Battle Cry Of The Wicked
3 Inches Of Blood
Saturday, February 2, Slims in San Francisco was invaded by skinny kids with mohawks and long hair, and old school metal heads that were cruising the bar every couple of minutes, and Canada’s unholy crusaders 3 Inches of Blood. These crusaders over the last eight years have scratched and fought for every single soul they have thrashed, as well as lost some members down the road, but gained others that seem to fit the bill a whole lot better. On this rainy cold night, I entered into a beer drinking, shot taking, mosh pit bearing Slims to interview the full bearded, Viking-esque guitarist Shane Clark. Read more
From Vacaville To Vienna: Monster Squad
While growing up in Vacaville, Matt Kadi could easily be spotted walking the street. Usually flanked by one or two other punk rock kids, Kadi’s mohawk, spiked leather jacket and clothes decorated with punk patches easily gave him away. If you didn’t know him, there was a chance his little gutter punk band may have played at your party or perhaps you saw him opening up for Papa Roach in the back room of Live Music Center. A decade later, Kadi and his drums are still known throughout town, he just has grown up a bit. Read more
Sexciety
Bringing Party Back!
In a practice room at House of Hits in Sacramento, wallpapered with naked chicks and their own flyers, Sexciety unleashes their inner monsters. Well, party monsters that is. The band formed in 2006 but the current line-up is a fresh two months old. Read more
Capitol Chaos TV
Breaking The Barriers Of Music Television
It’s a Saturday night and I’m tossing and turning. Fighting the dogs and the wife for the covers and I decide it’s time to give up. I leave the comforts of my bed and head to the couch for the buzz of the TV. Read more
Conscious Sacramento Hip-Hop
Z To The E & Black Canvas
Sacramento is home to a lot of great music scenes, and its Rap and hip-hop community is one of the worlds finest. From the dark and deadly lyrical boogiemen Brotha Lynch Hung, X-Raided, to gangster rapper Uzer’s hyper flows in Russian, one might get the impression that Sac is just one chalk out line after another. Read more
Playing With Fire
I think I just singed my armpit,” Matt noted as his poi, two fiery balls attached to chains, swirled around him with practiced ease. “Armpit hair will carry a flame pretty well, too.” The flames continued to fly around in looping arcs despite the buffeting of the wind. Their hypnotic grace almost made me forget the fact that I was shivering underneath four layers of clothing. Read more
February 2008
This feature in Fringe is just a little spot to read up on some local scene news. If you have some news e-mail it to charlie@fringemag.com. Read more
Pure Vision
Film Director Jourdan McClure
When you think of art, usually the first things that come to mind are painters, and musicians. But film is a massive art form. Our first thoughts of film go straight to the mainstream movies; we see billboards and commercials for them daily. With the independent film channels growing success, and disgust of being flooded with mainstream garbage, there is a grand insurgence of independent film makers creating some magnificent works of art. Read more
A Wake-Up Call Through Art at SaraJane & Co!
Your local source for art, jewelry, and clothing,” the flyer reads. During Sacramento’s beloved Second Saturday, they offer live entertainment, serve beer and wine, and invite members of the community to help them, help make a difference.
SaraJane & Co. is more than just a stop on your Second Saturday Art Walk, it is one woman’s dream for a brighter future becoming a reality. Located at 908 21st Street, this humble little gallery is much larger in size than it appears. The driving force behind the gallery is SaraJane who wants nothing more than to show and teach children that there are different ways to make a living.
“They don’t have to be followers, they don’t have to sit in cubicles their whole lives,” said SaraJane. “There are other ways to live. They need inspiration to be leaders.”
After working in a call center for 15 years, SaraJane started to experience “wake-up calls” which led her to open the gallery. She told the story of her grandmother, a portrait artist, who passed away from cancer. Then a few months later she went into work to find a man, who had worked at her call center for 30 years, had died in that same cubical he spent his whole life in. A few months after that, SaraJane’s friend, Kenneth Scott Mackrel, a talented writer and musician, took his own life.
She realized then things had to change. “Either you kill yourself because of the way the world is, or you die because of the way the world is,” she said. It was then that her quest for what she wanted her life to be like began. “It’s time to create a movement,” she said.
SaraJane quit her call center job. One day, on her way to get her nails done, she passed by a art gallery for rent. Without hesitation, she made a deal, and found herself with a gallery to fill. She didn’t quite know what she was going to do with it, but she saw an opportunity and took it. Sara and her husband, “Insane Joe” of Insane Productions, decided to make it into a jewelry studio for SaraJane’s original pieces and art gallery.
