Dennis Newhall has been the organizer and curator of the Sacramento Rock and Radio Museum since 2000. The museum, which houses a wealth of local concert memorabilia, only opens for the public on Second Saturdays. It's located at 911 20th Street, next door to what used to be a hot local band venue called the Oasis Ballroom. Dennis himself played a role in the local music and radio scene, working for radio stations KZAP, KSFM and KROY. The museum showcases his vast collection of concert posters and donated memorabilia of mainly the 1960s through 1980s, but also includes later artifacts. On Saturday night, May 11, Dennis and I did a video interview for SacTV.com about the museum and how it ha

How's your New Year's resolution coming?  Part of The Sacramento Press's New Year's resolution involved some new contributor rankings. We selected six Elite Contributors to pave the way. You've met Barry Wisdom, Nancy Flagg, and Kati Garner already. Now it's time to learn a bit more about Elite Contributor Alex Cosper. Cosper's posts can almost be timed down to the minute. He posts his column reliably every Monday afternoon, which usually complements work and research he's done for his own company, SacTV, and always incorporates a video interview.  SP: How long have you been with The Sacramento Press? AC: I've been writing articles for SacPress since April 2012. SP: How did you get st

Sacramento has been off and on the music industry's radar for many years, with its heyday being in the 1980s and 1990s as far as producing national acts. Lately Sacramento seems to be a music market of fresh material that includes national rock band Oleander, local r&b singer-songwriter Carla Fleming and local country/rock singer-songwriter Kally O'Mally. Each of these new releases has a refreshing sound that contrasts with a controlled corporate era characterized by over-production and redundant formulas. Somehow, Sacramento is helping resolve the problem that today's national hits sound too corporate and predictable.  SacTV.com continues to document local music that stands out as Olean

When I recently went through a box of old cassettes I was amazed to find so much music I had forgotten about. One of the songs I found was called "Strange New World" by Plastic Violents from 1992. David Conley, who hosted the local radio show "The Sound of Sacramento" on KWOD was the lead singer. It was like finding a nugget from the past that still sounds futuristic. David was talking about the project on Facebook, which gave me the idea to check my old library of cassettes. It turns out I have one of the last cassettes by Plastic Violets ever made. It made me wonder about not just how many other lost tunes I have on cassette, but all the other lost tunes that everyone else has on cassett

A few weekends ago I was inspired by Second Saturday in Midtown, how it helps local talent overcome barriers. Art itself can be a direct expression, but in order to have the opportunity to communicate with an audience, the artist must have a venue then must overcome the noise of society to stand out and be perceived in a crowd of messages. For the artists connected with Second Saturday, local business owners help them overcome the first major barrier. The art that captures people's attention comes down to the art itself. The paintings that caught my attention for SacTV.com were the ones with not only bright colors, but expressions beyond the norm that communicated a vibrant sense of commun

Midtown had a modest turnout for Sacramento's Second Saturday Art Walk. One of the things I wanted to find out about was who gets to play live music at these events. I understand from talking to local owners that an entertainment permit from the city is actually required but many artists show up without a permit and use it to get exposure. I ran into a few bands who didn't know what I was talking about when I asked about permits. Funny how I keep running into groups who perform at Second Saturday who don't even have a group name yet. What's amazing about Second Saturday, despite the cold breeze, was that I found great opportunities for local musicians and painters to showcase their work.

Recently I learned that a well known park in Sacramento called Goethe Park changed its name to River Bend Park. When I asked several different people who know the area what happened I was given several answers. After I did my own research I found a more shocking answer than anything anyone had told me. But the good news is that the name change resolved the issue to the degree that local parks should not be named after people, no matter how wealthy, who were associated with genocide. When you Google search "Charles Goethe" the first link that comes up is Wikipedia, with a listing that begins "Charles Goethe (1875-1966) was an American eugenicist." Eugenics was once a growing science in th

Sacramento's struggling economy survived the first quarter of 2013, despite continued high unemployment and rising cost of living. SacTV.com is currently exploring data on the local economy to make comparisons with the national picture. As it stands, it appears that the local region is still hurting, although the worst of times seem to be behind us. Unemployment in Sacramento County, which rose slightly in January, still hovers around ten percent, marking a huge improvement compared to 2010 when it was soaring at 13 percent. But the situation is still worse than the national figure, which is a hair below eight percent. Part of Sacramento's unemployment crisis has been that the Capital Cit

How many acoustic rap/ballad medleys have you heard lately? Does hip hop mix with classical music or are there strict rules that say this cannot be done? Whatever the rules are, Chris Goslow loves to experiment beyond musical boundaries with different styles. Part of his multicultural slant on music comes from growing up in San Francisco and studying music at U.C. Berkeley. Another part of his diversity comes from a love of many styles that covers a wide spectrum of music. He now makes a living performing and teaching music in Sacramento while being happily married to photographer Charr Crail, who has worked for the Sacramento Bee and now does freelance photography and digital art. Chris

Sacramento Old City Association (SOCA) President William Burg invited me to give a presentation for SOCA about local radio history on March 9. The presentation was held at Mdtown Village Cafe and lasted over an hour. I captured a lot of it on video for SacTV.com. It was fun because afterward I hung around Midtown for Second Saturday and visited several artistic galleries. The presentation covered almost the entire evolution of radio, mixing national and local history. One of the themes was that Sacramento radio has contributed to national history many times. Another theme is that radio started with the telephone and that's what's replacing radio as mobile phones are steadily becoming the m