deal with Treat & Release (a subsidiary of A&M Records).

“A lot of things happened in a very brief time. It was all very exciting,” Canaan says now. “[But] once you get signed and you’re not a massive success right out of the gate, pretty much everybody sees you as ‘been there, done that.’”

The timing for the band was seemingly right—this was an era, after all, during which most labels were on the hunt for “alternative rock” and grunge, thanks to the overwhelming success of Nirvana.

“It seemed so real. It seemed like it was going to happen.

It’s such a fantasy world,” says bassist Adam Twain.

Six months after signing with Treat & Release, the label folded—and with it it the frenzy around the band. And so the members of Pomegranate continued, releasing albums on its own.

Obstacles continued to get in the band’s way: Pomegranate’s original drummer quit, and Canaan moved to the United Kingdom for his job. He returned to California in 2009, but in the time between, he and Twain continued to write music.

Catch Pomegranate Saturday, February 9; at 8 p.m. at Naked Lounge, 1111 H Street; $5; www.pomegranate band.com.

The songs on the EP, however, are spacious and moody, built around subtly complex arrangements, midtempo beats and raw guitar work—all with a ’90s vibe that falls somewhere between a polished Dinosaur Jr. album and the Lemonheads’ later work.

Originally formed in 1993 in Oakland, Pomegranate, whose members now call Sacramento home, watched as a majority of the acts around them broke up. Instead of following suit, the band stuck it out, grounded by its love of playing.

“We’re not looking to become rock stars. It’s about the music. It’s about enjoyment,” says the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist Gavin Canaan.

OK, so it’s easy for a band to claim they aren’t trying to be rock stars, but in Pomegranate’s case, it’s true. In fact, they almost became the next big thing in the ’90s.

During the band’s first year, as it played shows up and down the West Coast, it found itself approached by several label scouts.

Eventually, the group recorded a single and sent it to radio stations. The program director of KCRW in Santa Monica heard it, called the band and invited it to Southern California for an in-studio performance and interview.

Afterward, Pomegranate’s phone started ringing off the hook. The band earned so much

“ Once you get signed and you’re not a massive success right out of the gate, pretty much everybody sees you as ‘been there, done that.’”

Gavin Canaan Pomegranate These days, the band is exclusively stateside and, in some ways, still honing its sound.

Even with two decades’ worth of diverse material in its catalog, it’s easy to find a common thread in the band’s subtle, intelligent approach to songwriting.

It’s an approach, Canaan says, that may never find a particularly big mainstream audience.

“I always think that that’s the best music that I like,” Canaan says. “[Music] that I can’t necessarily understand right away.” Ω

Shop with SSwa eetie! ve up to

Punk soul brothers High jinks and kazoo solos galore: When it first started last summer, Punch and Pie Production’s monthly Punk Rock Hootenanny at The Press Club consisted of a handful of musicians from various bands performing solo for one night.

In the past, unexpected talents even stopped in for a song or two to engage audience members. That happened, for example, when Kevin Seconds dropped in for a three-song performance in December 2012. In any case, the Hootenanny exists mainly as a night for mostly acoustic-style renditions that cover a wide mix of genres from a diverse group of men, women and ages.

Sure, the Hootenanny always has a few scheduled performances, but not even a set list can put a stop to stage high jinks—or hijacks—kazoo solos and the hodgepodge of minisuperbands that suddenly form.

To that end, the show on January 30, was the largest, loudest and most occupied hootenanny to date. The lineup consisted of Danny Secretion (the Secretions), Lys Mayo and Jordan Wolfe (Urban Wolves), Minh Quan (City of Vain), brothers Patrick and Sean Hills (Bastards of Young), plus many others, who all convened to play a variety of hits from the past.

Some did venture to perform solo, while others banded together for covers, such as Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May,” Jawbreaker’s “Kiss the Bottle,” the Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” and even a take on the Champs’ “Tequila”—the latter which sent the whole bar shouting or singing along. OK, well, mostly shouting along.

A majority of the night’s performers belonged to either local punk or hardcore bands, but the music selections didn’t solely reflect those two genres. Rather, they often encompassed soul, indie rock, country and blues.

Punks carrying out soul covers?

Apparently, anything goes at the Hootenanny, punk or otherwise.

Two performances paid tribute to ’60s soul man Sam Cooke, with Jordan Wolfe teaming with the Peace Killers’ Andrew Harrison to take on a rendition of “Bring it on Home to Me.” Next, Quan, who plays organ in City of Vain, picked up an electric guitar and softly serenaded the venue solo with a very Ritchie Valens-esque version of Cooke’s “You Send Me.”

