SideTrax, a night club being built on top of Hot Rod’s near 20th and K streets, is now on pace for a Labor Day weekend opening, and an innovative membership program may be the key to allowing 18- to 20-year-olds access despite the club having a full bar. The venue was initially scheduled to open last spring, but the date had to be pushed back due to construction delays involving design changes and the addition of an extensive patio. Owner T.J. Bruce said the club will accommodate about 300 people in a cigar bar-meets-urban lounge setting with high-quality sound and lighting systems. Bruce also owns nearby Lavender Heights night spots The Depot and Badlands, and he said SideTrax will app

Located just off Broadway on 17th Street, Beatnik Studios will launch an expansion project to add an outdoor artwork space, patio and event venue adjacent to its existing space. Construction is set to begin in two weeks, and the 1,800-square-foot spot of largely unused asphalt will be fenced in with a stone wall between it and nearby residences and an “art wall” made of tin panels and distressed wood by local artist Kermit McCourt. “We’d like it to be a place to have a sculpture garden, do some art shows and events, and maybe have some outdoor music if we can do it legally,” co-founder Wes Davis said Friday. Over the past year, Beatnik Studios, 2421 17th St., has become more involved as

The Cave is a new music and multi-use venue coming to Stockton Boulevard, moving in next door to the Colonial Theatre. Formerly a shoe store, The Cave is currently used to hold wrestling events put on by Total Wrestling Federation, and starting Feb. 24, it will be opened to live music, standup comedy, art exhibits and other uses, said Mike Flanagan, who books the venue. “We want this to be a public space where people can come and see a show, hear some comedy or see an art exhibition,” he said. “We have no intention of getting a liquor license, because we want this to be an all-ages place.” Flanagan, who owns Bad Current Records and has been involved with the local music scene, said he w

Music promoters in Sacramento gathered Sunday evening to discuss the need to create more local venues and how this would help the local music culture thrive. Time Tested Books hosted the Living Library discussion, called, “The State of Live Music in Sacramento.” Many panelists said that creating more venues in Sacramento is vital and find the city’s regulations to be a huge obstacle. No chairs were empty, and a crowd stood for the whole two hours of the event. When the moderator, local writer/music fan Dennis Yudt, asked if anyone present was a musician, more than half of the attendants raised their hands. Yudt spent the first hour and a half prompting the five panelists with questions –

Quashing persistent rumors that Old Ironsides would stop playing live music, staff told The Sacramento Press Thursday that the bar now has its own sound system, and concerts are booked into November. “For the record, we were never without a sound system,” said Mark “Gonzo” Gonzales, a manager for the establishment and also the man handling most of the booking for shows. In late June, there were rumors that the iconic establishment at 10th and S streets would no longer be hosting live music, which has been a mainstay of the business for 21 years. Gonzales said the old sound system, which had been leased, was taken out June 19, and a new sound system was being looked at, but in the meanti

Hollywood sleaze-rapper Mickey Avalon performed for a huge crowd of die-hard fans at Ace of Spades Friday night, whipping the young crowd into a lustful frenzy with his provocative sing-along raps. Folsom rap duo Ill Effect kicked the show off with some tight rhymes and beats, sounding the best as they flowed over B.o.B's well-known hit "Airplanes," featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore. After a 30-minute delay that had everyone wondering what exactly was going on, rapper Ty$ (Ty Dolla Sign) took the stage. Unfortunately there was nothing spectacular in his short set that made up for the long wait. Highlights included some call-and-response about which side of the crowd was louder and b

I couldn't make it to the game last night. I am almost glad, because crying at a basketball game sucks. I didn't cry when the Kings were behind, I didn’t cry when the Kings made a 20 point come back in the 4th quarter and then took the lead. I didn't even cry when Kobe made a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left (as I knew he would) and the game went into OT. I didn't even cry when the Kings lost. I think I started to tear up right about the time that the final buzzer sounded and not a single person moved. When, despite the loss the crowd stood and started applauding, loud thunderous applause like in the days of the great Sacramento Kings teams. I am pretty sure I actually had tears rolling down

