News-Press – Page 58

California Dreamin’ – Rooney’s bright sunshine pop rock comes to Velvet

June 18, 2010June 1, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

There’s been a lot of chanting about Rooney, and not just the band that is coming to Velvet Jones tonight with a popular brand of catchy retropop rock hooks. It just so happens that Rooney shares its name with English soccer player Wayne Rooney, which would not make that much difference if the World Cup wasn’t going on right now. But hey, those mistaken Internet search engine results can’t hurt, can they?

“It’s been going on longer than the World Cup,” says Ned Brower, drummer with the band. When the band toured the UK recently, they heard audiences chanting “Roo-ney! Rooooo-nee-ee!!”

Music is the Healer – Ian Franklin’s musical journey comes to Lompoc Flower Festival

June 18, 2010June 1, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

There’s another annual event to look out for at this Wednesday’s Flower Festival in Lompoc, and that’s the return of Ian Franklin. This Bay Area musician with the Central Coast connections appeared last year at the Festival and returns for the second time for a rock and folk infusion of his songwriting skills.

“Lompoc is my second home,” says Franklin, who spent many a summer there with his father, a local chiropractor. The Flower Festival was always a main attraction during those visits, and it took some encouraging from dear ol’ dad to finally submit his CD to the festival organizers. “He kept egging me on to perform there,” he says.

Ca’Dario’s Ruby Red Martini

June 18, 2010May 27, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Ca’Dario, in our humble opinion, has never really lost the buzz that it earned all those years ago, when it first started offering Italian food on the corner of Victoria and Anacapa. And that’s not just our opinion, that’s the general vibe at an early-week lunch, which is just overflowing with people. Ca’Dario, although going on 13 years, never opened the bar section (four seats) until late 2008.

Manager Danny Chisholm is the man making our cocktails today, and he says most people sit at the bar when waiting for a table. But here’s where they discover what we did: the bar affords a great view of the magical Ca’Dario kitchen and the plate-assembling area. We got pretty hungry watching pastas, salads and meat dishes pass by with their finishing touches. Nothing to do but have some cocktails.

Welcome to the Machine – SBCC’s Theater Group ventures into Expressionist drama with ‘Machinal’

June 15, 2010June 30, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

In 1927, housewife Ruth Snyder conspired with her lover Henry Judd Gray to murder her husband and collect the insurance money. The following trial became a media sensation, as the public was baying for blood.

Among others, filmmaker D.W. Griffith and author Damon Runyon covered the trial. On the day of Snyder’s execution, a photographer snuck in and grabbed a disturbing, iconic image as she died in the electric chair at Sing Sing.

Sublime’s new singer Rome carried on Nowell’s tradition at KJEE’s Summer Round Up

June 14, 2010May 19, 2022 tedmills Leave a comment

When Rome Ramirez was about 6 years old, Bradley Nowell, lead singer of Sublime, died from a drug overdose. That was 1996. Now it’s 2010 and the 22-year-old finds himself stepping into Nowell’s shoes as the frontman of a resuscitated Sublime (with the appendage “with Rome” added after Nowell’s family complained).

A Sublime fan since he was a kid, Mr. Ramirez is now playing in front of crowds like the one that gathered at the Santa Barbara Bowl on Saturday, most of whom probably never saw Sublime play when Nowell was alive. As a capper to the day-long KJEE Summer Round Up, it was a fine enough way to see the sun set.

Henry Rollins spoken word tour screamed into SOhO Restaurant & Music Club Wednesday

June 12, 2010June 1, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

The many faces and opinions of punk rock icon-turned-spoken word artist Henry Rollins were on display Wednesday night at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club. Mr. Rollins tackled a vast spectrum of issues and topics, including but not limited to South Africa, President Obama, persecution in the South, a confrontation with the dictator of Myanmar, as well as his own travels and experiences. THOMAS KELSEY/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS — The many faces and opinions of punk rock icon-turned-spoken word artist Henry Rollins were on display Wednesday night at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club. Mr. Rollins tackled a vast spectrum of issues and topics, including but not limited to South Africa, President Obama, persecution in the South, a confrontation with the dictator of Myanmar, as well as his own travels and experiences.
THOMAS KELSEY/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Henry Rollins inspires in many ways. There’s his work ethic, or rather his workaholicism, which sees him taking in hundreds of cities a year for his spoken word tour — Wednesday’s SOhO gig was one of them — then “bouncing” all over the world during his down time, and basically saying yes to any work offer. It’s his pure energy, which glows icy blue hot, a flame that hasn’t died down since his days as the frontman of the seminal punk rock band Black Flag. Seeing he couldn’t hold a tune or keep time, according to him, spoken word was his calling all along. At three hours, there’s no punk band that could keep up.

