Her Music Caught the Ear of Ben Folds Five, and now @ Little Spiral @ and Her New Album are Ready to Take on the World.
When we were kids, we had fantastical dreams. Our imaginations would burst with ideas that felt so far out of the realm of possibilities to those outside of our minds. What if the animals could talk? What if we could fly simply by using our minds and a well-placed breeze? What if technology had a heart?
Read full storyMisuse of Force: How Allied Universal Security Played a Role in Multiple Deaths, Including a Bay Area Legend.
From protests around the world to organized movements. From legislation to judicial consequences. In whatever avenue, in whatever way, the issue of misuse of force, predominantly by police officers, has been a prevalent topic of discussion and action for many years. With the advent of social media, and the everyday person's ability to record the world around them, the public has had no other option than to become aware of a far-too-often repeated problem. Misuse of force leads to sudden in-custody deaths. Yet in the conversations, the movements, the protests, and until VERY recently the legislation, there seems to be one group left out of the conversation that absolutely should have been included.
Read full storyFestival Season Returns: How a Bay Area Production Company is Bringing Independent Festivals Back in a Big Way.
"What were you doing when the world shut down?" After two years of a pandemic, it's inevitable that most of us have an answer for that question. Like the Kennedy assassination, the bombings on 9/11, or any other historically significant moment that changed or defined a generation; an entire globe effectively shutting down complete with food and supply shortages, a virus that spread like wildfire, and a total inability to combat it will forever be a moment that changed everything.
Read full storyThe Evolution of Terrance: A Bay Area Artist Grows Before Our Eyes
What is it about music that has the power to change your entire mood? If you were to look to the cold, hard facts, music can assist in the reduction of your heart rate. It lowers your blood pressure. Music can also cause a drop in the amount of cortisol, aka the body's main stress hormone, allowing your body a break from the anxiety. Looking beyond science, music is also a tool that brings people together. It bridges gaps from language, to difference of opinion. It breaks down barriers that can normally feel impenetrable. It creates community.
Read full storyMusic Heals: The Albums That Saved My Life in 2021 - A Series.
It's a statement I've uttered, in a proverbial sense, a million times over throughout my existence. Yet 2021 may have been the first time the proverbial transformed to the literal. Where the collective loss, personal grief, and subsequent heartbreak smacked me so hard that I wasn't sure how I would come out of it.
Read full storyThe Revolution Will Not Be Televised, But It Will Be Found in the Poetry of Tongo Eisen Martin.
SF Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen Martin sits in front of Cafe Boheme in the Mission DistrictVanessa Parrish. I remember the collective groans that used to come in my English class when it was time to read poetry. The epic length of Beowulf, the thees and thous of Shakespeare, the overly flowery prose of Walt Whitman. While it all holds a place in the annals of literary history, it never really inspired the reaction our English teachers wanted.
Read full storyGo With the "Flo": Sacramento Based Company Ill Xool Flo is Bringing Music and Life Back to the City.
Sacramento's return to life has raised some questions. Where do we go? Are the places we used to go to open? Do the events we went to exist anymore? Even if there is stuff to do, do we want to risk putting ourselves in a room full of people while we're still, technically, knee-deep in a pandemic?
Read full storySacramento Raised Him Right: How Cash Campain is Making His Own Way in the Music Business
The music industry is in an altered state of being right now -- in the sense that there isn't a music industry. At least not in the way that many of us may remember. There aren't a handful of artists competing for that million-dollar deal with one of the major labels. There isn't a magical A&R rep coming to try and pluck you from the open mic oblivion.
Read full storyFrom Rapping to Roku: Sacramento Artist Max Hernandez Premieres New Series and is Bringing Local Artists With Him.
Voice actor. Hip hop artist. Radio host. Son. Friend. With so many titles under his belt Sacramento's Max Hernandez, aka Max Bundles, can add a new title to his resume. Animator.
Read full storyBreaking Ground: How a Local Business Owner's New Endeavor is Doing its Part to Eliminate A Food Desert in Oak Park.
Leo Hickman, Owner of Classy Hippie Tea Co. and Broadway CoffeeKaty Karns - Provided by Leo Hickman. Its been a little over three months since the city of Sacramento effectively re-opened its doors to the public. Early morning coffee drinkers are out seeking their first fix of the day while neighbors are pausing on sidewalks as they walk their dogs to catch up. Traffic is back to getting on all of our nerves, and Kenny the Dancing Man is free to dance where he pleases. For better or worse, things are starting to feel the same as they once did. One business owner in Sacramento is coming back with a whole new outlook, a whole new business, and a continued mission to make a difference.
Read full storyI Volunteered at a COVID Test Site in Sacramento and All I Got Was this Lousy Sense of Dread.
Pop Art Representation of a Positive COVID TestShafin Protic. "Would you be willing to volunteer your time one day out of the week at a COVID testing site?" The question settled in a twisted knot in the pit of my stomach. The idea of placing myself in front of so many people possibly infected with one of the deadliest viruses this country has seen in generations... was not an easy yes. After a quick back and forth with the site manager discussing safety precautions and where I would be working in relation to the public, I swallowed my hesitations and agreed.
Read full storyThey Say to Never Meet Your Heroes -- But Whoever They Are Never Met Baba Zumbi of Zion-I Crew.
A Celebration of Baba Zumbi: Artists set up at Hiero Headquarters in Oakland, CA. Aug 22. 2021Olivia Monahan. It's been two weeks, and no matter how many times I've tried to write this it felt impossible. Minutes, hours and days spent staring into the void of this computer, it's blank screen staring back at me as I searched the caverns of my brains for the right words. It wasn't until this morning that it hit me why it was so difficult.
Read full storyAll Canvases are Beautiful: An Anonymous Art Installation is Sending a Message
One of the few doors still left standing in SacramentoAndres Alvarez/Sacramento. At first, there was just one. A painted door that appeared from nowhere bolted to a parking sign in front of Mike's Camera in Midtown Sacramento the day of the Derek Chauvin murder trial verdict. Varied shades of stenciled block lettering reading "A guilty verdict is not a sign that the system is working... it is a sign that solidarity is" on one side and "My daddy changed the world" on the other. In ghost lettering, acting as the background to the statement, was the name George Floyd, over and over again.
Read full storyIn Defense of Aaron Carnes - How a Sacramento Journalist Gave New Life to an Often Ignored Genre of Music
Front Cover of In Defense of Ska by Sacramento Journalist turned Author Aaron CarnesCam Evans. This article has nothing to do with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Read full storyHow a Constitutional Loophole Allows Legal Slavery to Exist - and the People in Sacramento Aiming to Abolish it.
With the state of California one of only nine states that currently allows for involuntary servitude to be included as a component of criminal punishment, the Sacramento chapter of civil and human rights organization All of Us or None have come together to push the ACA 3 bill onto the ballot.
Read full storyThe Weight They Carried: How Sac PDs Use of a Non Existent Bail Hold Sets A Dangerous Legal Precedent
This article will be the first in a series entitled “The Weight They Carried” -- stories that take a closer look at some of the moments that occurred as a result of the political unrest in America throughout 2020. This series will focus specifically on Sacramento, the Capital of the 5th largest economy in the world and moreover, how a moment here could cause ripple effects across the country that last lifetimes.
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