Indeed, what last Wednesday’s lineup put together was far from the boundaries of punk rock. Any musician from any background in town is encouraged to inquire and perform. So, if you’re feeling a little Debbie Harry, so be it. Or, perhaps, if you’d like to spice up some Hank Williams, have at it.

Judging by last week’s music selections alone, the Hootenanny is really about giving an array of local talents the chance to perform whatever the hell they’re into, with whoever they’d like, when they’re not alongside their usual bands.

It’s a night of familiar songs all audience members can really get behind and enjoy with friends and, of course, cheap tall cans.

Toward the close of the evening, bar patrons witnessed Danny Secretion’s makeshift AutoTune-like device—except instead of emitting horrible T-Pain robot noises, they were serenaded by the upbeat hums of a kazoo taped to the side of the singer’s mic.

Secretion, first seen keeping the beat as house drummer for several of the night’s minisuperbands, later busted out a banjo for the Secretions’ song “Three Chords and a Fuck You” and had everyone in the bar screaming “Yeehaw!” in lieu of part where the crowd usually shouts “Fuck you!” Seriously, the guy was everywhere. But it was his satirical performance of Johnny Rebel’s “The South Shall Rise Again” that had everyone oddly in high spirits.

Secretion clearly handpicked humorous tunes for the occasion; here, he prefaced the song by explaining that he’s from south Sacramento. In other words, he clearly has the cred to poke fun at any Rebel tune.

After a night of kazoo solos, hours of lineup variations and numerous appropriate or inappropriate cover songs, the Hootenanny ended with a stage hijack. The Peace Killers commandeered instruments left onstage and performed some of their original songs. Then, in the spirit of the evening, they ended the night with a bluesy, down-tuned version of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Spoonful.”

Hey, anything goes at the Hootenanny.

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newsreview.com BEFORE

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ARTS&CULTURE

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08FRI

10SUN

Thomas Rhett

Knifethruhead

Portland Cello Project

Stoney’s Rockin’ Rodeo, 7 p.m., $15-$60

The Colony, 8 p.m., $7

At age 8, Thomas Rhett Akins Jr., son of country singer Rhett Akins, came onstage at one of his father’s shows and rapped Will COUNTRY Smith’s “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It.” Apparently, he was always the man he’d grow up to be. Now 22, Rhett is a cocksure slinger of country-meets-turnof-the-century-hip-hop music; his bio likens his phrasing to that of Common and Coolio, and he references DMX in a song called “AllAmerican Middle-Class White Boy.” His lyrics are not so much urban poet as beer-pong champ—“Hey, baby / What you got in there? / Can’t be no Jäger / Can’t be no beer”—and the overall experience is as irreverent and amusing as you might expect. 1320 Del Paso Boulevard, www.thomasrhett.com.

—Deena Drewis

pHOTO By TaRINa WeSTLUNd

08FRI

LA DISPUTE - THE MENZINGERS

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8

ANDREW MCMAHON

(OF JACK’S MANNEQUIN AND SOMETHING CORPORATE)

THE REEL

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10

SCHOOLBOY Q PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13

THE GREEN

NEW KINGSTON - STREET URCHINZ BRODI NICHOLAS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14

GYPTIAN VALU FA - NICEUP

What’s surprising about Sand, the new trio headed up by drummer Dylan Ryan (pictured), is that its music is simultaneously mellow and unsettling. Yet, it should come as no shock that these three musicians would create such experimental, out-there sounds: They’ve all played in strange projects in the past—Ryan with Herculaneum, Cursive and Rainbow Arabia; guitarist Timothy Young with John Zorn and Beck; and bassist Devin Hoff with Xiu Xiu and Good for Cows. What is impressive about the group is, even for experimental music, what a large, dynamic sound the three of them create with what is essentially an instrumental rhythm section.

EXPERIMENTAL These are some moody, free-form compositions. 1414 16th Street, http://sand.dylanryanmusic.com.

—Chris Parker

ACE OF SPADES HOT WATER MUSIC

Luna’s Café & Juice Bar, 7:30 p.m., $5-$10

The Portland Cello Project is just what its name suggests. It ranges in arrangement from a small four-person ensemble to as many as a dozen players in a rotating cast, depending on availability. It’s been in existence since 2006, assaying a variety of styles and INDIE CLASSICAL formats. At times, it has employed guest singers, exploring everything from more traditionally minded classical compositions to (more often) unusual modern takes, such as a slinky take on Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” and a warm, evocative cover of Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “That’s My Bitch.” The group’s latest recording is a performance of Beck’s odd sheet-music release, Song Reader, featuring Jolie Holland. 2708 J Street, https://portlandcelloproject.com.

