Michele Reverte

It's shaping up to be a busy year for singer-songwriter Cary Brothers. With the fourth annual Hotel Cafe Tour beginning in just a few days and his first full-length CD, Who You Are, getting great reviews, things won't be slowing down for him anytime soon. Brothers first received nationwide attention when his song "Blue Eyes" was featured on the Garden State soundtrack four years ago, and his fan base has grown with the release of...

The piano man is also a guitar man I'm not ashamed to admit that somewhere among my Jon Brion, Of Montreal and Vampire Weekend albums, you'll find a bunch of Billy Joel CDs. Although I wasn't even born when he first hit the airwaves, I've always had a soft spot for his music. Since I didn't get to see him perform during the days when he was releasing and performing new music, I was...

As far as live variety shows go, it doesn't get much better than the 826LA Book*Smart events at Largo. The event, which usually takes place once a month, features an author, a comedian and a musician. Saturday's event centered around headliner Zooey Deschanel, who blew the audience away with her vocal chops and helped raise funds for 826LA with sewn duck heads (it'll make sense as you keep reading).

First Amoeba Music scored a "secret show" featuring Paul McCartney, and now Ringo Starr is coming to town. Amoeba announced tonight that Starr and Dave Stewart will play an exclusive short set at the House of Blues this Friday to promote the release of Liverpool 8, Starr's new album. In order to be guaranteed entry, you must be one of the first people in line to purchase the new CD at Amoeba Music on Tuesday morning. The only other way to reserve a place is to win a pair via a KLOS on-air giveaway. All others must wait in line at the HoB beginning at 9 a.m. Friday morning.

Oh, to have unlimited resources and $8,000 to blow. My perceptions of rock 'n' roll fantasy camps forever changed this morning when my eyes skimmed an e-mail touting the mother of all rock experiences. My skepticism led me to open the e-mail and I was genuinely shocked by the caliber of the special guests and "camp counselors," which include Brian Wilson, Nick Mason, Cliff Williams and more. The Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp will take place Feb. 15-18 at a recording studio in Los Angeles and will include an on-stage performance with Cliff Williams at the House of Blues.

Even though "Extras" has ended, you can still get a Ricky Gervais fix when he comes to the Kodak Theatre in 2008. Though his people originally announced that tickets would go on sale Dec. 25, the date has been moved up to tomorrow, Dec. 18, at 10 a.m.

It's become a bit of a tradition. Each year, my co-workers and I spend one of our November lunch breaks at Costco. The seven of us help each other shop and have a fun time trying to find some deals. The first year we did it, someone posed the question: "But doesn't that mean we'll miss lunch?" Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Thanks to the little food sample stands set up...

Start saving your pennies now. Today it was announced that Ricky Gervais--podcast king and star/co-creator of The Office (U.K.) and Extras--will be coming to the Kodak Theatre next summer. Here's the official word from his website: Overpaid, Over-Fed and Over There Ricky Gervais will shortly be announcing stand-up shows across America in July 2008. Tickets for the coast to coast tour will go on sale at Christmas and will include dates at New York's...

Family Such as a grandpa who was awesome enough to teach a 12-year-old me about binary as well as the difference between analog and digital. People Who Adopt I wouldn't be here were it not for a kind couple who opened their home and their hearts to my foreign-born mom and her siblings. Really Thick Books Along with other reading, I've been working my way through Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. Even if I only...

I've been hearing about Civil War reenactments for a while now, but until this year I had no idea there was one a few miles from LA County. According to the official event website, this particular reenactment (hosted by the Richmond Howitzer Battalion) is the largest in Southern California. The participants, many of whom are veterans, pay the expenses themselves and the attention to detail is amazing. This year, the event took place Nov....