SaraJane & Co. had i’s grand opening on December 8, 2007. The gallery acts more as a tool for SaraJane’s real passion, The Fay Throckmorton Kenneth Scott Mackel Organization for the Arts. The organization provides art and music education to underprivileged schools, many of whom do not have music or art programs. The first school the organization taught art classes at was in Rancho Cordova. There they teamed up with The OK Program which reaches out to at-risk African American Youths.
All Second Saturday profits go to the organization. In trade for artists teaching classes SaraJane & Co. donates art supplies to the artists and donates materials for the classes themselves. “We’re trying to create a safe environment where kids can be expressive,” SaraJane said. And to do that the organization relies a great deal on artists, musicians and the general community to donate time, supplies, equipment, and money. Montana Paints, sold at SaraJane & Co., has donated paints for the local charity. Local breweries have also made donations to show their support. “Sell a beer, teach a kid art!” she said.
“We are still a new business, and still have a long way to go,” she said. “I’m sure the store will morph into what it is meant to be.”
For now SaraJane & Co. is your friendly neighborhood gallery for art, jewelry, and clothing and prides itself on being there for the community, just as the community is there for The Fay Throckmorton Kenneth Scott Mackel Organization for the Arts. “We are a community,” SaraJane said. “We all have something to give.”
You can find more information about SaraJane & Co. and information on how to donate at: sarajaneandco.com, or by calling (916)446- 8985.
Get Perked
Local Artist Mikey Hoffman Gives Perked A Fresh New Meaning
This freelance, nofrills artist is creating quite a style for himself, his humbled crew, and a growing following. With his independent label, Perked, created in 1999, Mikey Hoffmann is on a mad mission to beef up the Nor-Cal fashion with his unique designs on threads. His printed designs are created through the art of silk-screening, an extensive stencil process, which traditionally involves drawing an image or pattern and then imposing it on a screen, where ink is forced through onto the printing surface.
Modern day screenprinting entails the use of a thermo-fax machine that uses info-red lights to heat up carbon-based ink, burning holes through the emulsion of a silk-screen, creating a master, solid stencil that can be used hundreds to thousands of times.
From eclectic images of a naked Indian woman with four arms to panda bears and beer cans in fabulous colors, Mikey’s imagination has no limit. A mural on an entire wall in his Sacramento pad is a testament to the artist’s endeavors.
Hundreds of silk-screens printed over each other and next to each other in a range of brilliant shades: the Golden Gate bridge, an ex girlfriend, his own self-portrait. The site is breathtaking and imaginative beyond expression.
But his brand is what really excites this kid. Perked, as Mikey describes, is a modern day term for “tipsy” or not quite drunk. The expression was born into the slang of Nor-Cal culture some years back when Mikey and friends remember being kids, feeling happy, carefree and on top of the world. “It’s more spiritual, like carrying yourself in a joyful manner, kind of like ‘hyphy’… but lets not go there,” says Mikey, with a pretentious giggle. His menu of Perked-designed merchandise includes: hats, shoes, tshirts and sweatshirts, jackets, beanies, socks, bed spreads, and even curtains. He also designs custom apparel upon request, and is always anxious to trick something out. He’s reinventing clothes that people already wear, but in a way that makes friends feel connected, loyal and carefree, like they’re a part of something beautifully free and without the restraints of sales tax and commercialism.
An art major who’s been studying and practicing art of all kinds, especially mixed media, drawing, photo, acrylic painting, water colors, ceramics, and spray paint, Mikey’s credentials include print-making classes at Shasta, Butte, and Sac City colleges, and an array of submissions at art shows. His most recent show, Sac City College’s “Street Smarts”, a demonstration that boasts artwork not usually found in typical galleries, Mikey entered his 13 foot mural of a painted octopus with tentacles that spanned across the entire Bay Area. When asked where he finds his inspiration, Mikey says, like a true hand-fed artist, “Life. Art to me is not a choice. It’s who I am and what makes me happy. All my memories are in my art, like it’s the only way I’m connected to the world.” He’s been influenced by artists such as Andy Warhol, Chuck Close, and Robert Raushenberg, and musical artists, Dilated Peoples, Living Legends, Talib Kweli, Richie Spice, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, Mac Dre, Sublime, and Led Zeppelin.
While his retail operation is a small, seven-man crew now, Mikey hopes to expand nationwide, collaborate with other gifted artists, improve current skills, and create new looks for everyone’s own, unique styles.
For more information, Mikey Hoffmann can be reached at (916) 384-7648 or perked@comcast. net.