—Nick Miller

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7

Sand

Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub, 7 p.m., $15

This gig has the makings of an unforgettably jacked-up night. There’s the headliner, local metal troupe Knifethruhead, who flash more dick during their sets than dongs in Niners cornerback Chris “Stuck in the Closet” Culliver’s wet dreams. Anyway, if you liked now-defunct Sacto punks Warm Streams, check out Select Sex, who round out the bill with Escapement and some choice band named Queefer Sutherland. No punk show would be complete with out some meat-free eats, so local chef Joshua Ploeg will be there PUNK handing out vegan empanadas with paid admission. Where’s this all going down, you ask? Of course: Some shithole new venue in south Sac, duh. 3512 Stockton Boulevard, http://knifethruhead.com.

11MON

1417 R Street, Sacramento, 95814 www.aceofspadessac.com

ALL AGES WELCOME!

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15

BABY BASH BAEZA

PLAYAH K - RICHARD THE ROCKSTAR - NO MUTINY CLIQ SUAVE DEBONAIRE - R DOT CARTER - MARK SNIPES CBK - LUCKY LEFTY

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16

FOR TODAY

MEMPHIS MAY FIRE - THE WORLD ALIVE UPON A BURNING BODY - GIDEON INCREDIBLE ME SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17

SOULFLY

INCITE - DAMAGE OVER TIME CHERNOBOG

02.07.13

COMING

SOON

02/22 02/23 02/24 02/26 02/27 02/28 03/01 03/03 03/05 03/06 03/20 03/23 03/24 03/27 03/30 03/31

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19

THE MOWGLI’S

DESARIO - COLD ESKIMO THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21

WALLPAPER & CON BRO CHILL

DIAMOND DEZ - SHAUN SLAUGHTER/D.A.M.B.

Tickets available at all Dimple Records Locations, The Beat Records, and Armadillo Records, or purchase by phone @ 916.443.9202

42 | SN&R |

—Aaron Carnes

04/02 04/05 04/06 04/11 04/13 04/17 04/19 04/22 04/24 04/25

Molly Hatchet Kingdom of Giants The Summer Set Blaze Ya Dead Homie Pennywise (original lineup) Testament Meshuggah 10 Years Reverend Horton Heat Black Veil Brides Rebelution The Joy Formidable Enter Shikari Mindless Self Indulgence George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic Seven Dust & Coal Chamber Tech N9NE Johnny Craig Soul Asylum The Rocket Summer The Expendables The Selecter & Lee “Scratch” Perry The English Beat Queensryche Alex Clare Katchafire

PHOTO by iAN CAMPbell

11MON Retox

14THURS

14THURS

14THURS

Art Mix/Local Love

Close to You

Peggy Benks

The Press Club, 8:30 p.m., $6

Crocker Art Museum, 5 p.m., free with museum admission

Between running the Three One G record label in San Diego—with notable releases such as the Blood Brothers’ second album March on Electric Children—and spending time as bassist and vocalist for the Locust, Justin Pearson still finds time for new projects. His most recent is singing for the band Retox. The group consists of four musicians from Southern California and plays an amalgam of post-punk, hardcore and, at times, thrash. Retox merges elements of sci-fi, punk and aggressive fast-paced percussion ROCK to create frenzied quick arrangements. Joining Retox are punk groups Rat Damage and So Stressed, plus the loud power-violence duo Tom Hanks.

2030 P Street, www.facebook.com/retoxrules.

“Ekphrastic” and “eclectic” are the words to remember when you spend an evening of love with Sacramento’s newest poet laureate, Jeff MULTIMEDIA Knorr. Join him for a gallery tour and write ekphrastic poems—or love poems—to your favorite Crocker Art Museum pieces or artists.

Hear music by Project4Trees, the Bell Boys (pictured), Musical Charis, Autumn Sky and James Cavern, who’ll repeat the performance of their 2012 Sammies collaboration for those who missed it or want to hear it again. Also, check out Tapigami, L/C Mural & Design, New Helvetia Theatre and Sol Collective—all part of the Arts & Business Council of Sacramento’s Flywheel Arts Incubator project. 216 O Street, www.crockerartmuseum.org.

—Steph Rodriguez

—Trina L. Drotar

Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub, 7 p.m., $15

The Press Club, 9 p.m., call for cover

You wouldn’t expect a voice as unique as Karen Carpenter’s to be imitable. But vocalist Michelle Whited of Carpenters tribute group Close to You, is a dead ringer for the late, great singer. This Valentine’s Day, Close to You will bring copious Carpenters love songs to Harlow’s.

Whited’s dead-on phrasing and soothing voice is complemented by a five-piece backing band consisting of local musicians POP who match the Carpenters’ studio sound with all the laid-back yet soulful intensity it requires. Cozy up with your partner and enjoy love ballads such as “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Top of the World,” and, of course, “(They Long to Be) Close to You.” 2708 J Street, www.carpenterstributegroup.com.

