Music Menu 

Eric Lovell Band -- The Jesus-like visage conceals one of the best musicians in town, on showcase all over town in the David Childers Band and in his own solo project, the appropriately titled Eric Lovell Band. Eric's got a nice new CD out on SingleWing Records, titled The Long Road, and he plays just about everything on it, including guitar, sitar, melodica, organ, bass and more. Quite the musician, and a pretty good songwriter to boot. Double Door Inn (Davis)

FRIDAY 1.25

Avett Brothers / The Lazy Birds -- The Brothers (Scott on banjo and Seth on guitar and piano) create a blend of bluegrass and old-time American music. It's obvious they were weaned on the stuff and show it all off with no holds barred, pared down music formatted just right for the juke joints. The Lazy Birds, out of Boone, NC, are a quaint traditional music outfit, accented by a capital T, and cover the ground Big Bill Broonzy, Woody Guthrie, Thelonious Monk and Bob Dylan walked on. The quartet has a nice self-titled disc of covers, including those mentioned, with a "trends be damned" backcountry sound. Fat City (Shukla)

The Goldenrods / $2 Pistols -- The Benji Hughes-led faction of the Clods/Rods Collective continues to improve with age, with Hughes constantly adding some Beaujolais to the fine vintage songs he's already acquired. Super-fine, soulful cosmic balladry completely unlike anything else around -- except perhaps the Houston Brothers, who don't quite count, as they belong to the damn Goldenrods (and were only not mentioned above for the sake of rhyming). (Davis) / Chapel Hill's Pistols play quintessential, honest to goodness country music. There's no lame pop country here, no sireee, just plenty of lumps in the throat and mighty thumpin' hangovers the next day. After pounding skins for numerous rock and punk bands, Pistols frontman John Howie took the dive a few years back and now claims the honky tonks with his genuine drawl and acoustic guitar backed up by moanin' fiddle and rhythm. A new 7" record is lurking in the stores while they record new material for a full length album slated for late summer. Visulite Theatre (Shukla)

Poprocket -- Poprocket, of course, features one Jay Garrigan; he's also in the Garrigan Brothers, who are not to be confused with the Marx Brothers (not as funny), The Hansen Brothers (not as rough), or the Doobie Brothers (not as stoned), and who'll open this show. Poprocket also features Shawn Lynch, currently pulling double duty in Les Dirt Clods, and Jeff Larish, who does likewise with Lou Ford. With the Garrigan Brothers, including Mike (currently in Atheneaum), Jay, and Jay's other brother, who plays drums and whose name I can't remember for the life of me (dammit!). The Evening Muse (Davis)

Semi-Pro -- The sweetly sick new project from Tony James of the old band It Could Be Nothing, as well as some members of the defunct Kudzu Ganja (Jeff Floyd and Bryant Thomsen) and Sweet Banana (Jay Fernandez), Semi-Pro play good ol' fuzz-heavy skate punk, kick-flipping into all sorts of interesting, exotic chord progressions. Ever see those videos where guys go flying down a handrail on a skateboard and wrack themselves something silly? This is a great soundtrack for such stuff -- it hits right in the groin. With Drop Comix, a band from Spartanburg. Cafe Bisous (Davis)

Willy Evans Trio -- Evans and his back up band pretty much play straight up blues with thin slices of roots music. The Charlotte-based trio (guitar/bass/drums) creates Chicago-style electric blues with just enough nods to other regional American music to keep things from getting dull and repetitive. Puckett's Farm Equipment (Shukla)

  SATURDAY 1.26

Chris Cook -- Cook, formerly of local groups Stone Blue, Zeke's Wheel, and The Critters, has a nice sort of Delbert McClinton voice, backed by some pretty meat-and-potatoes musicianship that runs the gamut from roots rock to country. Cook's got a new CD out, Heartless Road, which will be on sale at this show. Double Door Inn (Davis)

Tosco Music Party -- This event is more a gathering of tribes and a convergence of musical brotherhood than anything else. Each performer plays approximately 10 minutes, thereby allowing for more than a dozen bands or artists to show off everything from folk to world music, jazz, gospel, rock... well, you get the picture. OK, so you won't find the latest death metal trendsetter playing, but just about anything else is game. Music is the focal point of this family-oriented event, which also features cool sing-along during breaks. What started as a lo-fi living room collective at the Tosco homestead, and grew into semi-annual gigs at the Great Aunt Stella Center, now moves into the swank confines of Spirit Square. Cast Iron Filter, Abe Reid, Josh Lamkin, Tesser, Mike Tichy, Donna Duncan, Darin Aldridge and the Victrola Club are among the acts scheduled to perform. Spirit Square (Shukla)

  TUESDAY 1.29

The Drunk Stuntmen -- A lazy reference point would be to peg them as a countrified version of Neil Young and Crazy Horse. You wouldn't be too far off since The Stuntmen have a similar writing style and rowdy show with plenty of three-guitar oomph, but the sound points more toward teary eyed twang than feedback bursts of the aforementioned legends. The cool thing is these boys are from way up yonder north but play down home music with the fervor of rebel hat-wearin' good old boys. They're on the road toting their latest slab of tunes called Iron Hip EP. Double Door Inn (Shukla)