FABC in the Sac Bee

All in tune

Move over, book clubbers: This group meets to share -- and keep -- favorite songs

By Chris Macias
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, March 31, 2006

The party in this Tahoe Park home is about to start popping. Taquitos and Togo's sandwiches are ready for grubbing, a mojito bar is on standby. But if you want to come inside and hang, you'd better have a song to share.

It's a Sacramento meeting of, to put it nicely, the "(Bleep) a Book Club." The name has an in-yourface ring to it, a slight diss at Oprah's Book Club, but it's just a smart-aleck way of describing a new kind of listening party. Think of "(Bleep) a Book Club" as a potluck where music is the main course, or a soiree based on favorite songs.

There's no way to be a wallflower here. Each partygoer is required to bring a song on a CD, and before an in-house DJ slides the track into a CD deck and presses "play," you give a short speech about why the song moves you. It's about making fast friends over music, a shared party platter of songs and stories.

"You get to bridge a whole bunch of cultures together," says Mike "DJ Chappeezee" Chappell, one of the in-house DJs for Sacramento's (Bleep) a Book Club meetings.

"Music is almost therapeutic for me; it's the only way I know how to relax. (Bleep) a Book Club is one of the things that keeps you from thinking that nobody in the world understands you."

The (Bleep) a Book Club movement is 2 years old; it started in the Bay Area in early 2004 and spread to such cities as Boston and New York City.

The club reached Sacramento last month, bringing together two dozen music aficionados, record collectors and folks who wanted to bond over beats and melodies. A second round of Sacramento's (Bleep) a Book Club went down in March.

The basic (Bleep) a Book Club format works like this:

• Bring food and/or drink and a song to share.

• Log your name, e-mail and song information on a sign-up sheet.

• Hang with your fellow music hounds.

• When you feel the vibe, hand a CD to the DJ; talk about the song you're about to share.

• Play the song.

• Kick back, mingle and repeat. As a bonus, all songs are loaded in iTunes and logged as a kind of musical minutes for the meeting. Whoever shows up to the next (Bleep) a Book Club event gets those songs on a souvenir disc.

"Instead of 'Pay It Forward,' we say 'Play It Forward,' " says Gabriel Romo, a local artist who organizes Sacramento's (Bleep) a Book Club events. "It's about passing that music on. You give some insight in a kind of way, and then you pass it along. The overall goal is just sharing good music."

"My name is Kenny. What's up? This is my first time here. The song I brought is extremely important to me. It's the first music I ever appreciated. It's Marvin Gaye, from a live album. I think it's perfect music, and that's a category I give to not many artists."

- Kenny Times, 37, presenting "What's Happening Brother" by Marvin Gaye

Respect the music

(Bleep) a Book Club events aren't too hung up on rules. There's no limit to the number of people who can attend, though sessions work best on a more-intimate scale. Any song is welcomed at (Bleep) a Book Club, be it rock, hip-hop or something not so hip, such as one by Hootie & the Blowfish.

But the (Bleep) a Book Club has one overriding rule: Respect the music. A shout of "respect the music!" means to chill and stop gabbing because someone's about to present a song. "Respect the music" also is a reminder that there's no snickering when it comes to someone's song selection. And this is put to the test when Hootie & the Blowfish's "Time" bellows from the speakers. But everyone is cool with the track at this Sac Town edition of (Bleep) a Book Club, and a few heads nod as if the song is a soul-jazz gem by Grant Green.

"No one's musical selection should ever be lampooned," says Oakland's Arnold Chandler, a co-founder of "(Bleep) a Book Club." "It's an open, kind of welcoming social environment. It's not exclusive in any sense."

"I know John Mayer has been this commercial, pop kind of person, but right now he's with the John Mayer Trio. I like that he's not so commercial now - he's doing the blues. The reason why I like it: It's just him talking about how he has everything in his life, but something's missing and he doesn't know what it is."

- Shauntay Davis, 28, presenting "Something's Missing" by the John Mayer Trio

A relaxed event

So grab a space on the futon, mingle, or chill out in a La-Z-Boy chair. The founders of (Bleep) a Book Club envision events that are relaxed, even soulful when everyone's speaking from the heart about their song choices. (Bleep) a Book Club has even been used as an "icebreaker" exercise at a corporate retreat.

"Everyone knows each other by the end of the night, and I've never been to a party before where that happens," says Chandler. "(Here) you're at a party, there's food and a potluck and everyone's having a good time. And at some point everyone gets to be center stage. You get to be the star for something you like, and you get to share it with people."

So when the music and conversation is flowing, the (Bleep) a Book Club sounds something like this:

"I've always been a hip-hop fan and I went backwards in the roots of it," says Romo, while presenting Isaac Hayes' "Hung Up on My Baby," which was later sampled in Geto Boys' "My Mind Playin' Tricks on Me."

"I didn't know these songs I'd heard weren't original. So I went out and got these songs (that the hip-hop tunes sampled from), and it was like that same feeling you have when you hear the song for the first time."

The beat and guitar groove kicks in.

"This is what my pops played in the house on reel-to-reel," says Times, the first-time (Bleep) a Book Club attendee.

"Reel-to-reel?" says Romo. "Wow."

"Every Saturday, my pops used to put this on in the morning and play it for hours," says Times. "They're like symphonies."

"I love Isaac, man," says Romo.

But that's enough chatting for now because another song is on deck. And that's a cue to pay attention.

"Respect the music!"

About the writer:

• The Bee's Chris Macias can be reached at (916) 321-1253 or cmacias@sacbee.com. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/macias.

What the (bleep)

A third installment of the (Bleep) a Book Club in Sacramento has yet to be announced. But there's no need to wait. To learn more about how to start your own (Bleep) a Book Club session, log on to www.fabookclub.com or e-mail arniec1@gmail.com.