BeatNonStop A Weblog by Chris Macias Bee pop music critic Music geek (n. myü-zik 'gEk) 1: A person who proudly wore KISS commemorative pajamas in third grade. 2: A person who owns multiple copies of the same album, still buys vinyl and has a room dedicated to 2,000 or so CDs and records. 3. A person who wrote a five-part series about traveling with a local band in their stinky van - and loved every minute of it. 4: Chris Macias, the Bee's pop music critic, serving Sacramento's music scene since 1999.

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« June 2005 | | August 2005 »

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July 28, 2005

Motley Few

Here’s a case of a “Shout at the Devil” that wasn’t heard by many. Yours truly didn’t make it to last night’s Motley Crue concert at Arco Arena, and apparently not many others did, either.

Even with the lackluster turnout and some sound problems, a rockin’ time was had by those who made it. Here’s what Tiffany Poland, a local Crue fan, had to say about the show:

“The doors were supposed to open at 5 p.m. and they didn't open until 5:30 p.m. because one of the bands was doing a sound check. So the crowd got a little loud because it was hot outside. I don't think I've ever seen Arco Arena with less people, not to mention the feedback at Arco made it hard to understand the words, even though I know them. I had been looking forward to seeing the Crue for quite a while. And while it was crazy and a bit inappropriate for some of the young kids that were there, it was not anything that I hadn't expected from Motley Crue. I will for sure see them again if they come next year because I love their music.”

Posted by cmacias at 4:13 PM | Comments |

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Sweet Somewhere Bound (for NPR)

The buzz about our own Jackie Greene continues to blare across the country. National Public Radio featured him yesterday on its “World Café” show, which included an interview with Jackie and performances of a few tunes. Hear Jackie talk the upmteenth time about Bob Dylan comparisons, plus some anecdotes about growing up in Cameron Park and nurturing his musical game in Sacramento.

Here’s the link.

Posted by cmacias at 3:22 PM | Comments |

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July 27, 2005

Cool assignment alert

On Friday I'm headed to San Francisco for a one-on-one interview with Andre 3000. The rapper from OutKast and Esquire magazine's "Best Dressed Man of the Year" will be talking about his new acting role in "Four Brothers." Hopefully he'll offer some scoops about OutKast's new album as well. Stay tuned.

Posted by cmacias at 4:31 PM | Comments |

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July 22, 2005

Def scribes and side projects

Met up with Chi Cheng last night at the Swiss Buda Bar to talk literary matters. The Deftones bassist is a longtime poet and has a reading on Aug. 1 at the Press Club. I went to one of his poetry readings a few years back, and it was a doozy. The event opened with a belly dancer, and then Jonah Matranga played a solo set. Once Chi started to read, he accidently caught one of his manuscripts on a candle and the poem went up in flames. Good times … Look for the interview with Chi next week.

In other Deftones news, the Team Sleep show at Empire on Thursday will wrap-up the band’s world tour. It’s the side project from Deftones singer Chino Moreno, and features cameos from Pinback’s Rob Crow and Helium’s Mary Timony. Helium is one of the bands opening the show, and I just got word that Rob Crow will also be sitting in with Team Sleep. Following the show, I hear that Moreno’s going to take a week’s vacation and then finish up vocals for the next Deftones album. Or so we hope.

Posted by cmacias at 1:04 PM | Comments |

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July 20, 2005

Word up

Congratulations to Jeff Chang, the former KDVS DJ who just won an American Book Award for “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation.” It’s truly an amazing read that contextualizes hip-hop history with the social and cultural forces of the times. It’s like the funkiest term paper you’ve ever read on hip-hop, and is required reading for rap music fans and pop culture enthusiasts.

Speaking of hip-hop, thanks to all those who sent their $.02 about the Bee's hip-hop debate which ran in Sunday’s Ticket section. Many of the responses were thoughtful, and we’ll be running some of them on Sunday.

Posted by cmacias at 2:42 PM | Comments |

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July 15, 2005

Hella cool

Just got word that Hella, Sacramento's intense and beloved indie-rock band, just landed a slot on one of the year's biggest rock tours. They'll be opening for System of a Down and Mars Volta from mid-September through October. Haven't seen a Sacramento date yet for this show, so keep your fingers crossed.

Posted by cmacias at 4:40 PM | Comments |

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July 14, 2005

And the winner is ...

The Sacramento Area Music Awards (a.k.a. The Sammies) changed its tune this year. Gone is the awkward awards ceremony that was held for the last few years at the Crest Theatre. The winners were instead announced in today’s issue of the Sacramento News & Review, the Sammies’ sponsor. So tonight at Empire, there will be a VIP awards ceremony before the general public gets through the door. Then, Th’ Losin' Streaks, Crazy Ballhead and Deathray will take turns rocking the stage.

After the bands play, there will be DJ dancing until the whole shebang shuts down around 2 a.m. Dunno how the musicians will dig this DJ stuff. There’s been lots of griping locally about how live bands are getting the boot at some clubs in favor of DJs. But by midnight, most of the musicians will probably be too focused on revelry to care.