If you have been following the news, or driving along any freeway in Sacramento the last few days, you have likely seen the hash tag #HereWeBuild. If you don't know what it is all about, refer to my article from a few days back for the details. For a grassroots movement that just started Tuesday, #HereWeBuild has raised more than $400,000 dollars. No money has been collected, but the committed individuals behind the movement are taking this Twitter campaign to the next level. In a statement released by idea man Carmichael Dave on the #HereWeBuild website, a team is being formed to take this groundswell of Twitter pledges to a viable donation campaign. "Version 2.0" as Dave calls. #HereWe

After a night full of deep sighs and deep sadness at the reality of the Sacramento Kings taking their game south, imagine my surprise when I logged-on to my Twitter account and saw post after post with the hash tag #HereWeBuild. What? It was obvious to me that this was Kings related, because this season has been "Here We" {insert hopeful verb here}, but Here We Build was a new one to me. So I followed the trail. I had no idea that a movement had started in this city last night. A serious movement. A movement independent of the government, of the politicians and a movement that was as heartfelt as anything that has happened since the beginning of this whole mess. The people of Sacramento a

Q: I want to sue a former neighbor in small claims court. She promised to pay half of the cost for a fence we built on the property line last year, but never did. She recently moved down to San Diego County. Do I have to go to San Diego to sue her, or can I do it in the Sacramento court? - Jessica   A: Picking the proper court to file your case can be tricky. If you file in the wrong court, your case may be dismissed, and you’ll have to start over again in the proper court. The proper court is called “venue” in legal terminology. California law has strict guidelines for determining proper venue. In some situations, there may be several courts that could be considered proper. In that sit

Seeing a lack of regular jazz shows in the central city, Grady O’Bryant sought to fill that void with a weekly series called Jazz on J at Shenanigans bar on J Street. Jazz on J features a local jazz band every Thursday. The first Jazz on J show was on Feb. 17. Grady worked with saxophonist Ava Lemert to create Jazz on J, which had its fourth show Thursday. Lemeret performs every week before the featured band. “Grady and I met up at Shenanigan’s to talk about putting something together,” Lemert said. “He and I are the creators of the series. Grady had the idea that he wanted to put something together. Maybe have something every week.” Every Thursday, from 6 - 7 p.m., local jazz artist A

The city is buzzing with the news that the Kings appear to be heading out of town and down the coast. However, it hasn't happened YET and it isn't too late to let your voice be heard. There is a movement called "Here We Stay" that is asking Kings fans to sell out the February 28th game against the LA Clippers. That game falls the night before the March 1st deadline the NBA has set for owners to file for relocation to another city. Last I checked there were only 1,000 tickets left for the game. A sell-out would be fantastic and certainly make a statement, but it is not enough. That is less than 18,000 people from the entire city showing their support. What about people who are not Kings fa

For anyone who thinks that losing the Sacramento Kings is only that, the loss of a professional sports franchise, think again. If Joe and Gavin Maloof, Kings owners, choose to file for a move by the looming March 1st deadline and are granted relocation, this city will lose a lot more than 41 regular season home games a year. This is about more than basketball. Arco Arena, soon to be Power Balance Pavilion, is an old, crumbling eyesore that is already being passed up by some of the big names in sports, music and entertainment for newer venues. Without the Sacramento Kings and the Maloofs, Sacramento is unlikely to build a new entertainment center and will continue to lose out to our shiny

Ace of Spades hosted its second event Saturday night, an "all locals" show called "SacShows Presents: Soundcheck", featuring performances by Oneira, Above The City, Carcerys Vale, Batten Down Your Heart, City of Kings, The Winter Formal and Ten After Two. The theme for the night seemed to be "screamo," and it was delivered in spades (pun intended) with the exception of maybe The Winter Formal, which leans more toward sung vocals. The tattooed and skintight jeans-wearing band members whipped their hair through quick 20- to 30-minute sets, cheered on by pierced and gauged teenage boys and girls, while overly aggressive males swung their fists around and ran into each other hard in the circ

