Grand Opening Performances By: Linden Wood, AxUnderground & TIP Vicious
By Aaris A. Schroeder
Editor-In-Chief
Rancho Cordova, California, a suburb of Sacramento, has a new record store called Fat Elephant Records, located at 2707 Cordova Lane, near KP International Market, which had their grand opening on Nov 2, 2024, featuring three diverse bands to celebrate the date.
Walk into the small record-book store and on the far back wall, a historic sign reading, “The Beat,” reminiscent of the popular Midtown Sacramento record store on J Street which was shuttered in 2013. Besides classic records, Fat Elephant offers music and pop culture books, CDs, DVDs, games, toys and more all wrapped around with a warm, nostalgic feel that gets you in the mood to dig in the crates.
The record store is owned by Charles Lago, the executive director of Rancho Cordova’s Film Office. He also helps to operate the historic Old Mills Winery where Cal Cap Black Box Theater lives.
The first performer up was singer-songwriter Linden Wood who started the show off. Wood’s music blends live rock-n-roll with the guitar strength of heavy metal and the western lyricism country music brings forth. The crowd began to grow inside at this point. The show has begun.
Next up was Sacramento heavy-guitar meets new wave goth-rock transplant band Axunderground, previously of San Jose, at Fat Elephant’s grand opening. Upon first listening to the band, memories of watching garage bands in dark bar venues in the early 2000s may arise.
“This is my first show. We are performing somewhere else tonight.” Chandler, the new bassist told UBO MAG who looked into it and saw that indeed, AxUnderground was to perform later at the infamous Midtown Sacramento venue, The Press Club along with Hovering Shrikes and In Retrograde.
Lastly up was TIP Vicious, an infectious, crowd-pleasing Hip Hop band that blends genres such as heavy metal, punk rock, funk and soul music into pure satisfaction anyone can get down with. Frontman and emcee, TIP started off by reciting a poetic story entitled “The Man Behind The Skull.” The song is based on an ‘awe-inspiring night in Sacramento,’ according to the TIP Vicious Youtube page where TIP meets a man that lives under a bridge near the railroad where graffiti adorns the entrance.
TIP Vicious also performed a few other crowd favorites such as “Pay Me,” “See Me Now” and included one of his newest tracks, “WATCH” which, according to inside sources, will be released very soon. It is easy to grasp the meaning of TIP’s words through his theatrical movements on stage – signs of a true performer.
Fat Elephant does not just want to have this one event, according to what Lago shared with journalist Annie Kerr of The Rancho Cordova Independent. They want to be an “events-based” record store and “cultural hub” for the arts, holding a couple of events per month.
Overall, Fat Elephant Records has a successful grand opening that provided visitors with diverse, live and local talent, a 20% discount for shopping and complimentary wine to enjoy. There was also a free raffle where Lago gave out two decent sized gift cards.
