Pete Thomas, a drummer since he was a kid in Sheffield, England, joined Elvis Costello to form the Attractions and continues as the drummer for the Imposters. He has also played as a session musician with countless artists including Johnny Cash, Sheryl Crow, Neil Finn, John Wesley Harding, Joe Jackson, Los Lobos, Joan Osbourne, Pearl Jam, Bonnie Raitt, Squeeze, Richard Thompson, Rufus Wainwright, and the Waterboys. In 2003, Thomas was inducted into the Rock......

Country music proved to be an Achilles heel for many of our American Idol contestants. The night started off on a good note, with baldiePhil Stacey doing a decent job on Keith Urban's "Where the Blacktop Ends" and Jordin Sparks doing an even better job on coach Martina McBride's song "Broken Wing" (which is a lot of chutzpah for a 17-year-old). Then came Sanjaya. With permed hair in a do-rag, he butchered a song......

The first four American Idol contestants were booted last night. While we weren’t surprised at the girls (Amy Krebs left because of her vanilla on vanilla rendition of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and Nicole Tranquillo tried too hard to be Chaka Khan and Rufus all at once), the guys who left kinda did. We thought for sure than smiley Sanjaya was a goner, but he turned out to be in......

Garbage, Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo’, Victoria Williams, Sheryl Crow, Jackson Browne, the Martinis (Joey Santiago and David Lovering), and others @ Alex Theater (Beat It Wally benefit) Helmet @ The Troubadour Kaki King @ Hotel Cafe Joss Stone @ House of Blues Sally Kellerman @ Genghis Cohen Jill Sobule, Julia Sweeney @ Largo Polysics, The Outline @ The Knitting Factory Ferona Vai, In Memory, Anthema @ Viper Room Iceage Cobra, Jessie Deluxe, The High......

We've got nothing against the inventor of "Operation", the creator of Dracula, the ink blot test dude, or the woman who is often confused with Weezie but she's really Florida. We just love Parker Posey. Who else could pull off a movie about an irresponsible NYC hipster chick who dances all night and struggles to be a librarian by day? And we bet she parties. 1710 - Sarah Fielding 1836 - Milton Bradley 1847......

James Ellroy (reading) @ Skylight Books A Tribe Called Quest @ Wiltern Willie Nelson, Ryan Adams, Neko Case @ Hollywood Bowl Tracy Lawrence @ House of Blues Polyphonic Spree @ The Henry Fonda Carlos Guitarlos @ The Liquid Kitty Jews & Mexicans @ Mr. T's Bowl La Traviata @ Dorothy Chandler Bonnie Raitt @ Santa Barbara Bowl Megadeth, Lamb of God, Overkill @ Hyundai Pavilion photo by the slow wonder via flickr......

Heart @ Fairplex Pomona Apollo Sunshine @ Troubadour Feist @ Avalon Jill Sobule @ Largo Headlights @ Spaceland 311 @ Santa Barbara Bowl Bonnie Raitt, Keb' Mo' @ Greek New Maximum Donkey @ The Joint Death House Chaplain @ Mr. T's Bowl Scream, Beautiful Creatures @ Viper Room Supagroup, The Giraffes @ Key Club Tsuyama Atsushi, Kawabata Makoto, Tatsuya Yoshida @ The Smell Lisa Lisa, Zapp, The Manhattans, GQ, The Delfonics @ Hyundai Pavilion......

Trace Adkins - Dangerous Man (Capitol) Christina Aguilera - Back to Basics (two CDs; RCA) Carmine Appice - Ultimate Guitar Zeus (Escapi) Patricia Barber - Mythologies (Blue Note) Rory Block - The Lady and Mr. Johnson (Rykodisc) Cham - Ghetto Story (Atlantic) Cherish - Unappreciated (enhanced; Capitol) Philip Glass - "The Illusionist" soundtrack (Rykodisc) Joanna - This Crazy Life (Geffen) Andy Fairweather Low - Sweet Soulful Music (Proper) Maria Muldaur - Heart of Mine:......

Most actors fancy themselves to be a jack (or jane) of all trades.... Few actually are. We were therefore surprised when we stumbled upon an older, but noteworthy recording by Santa Barbara native Kathleen Wilhoite. Although she's an accomplished musician, Wilhoite is probably best known for her 1996 stint as Chloe Lewis on ER. Don't let that scare you away. She warrants a listen. We encourage you to check out Wilhoite's earthy 2000 release......