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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September 26, 2006

Blast from the past

So I'm coming up for air after writing the first draft of my series on South Sacramento rap. And I'm going through my very stuffed e-mail box and look at this, a note from Thomas Flowers. He's the former singer of Oleander, a Sacramento-based rock band that scored a major label deal in the late-1990s. Oleander landed a couple of radio hits, but never got the mass appeal in the major-label world. Oleander ended up disbanding, but Thomas has a new band based in southern California called The Black Summer Crush. I haven't had a chance to check out the band's music, but you can hear some of their tunes at myspace.com/theblacksummercrush. They'll also be playing at Old Ironsides on Nov. 3. More to come on all this ...

Posted by cmacias at 4:54 PM | Comments |

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September 20, 2006

Deep in South Sac.

Sorry about the sporadic posting lately. BeatNonStop's been working on a project for the last couple of months, and the deadline whip is cracking. It's a series about South Sacramento's hip-hop scene, and I've been so deep in this story that I'm literally dreaming about it. Like the other night in Texas, I dreamt that I was at an outdoor party with G-Macc, the rapper from 24th St. who also calls himself V.A.M.P.I.R.E. And then last night my dream state included a cameo from T-Nutty, one of the most popular rappers right now in South Sac, who I interviewed last week on Franklin Boulevard near 47th Avenue. Here's part of a verse that he gave me:

"It's your boy T-Nutty, man, they call me 'The Factor'/I earned my reputation as a Sacramento rapper/And I keep it original, I rhyme on the digital/I walk with a limp ... you stand like you're pigeon toed/... I need my spinach but I'm not Popeye/It's likewise that I fight guys, twice my size, tell 'em 'night-night' ... Tell the company to advance my check, 'cuz I'm all about my paper/Everybody ridin' them scrapers saying 'whats next?'"

Now it's time to turn up this C-BO track, buckle down and write. I'm sorting through my notebooks and audio interviews, and there's all kinds of scenes here: Hanging out at the "A-1" market on Meadowview and Amherst with First Degree the D.E., a trip through Coral Gables Court in "The Gardens" with G-Macc, a sit-down interview with Brotha Lynch Hung, and a show in Portland, where Brotha Lynch, Zigg Zagg and a half-dozen Sacramento rappers headlined a show for about 350 fans. But the beat starts back in Sac, on 24th and 29th Streets and the neighborhoods off Meadowview Rd. Think of it as "to live and rap in South Sac."

Posted by cmacias at 1:40 PM | Comments |

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September 18, 2006

Howdy Y'all

BeatNonStop just got back from a conference in Ft. Worth, Texas. Field trips included a trip to Billy Bob's, dubbed as the world's largest honky tonk, and a set from The Spazmatics at 8.0 Restaurant and Bar (think of a cover band a la the Cheeseballs, but in "Revenge of the Nerds" gear). Needless to say it's good to be back in the 916.

So I'm playing a little catch-up here at the Bee hive. I just noticed that Iron Maiden's new album ("A Matter of Life and Death") debuted at No. 9 on Billboard's album charts, rubbing elbows with the likes of Nickelback and Jessica Simpson. So who says that good ol' Dungeons & Dragons style metal is dead? But it'll be interesting to see how Papa Roach's album fared when the latest charts come out this week. Its single, "To Be Loved," is currently at No. 12 on the mainstream rock charts. My guess is that the new P-Roach will debut on the album charts around No. 10.

And speaking of Iron Maiden and Papa Roach, does anyone else think that the guitar riff in "Last Resort" sounds like "Hallowed be Thy Name" from Iron Maiden?

Posted by cmacias at 2:54 PM | Comments |

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September 12, 2006

Ba-dump chinnnng!

Let's start this post with a drummer joke:

Q: How many drummers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: None. They have machines that do that now.

Thanks, I've got sets at 10 p.m. and midnight ... But the real point of all this is to inform you Neil Peart's in-training out there about Drum Off 2006, a battle of the drummers being held at Guitar Center stores around the U.S. of A. So practice your paradiddles and flam-taps and come to Sacramento's Guitar Center (2120 Alta Arden Expressway) on Sept. 19 for a preliminary heat. You get three minutes to bang away, with a chance to continue on and receive a grand prize worth more than $38,000. Think of the monster kit you could build with that prize booty. Here's wishing good luck and clean sticking to ya ...

Posted by cmacias at 5:23 PM | Comments |

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September 11, 2006

Whiddle-ee-whiddlee-ee-wee!

OK, you would-be guitar gods, stop sweep-picking for a second and listen up: What are the all-time greatest guitar solos? It's a question posed by Guitar One magazine in its latest issue (on stands Sept. 19). "Machine Gun" by Jimi Hendrix topped the list, and other picks included Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" 9a given), "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses and even "Stray Cat Strut" by the Stray Cats.

Send an e-mail to BeatNonStop (cmacias@sacbee.com) with a list of your favorite guitar solos, and we'll run some of those picks. Here are my favorite six-string moments:

"Watermelon in Easter Hay," Frank Zappa
"Heartbreaker," Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
"My Generation (from 'Live at Leeds')," The Who (Pete Townshend)
"Are You Going With Me?" Pat Metheny
"Maggot Brain," Funkadelic (Eddie Hazel)
"Moisture," The Residents (Snakefinger)
"Samba Pa Ti," Carlos Santana
"Moonage Daydream," David Bowie (Mick Ronson)
"Purple Rain," Prince
"Red Monkey," Thee Milkshakes (Billy Childish)
"Johnny B. Goode," Chuck Berry (the version by Jimi Hendrix is also killer)

Posted by cmacias at 1:09 PM | Comments |

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September 7, 2006

Earplugs and credit cards

What's this I'm hearing? ... And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead is coming to Empire on Dec. 3? (Crazy name, great band). And is that buzz in my ear about the Trans-Siberian Orchestra making its annual appearance at Arco Arena on Dec. 2? Just call me the Carnac the Magnificent of the concert circuit - well, maybe that's not entirely correct, but we'll soon know if these predictions come true.

Posted by cmacias at 3:24 PM | Comments |

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September 6, 2006

P-Roach's "The Paramour Sessions"

Did you know that Papa Roach's new album comes out next Tuesday? I've got to admit that this release snuck up on me. But "The Paramour Sessions" continues where "Scars" left off - that is, P-Roach (a.k.a. the pride of Vacaville) are paying more and more homage to the almighty power ballad. I've got a review of the album coming in Sunday's Ticket section, but in the meantime let's just say the "The Paramour Sessions" is about as Top 40 as Papa Roach gets.

Papa Roach was set to do an in-store appearance at a local Dimple Records on Tuesday, but that's since been scrapped. I'm hearing that the band is planning something bigger for its adopted hometown. Don't know exactly what that means yet, so keep that Orkin uniform on stand-by and stay tuned.

Posted by cmacias at 3:24 PM | Comments |

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