Raise a toast, and check out this full list of winners:

Hall of Fame

Bucho
Brotha Lynch Hung
Zach Hill
Mike Farrell
Mama’s Pride

Readers' choice

Rock – Las Pesadillas
Folk – Jackie Greene
Rap/Hip-Hop – Crazy Ballhead
Punk – The Knockoffs
Hard rock/Metal: Deconstruct
Blues: Catfish & the Crawdaddies
Electronica: Dusty Brown
Country/Bluegrass: Nevada Backwards
Jazz: Four Guys From Reno
R&B/Funk: Brother Nefarious
Pop: Didley Squat
Cover band: Mercy Me!

Critics' Choice

Male Vocalist – Rusty Miller
Female Vocalist – Jeannette Faith
Drums – Matt K Shrugg
Singer/Songwriter – Rusty Miller
Keyboard: Stuart Nishiyama
Guitar: GB
Drummer: Matt K Shrugg
Wood/Reed: Darius Babazadeh
DJ/Turntablist: Shaun Slaughter
Bass: Gerry Pineda
Local act/Local CD – Las Pesadillas
Lifetime Achievement – David Houston

Posted by cmacias at 4:38 PM | Comments |

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July 13, 2005

Last night's playlist

Because it was too hot to go outside, and not much was on TV:

Debbie Deb, “Lookout Weekend”
Neneh Cherry, “Buffalo Stance”
Lighter Shade of Brown, “Latin Activity”
N.O.R.E., “Oye Mi Canto”
Fat Joe, “Lean Back (reggaeton remix)”
Bonde do Tigrao, “O Baile Todo”
Deise Tigrona, “Injecao”
Vanessinha Do Picatchu, “Bochecha Ardendo”
New Order, “Bizarre Love Triangle”
L’ Trimm, “Cars With the Boom”
Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock, “It Takes 2”

Posted by cmacias at 11:50 AM | Comments |

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July 7, 2005

Rock on

Check out my Ticket cover story coming out Sunday about Rick Rock. His name may not rock, er, ring any bells, but if you've ever bumped Busta Rhymes' "Make it Clap" or Jay-Z's "Change the Game" in your stereo, you've been getting down to Rick Rock. He creates and produces beats for some of the biggest names in hip-hop, and he does much of it from his home studio near Arco Arena.

I swung by his house the other day to check a few things. (Rock has this funny habit of not returning his publicist's phone calls). I rang the doorbell and Rock answered while balancing a CD on his finger. That's a Rock star for ya.

Posted by cmacias at 1:55 PM | Comments |

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July 5, 2005

Weekend wrap-up

That three-day weekend flew by faster than a Slayer riff. It all started Friday night when I nurtured my inner band geek at the “Moonlight Classic” drum and bugle corps show in Stockton. Like every year, I was there to support the Santa Clara Vanguard (I marched with them waaaay back in 1987) and check out the latest in marching and music. There really isn’t anything “cool” about these shows. I’m basically sitting in bleachers with grandmas and kids and former marching members while we snack on $1.50 nachos. It’s pure Americana. But I also learned a lot from drum corps (and high school marching band) besides how to march in step. Marching exposed me to a lot of great music, like the works of Shostakovich, Chick Corea, Copland, Berlioz, and Stan Kenton. Learning about ensemble performance, timing, intonation and showmanship actually informs my job now – though I’d never break out a drum corps judging sheet for a Snoop Dogg show. Ten hut!

Saturday was spent smoking some ribs and catching bits of the Live 8 broadcast. The reunited Pink Floyd was my personal highlight, even if they looked like they were ready for the senior discount at Lyon’s. That blue stripe across Michael Stipe’s face scared everybody, though R.E.M. sounded good. Mariah Carey taught the African children’s choir behind her that the Western world loves nothing more than a barely-there miniskirt. But overall, the broadcast needed less talk and much more rock. That’s just Live 8, saving the world one rock star at a time. But Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" got much play on my stereo for the rest of the weekend.

Posted by cmacias at 5:15 PM | Comments |

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July 1, 2005

Word to URB

Anyone check out the latest issue of URB magazine? Sacramento’s own Team Sleep is the cover story, calling its recent album “inspired and “brilliant” and fawning over singer Chino Moreno as “one of the finest (rock stars) his generation has to offer.”

But it’s funny how the story’s theme focuses on Sacramento as “Anytown, USA.” The 916 area code gets so much play that you'd think this was Hipsterville.

Besides the Team Sleep story, there’s a four-star review of Hella’s new album (featuring Zach Hill, also of Team Sleep). In the magazine’s “Mix-It” section, DJ Crook of Team Sleep receives a gushing review of his latest mix CD (“Studio 50 Fever: 10 Out-of-Sight Grooves from 1977-1981). Crook’s Thursday night residency at midtown’s Monkey Bar even gets a shout out.

There’s also an ad for the deluxe edition of “Endtroducing” by DJ Shadow, the Davis native who’s a world renowned producer and beatsmith. A blurb in the ad from URB says, “’Endtroducing … elevated the art of sampling into realms that Marley Marl and Ced Gee could only have dreamed about a decade prior.” And where did DJ Shadow cull most of the samples from “Endtroducing”? At Records on K St. That’s the record store shown on the CD’s cover.

Not bad for the little ol’ 916.

Posted by cmacias at 11:56 AM | Comments |

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