Concerts by the Richard Thompson Electric Trio, Rob Zombie and Papa Roach are already being booked for a new music club called Ace of Spades, expected to open in early February. The 1,000-person-capacity club at 1417 R St. most recently housed Venue, which was open for six or seven months after a $2 million renovation but closed Aug. 13. Its owners – Bob Simpson, Rick and Earl Lobley, and the building’s owner, Randy Paragary – had operated Empire Events Center there since 2004. Tickets are on sale and the shows are being promoted, with the first concert featuring San Francisco rapper Andre Nickatina Feb. 5. Some acts are more hardcore, including deathcore band Whitechapel on its Welcome

This Thursday you'll have a chance to end 2010 on a good note by catching indie-rock fave Pinback at Harlow's. The heart of the San Diego band has always been Zach Smith and Rob Crow, and with an upcoming album on the horizon and to stay fresh creatively, the duo is taking a different approach to performing on their current outing. As Smith explains: "We've decided to have some fun and present our songs in a new light. Instead of playing our songs the traditional way by having a backup band play all of our extra parts we thought it would be entertaining and fresh for just the two of us to play live. The idea is to present our music at times in a more broken down manner very similar sound

Local musician Bryan Nichols, of the reggae band ZuhG, opened an independent music store in the Westfield Downtown Plaza on Nov. 13. The store only stocks local musicians’ albums, the work of other local artists and apparel. Apparel includes styles by 215Grass, Calibis Clothes, Hippy Tree, Dome Apparel and independent craftspeople on consignment. In The back of the store, which is named ZuhG Life after the band, serves as a space for music lessons. “It just kind of happened” Nichols said. He had been booking live music for the mall when management offered him a space to open a music store. “We’re Sacramento’s local music shop” said Aaron Hoberman, a roadie who also operates the store

With all the charm of some backwoods corny carnival, the 2010 Sammie Awards relocated from its familiar turf at the Crest Theatre to carve out a new niche in the R Street corridor and welcome the whole neighborhood to an evening of merriment. Perfect weather and the faint sound of disco beats started the party outdoors while spots like Venue and R15 began shuffling out on-lookers from pre-party refreshments. The crowd was patch-worked around the stage with nominated musicians and announcers, as stilt-walkers and street performers entertained families and 20-something hipsters bobbing their heads in the street. Photo booths stationed by the stage and editorial shoots popping at Muse Salon

Venue, located at 1417 R St., officially closed its doors today after being sold last week. That’s according to Bob Simpson, one of the establishment’s partners. “I can’t disclose the terms of the sale because it’s confidential,” Simpson said. “The business is sold. We’re excited about it. We got a good offer, and at this point, we decided to go for it.” Simpson said he couldn’t disclose what the concept is for the business that will be taking it over. Any performances scheduled to take place in the 1,000-capacity club have been canceled, according to Simpson. “We were only doing occasional performances,” he said. Venue opened in February in the building that formerly housed Empire.

There was a lot of fishnet at Blue Lamp on Wednesday night, which could mean a few things, but in this case it was lo-fi pop quartet Dum Dum Girls visiting Sacramento in support of their debut album I Will Be. Dum Dum Girls is led by Dee Dee (real name: Kristen Gundred), the creative force behind the all girl group, á la Trent Reznor. The name of the group is a nod to both The Vaselines' album Dum-Dum, and the Iggy Pop song "Dum Dum Boys". The 27-year-old singer/songwriter started recording songs in her bedroom and eventually looked to her friends to take the show on the road. The debut album I Will Be was produced by Richard Gottehrer, who is responsible for writing 60's classics "My Boy