The term “performance art” has always been a bit confounding. Isn’t all performance, by its very nature, art? (And, yes, sometimes that art, by its very nature, is bad or, worse, boring. But still.) In any POP case, local singer Peggy Benks— a.k.a. Liz Donner—takes that performance to a higher level. Caked in theatrical makeup, Benks takes on a bevy of classic pop, punk and vocal standards and twists them into something slightly surreal yet wholly accessible. It’s all very Blue Velvet-meets-Donna Reed at the cabaret on acid. Unlike some other so-called performance artists, however, Benks never makes you feel as if the joke’s on you. Quite the accomplishment. 2030 P Street, (916) 444-7914, www.facebook.com/peggybenks.

—Jonathan Mendick

—Rachel Leibrock

JHL8I<G<>:FE:<IKJ%:FD

Follow us /HarlowsNiteclub

feb 7 8pm $5

J8KLI;8P =<9IL8IP (- :I<JK K?<8K<I

mr. friend

('(* B JK × J8:I8D<EKF# :8 .1*'GD J?FN × 8CC 8><J K@:B<KJ 8M8@C89C< =IFD K@:B<KJ%:FD :?8I>< 9P G?FE< ($/''$)),$))..

feb 8 10pm $15 adv

martin luther feb 9 7pm $15 adv

ÈK?< ><EKC< >@8EKÉ

Steelin’ dan feb 9 10pm $13 adv

polish ambassador feb 10 7pm $15 adv

=I@;8P 8GI@C )- :I<JK K?<8K<I ('(* B JK × J8:I8D<EKF# :8 × .1*'GD J?FN × 8CC 8><J K@:B<KJ 8M8@C89C< =IFD K@:B<KJ%:FD × :?8I>< 9P G?FE< ($/''$)),$))..

=89 =FLI JFC; FLK

PorTLAND CELLo ProJECT

feb 13 9pm $20 adv

Coming Soon

queen ifrica

Feb 22 Dean-0-Holics Feb 23 Diego’s Umbrella Feb 24 Tyrone Wells Feb 25 Salvador Santana Feb 26 Galactic Feb 27 George Kahumoku Jr. Feb 28 The Neighbourhood Mar 01 Tainted Love Mar 02 Bill Champlin Mar 02 Blackalicious Mar 03 G. Love & Special Sauce Mar 04 G-Eazy Mar 05 Anuhea Mar 08 Monophonics Mar 13 Joe Ely Mar 15 Pablo Cruise Mar 20 The Aggrolites Mar 21 Murs / Prof / Fashawn Mar 24 Matt Costa Mar 29 Cheeseballs Mar 31 Heartless Bastards Apr 03 Dumpstaphunk Apr 05 Lord Huron Apr 06 Conflict Minerals Apr 11 Polica Apr 25 Yonder Mountain String Band

with tony rebel and louisa

feb 14 7pm $15 adv vALENTiNE’S DAY WiTH

Close to you (a Carpenters tribute)

feb 15 9pm $15 adv

fiShtank enSemble feb 16 9pm $20 adv

alo with California honeydrops

feb 21 9pm $10-20 adv

SiZZling SirenS

Dress CoDe enforCeD (Jeans are oK) • Call to reserve Dinner & Club tables • all times listeD are showtimes

2708 J Street • Sacramento • 916.441.4693 • www.harlows.com

B E F O R E | F R O N T L I N E S | F E A T U R E S T O R Y | A R T S & C U L T U R E | A F T E R |

02.07.13 | SN&R | 43

NIGHTBEAT

THURSDAY 2/7

FRIDAY 2/8

SATURDAY 2/9

BLUE LAMP

The Session, 9pm, $5

JEAN-LUC, 9pm, $5

THE QUICK & EASY BOYS, SEXRAT; 9pm, call for cover

THE BOARDWALK

BALLISTIC BURNOUT, VICTORY OR

BEFORE YOU FALL, I WISH WE WERE ROBOTS, WE RISE THE TIDES; 7:30pm

PROJECT BORN, AMH, ROB ROY, STR8 LACED, MELLO, CRAIG MANIC; 8pm

CENTER FOR THE ARTS

314 W. Main St., Grass Valley; (530) 274-8384

RAY WYLIE HUBBARD, DUSTIN WELCH; 7:30pm, $20-$22

ALO, THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS; 8pm, $22-$25

Paul Reiser and Steve Hytner, 8pm, $40-$45

THE COZMIC CAFÉ

Open-mic, 7:30pm, no cover

MCCOY TYLER BAND, MERRYGOLD; 8pm, $8

MELISSA LINGO, 7:30pm, $11-$13

DJs Penthaus, Mike Diamond, Jurts and Dr. Freezy, 9pm, call for cover

DJ Fashen w/ DJ Louie Giovanni, 9pm, call for cover

1400 Alhambra, (916) 455-3400

List your event!

