John Cage, who would have turned 100 on September 5, wrote the first serious composition for toy piano, as odd as it to say those words together in a sentence. First performed in 1948 and called Suite for Toy Piano, …

A short reprieve: today does not actually mark the end of summer. Actually, summer concludes on September 22, according to Will Faeber. That's the day he and his band Cathouse Thursday host what he calls the official End of Summer …

"We've been around for quite a while." Mark Calabio checks in by phone from L.A. His band, Platypus Egg, is readying for their CD release party in San Diego in September. "Most of our shows have been in the East …

"I live in Santa Monica now, but I'm originally from La Mesa." Tiff Jimber is a pop music singer/pianist in the image, somewhat, of Ben Folds. Her music is both wry and intelligent to the point, at times, of introducing …

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, -- Pussy Riot -- were sentenced in Russia today to two years in prison following their arrest in March after the punk trio sang "Mother of God, put Putin out," …

East of Sweden's drummer Jeffrey O'Brien learned to play cello this summer. But don't expect him to have it onstage when the band performs at their record release party this weekend. "I play cello on the album," he says by …

The roll call of winners from last night's sold-out 22nd Annual San Diego Music Awards at Humphreys included top honors to jazz pianist Mike Wofford, who received this year's Lifetime Achievement Award, and Candye Kane, the first recipient of SDMA's …

It was about a fez. I was working on a series of interviews with local rockers who'd had a taste of the big time for a story when I happened upon the Blue Guitar. At that time, the guitar shop …

The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well. -- …

"I use this tool a lot," says Tim Nunnink. He brandishes a sinister metal rod. "It's more like a breaker bar." Under the hard glow of shop lights, strange tools and dental picks cover work benches in the garage. There's …

It happened on a Sunday morning at the end of April. Greg Willis rolled out of bed at around 9 a.m. and just kept going until he hit the floor. "I couldn't stand up. I couldn't say words." Patty Birchard, …

BOR IPA Makes a Big Splash in OB The Burning of Rome's Surfdog Records debut With Us is scheduled for release September 18. In the meantime, the band just released its own beer. Brewed at Pizza Port in OB, where …

A listener hears old, but sees young: the singing voice, and the person using it, do not match. Whitney Shay is 26, but she can pound out the blues like someone I interviewed years ago who told me her name …

Anthony Carrasco lived in San Diego during the '80s. He, like a lot of teenagers, had aspirations to play rock and roll. "But I was kicked out of every band I've been in or auditioned for." He laughs. "I'm not …

All told, the Queen Divas of the Universe are a slice of rock and roll history. We meet up at Cosmos in La Mesa and let the name dropping begin: "I was at a party with Jimi Hendrix in Detroit …

"A lot is riding on this new record." Adam Traub checks in by phone about his band The Burning of Rome and their new disc. "Kind of everything. We've got a good relationship with our label (Surfdog Records.) I'm treating …

Swarmius Photo: Amy Hecht "Wipe Out" has a life of its own. I don't have to do anything." That's the word from Bob Berryhill, who checks in by phone during a Surfaris tour stop on Hawaii, this nearly 50 years …

Pictured: The Very The Very: "Like Three's Company," emails Diana Death, referencing the old TV sitcom. "Two girls and one guy." Phil Inzunza handles guitars, vox, and drum machine sequencing, Lex does keys and vocals, and bassist Death also sings. …

But in my imagination this whole thing developed and I started mixing up old folk songs with the Beatles beat and taking them down to Greenwich Village and playing them for the people there. --Roger McGuinn, The Byrds River City …

"As far as I know, it's all over." Scott Clayton is talking about music at the Bar Leucadian. He owns On Point Promotions. For the past few years he has booked all of Bar Leucadian's live entertainment, a gig that …