Arts Devo

Space jamming If you’re looking for another TV series to binge watch this summer, look no further than the deep and funky grooves worn into our own backyard. Local funk-fusion crew GravyBrain has been busy creating a “space saga” called the Nibiru Chronicles, wherein the group—Captain Danger, Guitar Gravy, The Scorpion and Dr. Galaxo Magic—“blasts off in search of Planet Nibiru, otherwise known as Planet X, to prove or disprove its existence. If Team GravyBrain can find Nibiru, they’ll claim it in the name of GravyBrain and throw the biggest party the Universe has ever seen!”

The guys are already on “Episode 7, the Wrath of McKhan,” which features a guest appearance by fellow funksters Black Fong, playing the comfortable roles of party-happy tricksters … in space.

Visit GravyBrain’s YouTube page at www.goo.gl/Y01OAD to watch all of the episodes.

Chico on the TV A few weeks ago, Arts DEVO got word from Sarah Nielsen, local badass real estate agent (and just badass in general), that HGTV’s insanely popular show House Hunters will feature Chico in a future episode. Neilsen, who runs Independent Realty Group, will be starring. Apparently, two of her clients were approached by the show, and once they started working with Neilsen, one of them said, “I have to tell you something. We’re probably going to be on House Hunters, so you are, too.”

Filming ended a couple of weeks ago, and Neilsen couldn’t tell me many details other than the finished episode may air in October. “It was so much fun,” Neilsen said of the experience, adding that “the film crew was so awesome” and very into exploring Chico and taking in all the local flavor.

Live music changes at 1078 With the departure of local-show impresario Christina Springer (who’s off to Austin, Texas—via Oklahoma—to further her music-biz dreams) as its primary booker, the 1078 Gallery has announced the creation of a booking collective to handle musical programs. Basing the new approach on the longstanding promotion model employed by the Chico Area Punks, gallery President Erin Wade and local booker/musician Sesar Sanchez (Maltese, Monstros, etc.) have assembled an eclectic group of local-music types with the goals of spreading the workload among more volunteers and diversifying the gallery’s performance programming. The group features members from a wide range of musical backgrounds, and currently includes Sanchez, Joshua Hegg, Scott Itamura, Roxy Palmer, Ignacio Ysern, Corrie Clark, Hap Hathaway, Cory “Himp C” Hunt, Madeleine Mathews, Miles Claibourn, Mathew Houghton and comedian Jerm Leather.

Hot fire! When I was making the rounds in preparation for this week’s story on instant noodles (see “Instant gratification”, page 37), a friendly young cashier at Asian Market (347 Nord Ave., Ste. 3) named Gee Lo suggested that I look up the “Korean fire noodle challenge” on YouTube. Which I did, of course, bearing witness to various displays of sweating (and crying, and snotting) as the subjects tried to make it through one package or bowl (often without a cold drink until the very end) of the Buldalk Bokkeummyeon “fire” fried chicken ramen from South Korea’s Samyang Foods.

While I wasn’t interested in partaking in any feats of pain, after reading the positive review at ramenrater.com, I was curious about how it tasted. Fire noodles aren’t yet available in Chico (although Tou Lor, a manager at M&Y Market, 2550 S. Whitman Place, said his distributor might soon have some available), so I ordered a five-pack off Amazon and gave it a try. I have to say that, even though my neck might still be sweating, it wasn’t painful. The clear plastic bag of blood-red flavor/heat was pretty daunting, and the finished noodles are extremely hot, but it’s an invigorating heat that lingers just on the lips and is nicely complemented by a little sweetness, the dried seaweed topping and the wonderfully chewy noodles. Add an egg or some kimchi, and anyone who likes spicy food would have no problem enjoying.