Post your free online listing (up to 15 months early), and our editors will consider your submission for the printed calendar as well. Print listings are also free, but subject to space limitations. Online, you can include a full description of your event, a photo, and a link to your website. Go to www.newsreview.com/calendar and start posting events. Deadline for print listings is 10 days prior to the issue in which you wish the listing to appear.

SUNDAY 2/10

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 2/11-2/13

BLOODSKY, RAIDD, MADI & CICI; 4:30pm, $8-$10

MEGA RAN, PENNY, FADE, ROB ROY, MASYAH, ARTY FRESHA; 8pm Tu

HYPERCRUSH, 9pm, call for cover

Electro-dance music, 9pm, no cover before 9pm

Mardi Gras party w/ DJ Louie Giovanni, 9pm W, call for cover

Karaoke, 7pm, no cover

ART & LACY LEE, 6:30pm, no cover

RED BLUE BAND, 1:30pm, no cover

Deejay dancing and karaoke, 9pm, $3

Hip-hop and Top 40 Deejay dancing, 9pm, $5-$10

Hip-hop and Top 40 Deejay dancing, 9pm, $5-$10

Dragalicious, 9pm, $5

JAY SHANER, AUTUMN ELECTRIC; 8-11pm, no cover

STEVIE NADER, WOLFGANG VEGA, THE HORMONES; 9pm-midnight, $5

MANGO JENNINGS, ANDY D; 9pm-midnight, $5

9426 Greenback Ln., Orangevale; (916) 988-9247 DEATH, ADVENT STATIM; 8pm

594 Main St., Placerville; (530) 642-8481

DISTRICT 30

1016 K St., (916) 737-5770

ELKHORN SALOON

18398 Old River Rd., West Sacramento; (916) 371-2277

FACES

2000 K St., (916) 448-7798

FOX & GOOSE

1001 R St., (916) 443-8825

G STREET WUNDERBAR

Hey local bands!

Want to be a hot show?

Mail photos to Calendar Editor, SN&R, 1124 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815 or email it to sactocalendar@ newsreview.com. Be sure to include date, time, location and cost of upcoming shows.

2708 J St., (916) 441-4693

MR. FRIEND, ELEMENT OF SOUL, ATLANTIS RIZING; 8pm, $5

LEVEL UP FOOD & LOUNGE

Strictly Dilla beats, 10 pm, no cover

2431 J St., (916) 448-8768

QUEEN IFRICA, TONY REBEL, LOUISA; 9pm W, call for cover

Hip-hop and R&B deejay dancing, 9:16pm Tu, no cover EVE WEST BESSIER & TRIO, 8:30pm, $10

