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... more ›

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... more ›

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. more ›

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... more ›

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. more ›

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... more ›

photo of Stevie Wonder and Jason's dad by Jason Toney more ›

Yanni - Yanni Live!: The Concert Event (Image Entertainment) more ›

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. more ›