Without even a stop for a drink of water, Mr. Rollins held the SOhO audience in thrall the entirety of his storytelling. Part of that was from the power of his words, his charisma, and the feeling that terrible things might happen if, heaven forbid, one checked a text message or left for a toilet break. “This is going to be like the longest Jet Blue flight ever,” he said, referring to the cramped seating and his foreknowledge of our asses falling asleep.

Moby Dick’s Pineapple Cosmo

June 11, 2010June 3, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Looking back from Moby Dick restaurant toward the blue skies and green mountains of Santa Barbara, we had to once again remind ourselves that we live in the place so many tourists wish they did. And we also have a job that others wish they had. But you know, it’s not all fun and games…in fact…

…well, I can’t come with anything right now. Will get back to you later on that. It was a gorgeous day.

So anyway, Moby Dick takes up prime real estate at the end of Stearns Wharf and offers many a ocean view table — inside and outside — and a tiny little bar set up for making cocktails. And make cocktails they do. Bartender Joseph Silva has been making drinks here for going on 18 months, having worked up from server. With no bar space to sit at, we took up residence at a table and watched kayaks, paddleboarders, sailboats and seagulls pass by.

The Glory That Is Rome – After 14 years, Sublime returns with a new singer, and a caveat

June 11, 2010June 1, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Call it the ultimate fan’s dream. Rome Ramirez, just about to turn 22, grew up worshipping the band Sublime from his Fremont, Calif., home. He decorated his room with their posters, and when he picked up a guitar at age 11, the first song he learned to play was “Wrong Way.” Fate, luck and talent had their way with Ramirez, despite his leaving home at 14. He’s now the new lead singer of Sublime and about to headline KJEE’s Summer Round Up, stepping onstage with bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh, who are both twice his age.

The shoes he fills are those of lead singer Bradley Nowell, who died of a heroin overdose just as the band released its third album in 1996. A life was cut short, and the band’s success was, too. Their singles “Santeria,” “Wrong Way” and “What I Got” became hits, and the videos showed Gaugh and Wilson gamely doing their best, trying to incorporate Nowell’s ghost into the proceedings (sometimes, through computer graphics, literally).

The Spirit of Theater – ‘Ghosts of Broadway’ promises to present the stars of tomorrow in a new musical

June 11, 2010June 1, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Hamlet may have died avenging his father’s murder, but he’s spent a bit of time in the afterlife brushing up on his Broadway musical knowledge. That is the admittedly silly thesis that results in a lot of song and dance behind “Ghosts of Broadway,” the first production from Big Stage Productions, the performance arm of Santa Barbara Dance Arts. Kids from ages 8 and up will show their love of musical theater this Monday night.

Big Stage answers what founders Dauri Kennedy, Laezer Schlomkowitz, Steven Lovelace, Alana Tillim and Kathy Kelley saw as a real need in Santa Barbara. With the increasing popularity of “High School Musical,” “Glee” and “American Idol,” as well as a new interest in Broadway through a new decade of classics, a generation of children is coming up desperate for training in the all-singing, all-dancing arts.

Join in the Chant – Yoga Soup’s Kirtan series keeps getting bigger and bigger

June 11, 2010December 16, 2020 tedmills Leave a comment

Sarah Garney likes to quote a close friend who summed up the musical genre of Kirtan better than she feels she can: “Kirtan fulfills the promise of rock ‘n’ roll, because it’s participatory and uplifting.”

This “rock ‘n’ roll Sanskrit chanting” music has slowly been growing as a West Coast favorite, and with Santa Barbara as one of the definite stops on any musician’s tour. Garney has been one of the major promoters in the area and has managed some of the genre’s stars, such as Dave Stringer, and has programmed this summer series of concerts at Yoga Soup, ground zero for Kirtan, which starts tonight.