Nebraska Mondays, 7:30pm M, $5-$20; Comedy night, 8pm W, $6

MARILYN’S ON K

“Rock On” Live Band Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

BUENO, DIAMOND DEZ, 9pm, $10

KEEP ON TRUCKIN, JULIE AND THE JUKES; 8pm, $5-$7

KATIE KNIPP, COLIN BODINE, HANS EBERBACH; 8pm W, $5

Get Down to the Champion Sound, reggae and dancehall deejays, 10pm, $5

Phuture Global Discotheque w/ DAMB, Funktion, Jon Maestro; 10pm, $3-$5

Gothic, Industrial, Darkwave, EBM, Retro, 9:30pm-2am, $5

Swing, Lindy Hop; 8pm Tu, $6-$10; Salsa, Bachata, Merengue; 8:30pm W, $5

DJ Eddie Edul and DJ Peeti V, 9pm, $10

DJ Elliott Estes, 9pm, $15

DJ Mike Moss, 9pm, $20

DJ Gabe Xavier, 9pm, $10

DJs Gabe Xavier and DJ Peeti-V, 9pm W, $10

BRIAN ROGERS, AARON LINKIN, ERIK BELL; 8:30pm, $5

THE DRAWERS, THE UNCOVERED; 8:30pm, $5

THE SWEET BY AND BY, BE BRAVE BOLD ROBOT, POMEGRANATE; 8:30pm, $5

Jazz, 8:30pm M; JON ROBERT QUINN, DEREK THOMAS; 8:30pm W, $5

WILLIAM MYLAR, 5pm, no cover; SIL SHODA, CAESIUM, BREWFISH; 9pm, $10

Fascination: ‘80s new-wave dancing,9:30pm, $5

Karaoke, 9pm Tu; Open-mic, 8:30pm W, no cover

GALVINEYES, NO BEATINGS FROM HOLLY, SOUR DIESEL; 9pm, $5

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

908 K St., (916) 446-4361

MIDTOWN BARFLY

1119 21st St., (916) 549-2779

1111 H St., (916) 443-1927

OLD IRONSIDES

1901 10th St., (916) 442-3504

ON THE Y

670 Fulton Ave., (916) 487-3731

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

opera House

s a Loon All ShowS 9 pm

fri, feb 8TH Northern Traditionz

saT,, feb 9TH sa saT Branded

every sunday 9pm Beer Pong Tournament for prizes

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Banned in the 916 I heard the Sacramento City Council is making all the pot clubs move. Is that true?

—420 U-Haul Not true. At least not yet. The city council met last week to discuss changing Sacto’s medical-marijuana ordinance so that clubs would have to be 1,000 feet from “sensitive use” areas like parks and schools and churches. City staff claims that doing so would make the clubs more compliant with federal guidelines for medical mariBEALUM juana, even though California state law says that

by NGAIO clubs only have to be at least 600 feet away from sensitive-use areas. The problem is, there are virtually no spots in Sac that fit the 1,000-foot rule, so changa sk420 @ ne wsreview.c om ing that law would amount to a de facto ban.

Besides, if the feds were serious about that rule, they wouldn’t have raided El Camino Wellness Center, which is far from any school, church or park. I give the city council props for not changing the ordinance last week, but we need to put friendly pressure on them before this issue comes up for vote again on February 19. Call your city council member and tell him or her to support marijuana dispensaries! And I mean that for everyone, not just the folks in Sacramento. We have reached the tipping point, and it’s up to us to push the whole thing our way.

I’m a young adult who has just entered college, and I have realized that it’s a lot of stress. I live with my parents, who put even more stress on me to be the very best in college. Sometimes I just can’t handle it. Should medical marijuana be something I look into?

—KCR Don’t despair. You aren’t the first person to have a stressful freshman year. There are things you can do. By the way, I am not a mental-health-care professional, but my ex-wife is, so I gave her a call, and she had some There are virtually no good advice: Don’t just jump straight into marijuana. spots in Sacramento There are lots of other ways to deal with stress. that fit the 1,000-foot Exercise and meditation are rule, so changing that two good options. Talking to a mental-health-care profeslaw would amount to a sional is a good way to learn de facto ban. about ways to deal with stress. Go talk to someone at your school’s health-services department about the problems you are having, and they should have a few ideas on how to get you smoothed out.

The thing about cannabis is, while it is an effective Ngaio Bealum stress reliever, it can also become a crutch. There are is a Sacramento way too many people that use cannabis to escape from, comedian, activist rather than deal with, their problems. Plus, if you are and marijuana expert.

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

by ROB BREZSNY

FOR THE WEEK FEBRUARY 7, 2013

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “What we

need is more people who specialize in the impossible,” said poet Theodore Roethke.

For the foreseeable future, Aries, you could and should be a person like that. I’m not saying that you will forevermore be a connoisseur of amazements and a massager of miracles and a magnet for unexpected beauty. But if you want to, you can play those roles for the next few weeks. How many exotic explorations and unlikely discoveries can you cram into your life between now and March 1? How many unimaginable transformations can you imagine?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): North

America’s most powerful and iconic waterfall is Niagara Falls, which straddles the border between the United States and Canada. In 1969, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers managed to shut down the American side of this elemental surge for a few months. They performed their monumental magic by building a dam made with 27,800 tons of rocks. Their purpose was to do research and maintenance on the stony foundation that lies beneath the water. I’m thinking that you Tauruses could accomplish a metaphorical version of that feat in the coming weeks: some awesome task that allows you to peer beneath the surface and make refinements that enhance your stability for a long time.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): National

Geographic reports that dung beetles have an intimate relationship not only with the earth but also with the stars. Scientists in South Africa found that the bugs use the Milky Way galaxy to orient themselves while rolling their precious balls of dung to the right spot for safekeeping. The bright band of starlight in the sky serves as a navigational aid. I nominate the dung beetle to be your power animal in the coming weeks, Gemini. It will be prime time for you, too, to align your movements and decisions with a bigger picture and a higher power. (Read about the research at http://tinyurl.com/GalacticBeetles.)

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You should go

right ahead and compare oranges and apples in the coming week, Cancerian. Honey and butter, too: It’s fine to compare and contrast them. Science and religion. Bulldogs and Siamese cats. Dew and thunderclaps.

