First set of Jubilee found festival emperor Bob Draga playing with Sacramento 32 year old wunderkind Jason Wanner. Not exactly the most exciting gig bit not bad for a Friday afternoon warm up.
But the set I’m at now is rocking. The band: Coronet Chop Suey. Check them out if you get a chance.
Natomas Unified school library closures
The Sac Bee brings out the sad news that Natomas Unified School District has closed all of its elementary school libraries. It certainly seems like things are spiraling out of control, doesn’t it?
The article includes a foreboding quote from Martha Rowland, district coordinator of library services for Sac City Unified:
“I’m proud of our superintendent and his vision” … “I don’t know how that vision will be funded, but he has the right idea – that libraries are important to kids.” (emphasis mine)
Sac City parents are dreading the dropping of the other shoe on that one …
Sac-Eats Will be Live-Blogging From the Jubilee!
I’m not sure what “live-blogging” actually is. So I may not be doing it right. Is it just having conversations with people face-to-face? Because if that’s the case, then that’s just “talking.” Seems like you don’t need a two-word techno phrase to describe that.
Anyway, I’ll be updating this here blog with my favorite acts, favorite eats, and favorite old-ladies-with-flapper-dresses-and-parasols throughout the weekend, so be sure to check back for up to date Jubilee info.
Here’s tip number #1, if you’re not jazzed out by 10pm any night this weekend, check out Bill Dendle and Eddie Erickson on the Delta King. They’re heroes of mine and fantastic musicians and hilarious entertainers and generous benefactors to animal rescue charities and beings whose mere presence can make the sun rise and set and Capricorns. Check ’em out.
Coffee Talk
The News & Review has a great story about Sacramento’s Best Baristas. The Q & A with local baristas was especially entertaining. I really need to get out more as I have only been to one or two of these local coffee houses. Next to bike shops, the hipper-than-thou attitude at most of these places is enough to keep me away, but these guys seem like the real deal and totally into it for the right reasons. Well, reason, I guess; they love them some coffee.
Don Geronimo to return to Sacramento airwaves
Thanks to reader Stephanie for the tip, as we learned today via the Twitter pages that Don Geronimo of the Don & Mike Show fame will return to KHTK on June 21st. This presumably means the end of the Jim Kozimor show.
To start, I’ll do 3 wks a month from an OC studio, 1 week a month from Sac-town. Plans are to relocate to Sac eventually. A new home!
I still have the mp3 of his first show back after the tragic death of his wife, Freda, in 2005. Powerful stuff.
Welcome back to Sacramento, Don!
County Fair this weekend
I know that the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee Festival is the big draw this weekend, but I am partial to the Sacramento County Fair for family friendly Memorial Day Weekend activities. Admission for kids is free, and adults are only $3, so it’s a steal of a deal, and it also lacks the big crowds of Big Fun.
This year features some awesomely weird entertainment, like a Demolition Derby and Lucha Libre wrestling, in addition to the more wholesome entertainment of watching and smelling animals that were raised by local kids, which are also available for purchase (the livestock, that is) at auction. And if your tolerance for being near carnies is high carnies, you can always sample the rides on the midway.
Or you can pay $35 and see Molly Ringwald. Your choice, Sacramento.
Old Fashioned Music/New-Fangled Internet Radio
If you haven’t had a chance to check out Nick Brunner’s show “Off-Air” on Capital Public Radio, you really should. Nick does a great job of putting together quality music, live in-studio performances, and wit and wisdom rarely seen on midweek NPR programming.
I might recommend also, that you tune-in to this week’s rather outstanding show since it features one of my favorite bands, my band, The FreeBadge Serenaders. If you are a fan of a) depression-era ditties, b) household implements put into service as musical instruments, and c) gratuitous references to Keith Lowell Jensen (where ya’ been KLJ?) then this is the broadcast for you. In addition you can catch tracks from bands with beards like “Broken Social Scene” and “LCD Soundsystem.”
Click. Listen. Enjoy. Sassafras.
Sacramento Bee Online. Really?
http://www.hulu.com/embed/1kxT2gV3iJ9EicMKMFNeWQ
Have you been to sacbee.com lately? Good grief has it become an advertising battleground. Do you remember that scene in Airplane! when Rex Kramer is trying to walk through the airport and has to fight off one activist after the other? That’s what browsing sacbee.com is like for me right now. The last straw was the “your free content will start in….” lightbox pop-up that you can’t close.
I get it, times is tough all over and you have to keep the lights on, but really? Really?
Sacramento to sign former NFL star
The Sacramento Mountain Lions are close to signing former NFL quarterback Daunte Culpepper. Culpepper tried to give it up two years ago only to come back with the Detroit Lions last season.
How the sporting world views the UFL:
Not being able to land a job anywhere in the NFL, even as a third-stringer, has got to be difficult to accept for Culpepper, who most recently played quarterback for the Detroit Lions. We’re talking about a two-time All-Pro, a three-time Pro Bowler and a guy who once graced the cover of Madden. Now he’s on a team that’s also accepting players from open tryouts.
Ah, open tryouts, that’s right. 280 prospective players showed up for the Sacramento audition last week.
“I believe there are enough talented athletes out there who can succeed in professional football and we are giving them that opportunity,” said Sacramento Mountain Lions head coach Dennis Green. “Players who enjoyed successful college careers but for whatever reason did not then play at the professional level are still out there and we plan to find them.”
So, will you go to a Mountain Lions game?
Maker Faire: not just for steam punks!
This weekend the Bay Area plays host to the fifth annual Maker Faire, held at the San Mateo County Event Center:
[Maker Faire] celebrates arts, crafts, engineering, green design, food, music, science and technology and brings together communities who embrace the DIY (do-it-yourself) spirit.
From butter to Halloween animatronics to MIDI controllers, there are programs on making just about anything you can think of.
Maker Faire
San Mateo County Event Center
May 22, 10am – 8pm
May 23, 10am – 6pm
The Sac Rag 