Your assignment is to create connections that no one else would be able to make, to seek out seemingly improbable harmonies between unlikely partners, to dream up interesting juxtapositions that generate fertile ideas. Your soul needs the delight and challenge of unexpected blending.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The collection called

Grimm’s Fairy Tales includes the story “The Devil and His Grandmother.” In one scene, the devil’s grandmother is petting and rubbing her grandson’s head. Or at least that’s what the English translations say. But the authors wrote in German, and in their original version of the text, grandma is in fact plucking lice from the devil’s hair. Your job in the coming week, Leo, is to ensure that no one sanitizes earthy details like that. Be vigilant for subtle censorship. Keep watch for bits of truth that have been suppressed. You need the raw feed that comes straight from the source.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In her book

Jung and Tarot, Sallie Nichols notes that the 16th card in most tarot decks portrays lightning as a hostile force: “jagged, zig-zag strokes that slash across the sky like angry teeth.” But there’s one deck, the Marseilles Tarot, that suggests a kinder, gentler lightning. The yellow-and-red phenomenon descending from the heavens resembles a giant feather duster; it looks like it would tickle and clean rather than burn. I suspect you’ll be visited by a metaphorical version of this second kind of lightning sometime soon, Virgo. Prepare to be tickled and cleaned!

than 40 percent of the kids born in the United States are to unmarried mothers.

Just goes to show you that not all forbidden acts remain forbidden forever. What was unthinkable or out of bounds or not allowed at one time may evolve into what’s normal.

I bring this up, Libra, because it’s an excellent time for you to divest yourself of a certain taboo that’s no longer necessary or meaningful.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): While

trekking up Mount Katahdin in Maine, naturalist Henry David Thoreau had a “mountain-top experience” that moved him to observe, “I stand in awe of my body.”

You’re due for a similar splash of illumination, Scorpio. The time is right for you to arrive at a reverent new appreciation for the prodigious feats that your physical organism endlessly performs for you. What could you do to encourage such a breakthrough? How can you elevate your love for the flesh and blood that houses your divine spark?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

How do you like your caviar? Do you prefer it to be velvety and smooth, or would you rather have it be full of strong, fishy taste?

If it’s the first option, beluga caviar is your best option. If the second, sevruga should be your favorite. What? You say you never eat caviar? Well, even if you don’t, you should regard the choice between types of caviar as an apt metaphor for the coming week. You can either have velvety smoothness or a strong taste, but not both. Which will it be? Set your intention.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “Dear

Astrology Guy: I have been reading your horoscopes since I was 19. For a while, I liked them. They were fun riddles that made me think. But now, I’ve soured on them. I’m sick and tired of you asking me to transform myself. You just keep pushing and pushing, never satisfied, always saying it’s time to improve myself or get smarter or fix one of my bad habits. It’s too much! I can’t take it anymore! Sometimes, I just want to be idle and lazy. Your horoscopes piss me off! —Crabby Capricorn.” Dear Crabby: I’ve got some good news. In the coming week, you are completely excused from having to change anything about yourself or your life. Stay exactly the same!

Be frozen in time. Resist the urge to tinker.

Take a vacation from life’s relentless command to evolve.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Young art

student Andrzej Sobiepan sneaked into Poland’s National Museum with a painting he had done himself and managed to surreptitiously mount it on one of the walls. It hung there for a while before authorities noticed it and took it down. “I decided that I will not wait 30 or 40 years for my works to appear at a place like this,” he said. “I want to benefit from them in the here and now.”

This is the kind of aggressive self-expression I’d like to see you summon in the coming weeks, Aquarius. Don’t wait for the world to come and invite you to do what you want to do. Invite yourself. P.S. The English translation of Sobiepan’s Polish last name means “his own master.” What can you do to be more of your own master?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Before any

system can leap to a higher level of organization, says poet Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge, it has to undergo dissolution.

“Unraveling or disintegrating is a vital, creative event making room for the new,” she declares. Guess what time it is for the system we all know and love as you, Pisces?

That’s right: It’s a perfect moment to undo, dismantle, and disperse—as well as to unscramble, disentangle and disencumber.

Be of good cheer! Have faith that you will be generating the conditions necessary for the rebirth that will follow. “To change from one reality to another,” writes Wooldridge, “a thing first must turn into nothing.” (Her book is Poemcrazy.)

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Years ago,

“bastard” was a derisive term for a child born to unmarried parents. It reflected the conventional moral code, which regarded a “birth out of wedlock” as scandalous. But I think we can safely say that this old dogma has been officially retired. According to recent statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more

BEFORE

|

You can call Rob Brezsny for your Expanded Weekly Horoscope: (900) 950-7700. $1.99 per minute. Must be 18+. Touchtone phone required.

Customer service (612) 373-9785. And don’t forget to check out Rob’s website at www.realastrology.com.

FRONTLINES

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FEATURE

15 MINUTES

by NICK

MILLER

Party hard The guys from Hall of Fame are worried that their group photo (see right) makes them look like the Backstreet Boys. And for good reason: It does kinda make them look like the Backstreet Boys. But that’s OK. The five dudes—Tony Christian, Curtis Currier, Damian Lynch, Robbie Metcalf, Byron Neville—are anything but phony or lame. These under-25-year-olds are party starters. They throw legit bangers that draw in sick deejays and crowds by the thousands—in addition to managing artists, blogging, shooting photography and videos, and running social marketing and a record label. Their soirees rise so much higher than the others that one has to wonder, “Is Hall of Fame using performance-enhancing drugs?”

What Sacto neighborhood parties the best?

Curtis Currier : Natomas. Natomians.

Natomasinians. They go hard.

Tony Christian : They definitely go the hardest.

And here I thought Natomas just sucked.

Currier : There’s nothing to do out there, man, so … if you get a good party going, they’re going to make sure that doesn’t stop.

Christian : Natomas and Elk Grove.

What do Sacramentans want from a party?

Christian : I think they want something cheap, and they want to meet a lot of people … because it’s really cliquey out here, and a lot of people don’t hang.

How much should a good party cost?

Christian : Less than $10.

Byron Neville : Five dollars is the magical number.

You all started off doing house parties. Now you do legal venues. Which are more fun?

Neville : I love house parties.

Currier : Deejaying house parties is such a raw experience. The crowd isn’t there to be at a club; they’re there to party, so you can really move people. The sweaty people in a room, fogged windows, equipment getting wet—all the shit from a house party, the craziness, is so much fun.

What’s the gnarliest thing you’ve seen at a house party?

Currier : I chased some thief down for my laptop once.

Christian : Remember that time in Davis where … somebody crowd-surfed at one of our house parties? It was pretty sick. I was like, “You know what? That was a legit house party.” … We’d like to keep

STORY

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A RT S & C U LT U R E

Hall of Fame (clockwise from top right): Byron Neville, Damian Lynch, Curtis Currier, Tony Christian and Robbie Metcalf. They put on second Sunday dance nights with deejays Daims and Jurts at District 30, 1022 K Street; 9:30 p.m.; no cover before 11 p.m.; http://hofisbetter.com.

on doing house parties, but today, we can’t. If we throw a house party, a couple thousand people show up.

How do you make your parties safe?

Currier : We’ve actually talked about throwing a party that no one drives to. We really want to promote bicycle use or Regional Transit or buses.

If you could throw any party …

Currier : Something at Cal Expo, kind of like [Electric Daisy Carnival] meets South by Southwest, like hip-hop and house and electro music all in one spot, where everyone can go and realize that music isn’t separated by “You like this genre, I like that genre.”

Neville : I definitely want to throw a party on the top of a parking garage in downtown.

On a scale of one to 10, how difficult do city rules make your job?

Damian Lynch : Ten. Christian : Ten. Lynch : Memorial Auditorium, they got to be closed by 11 o’clock. Ace of Spades has to be done by 11 o’clock. There’s no real big venue downtown that can facilitate a party.

You and the city don’t get along?

Christian: We went to court for some permit issues. We had already got permits, we worked with a nonprofit, and it was one of our biggest parties, Gametime—3,000 people |

AFTER

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showed up. This was on 12th and C [streets].

We had permits, we had fire marshals out there—we had hired off-duty fire marshals to be there.

But then police came, they didn’t care about the fire marshals. … And it really came down to them saying, “We’re shutting this down, we don’t care what permits you have. Whatever’s happening, we’re shutting it down.”

Neville : But there was no liquor, no nothing.

Currier : They have this preconceived notion that we’re just throwing illegal parties, that we’re trying to corrupt the youth of Sacramento.

Do you tell your parents that you’re in the party business?

Robbie Metcalf : That we’re in the music business.

Christian : My mom kind of just started taking it seriously, really.

Currier : There’s so much you can do to provide a sick party. We want people to say, “Holy shit, that was an amazing night. I made memories, I got home safe, we had a bus to take me fucking home.” ... All the bad experiences that I know I’ve been involved with and everyone else has, we try to fix them.

Christian : It’s basically a business now. We’re already finding ways to generate money.

So, you’re rich?

Currier : We don’t make money.

Neville : We have no money. We’re still broke. Ω

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Become a Nurse ✓ Nursing Focused School ✓ NCLEX Passing Assistance ✓ Financial Aid Available* Application Deadline February 18th, 2013

877-594-4955 Sacramento Branch Campus

1111 Howe Ave Suite #300 Sacramento, CA 95825 www.unitekcollege.edu * for those who qualify