In 2004 the San Francisco rock outfit New Monsoon made a storied appearance at the famed Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado, and blew away newcomers with their unique blend of West Coast rock, jazz, Latin, and West Asian sounds.  From that performance the band released their first live disc aptly titled Live at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

For the 6th time in as many years the Foundation's auction includes a section that directly benefits Rock the Earth.  Rock the Earth - the winner of the Jammy's 2008 Mimi Fishman Memorial Award for Community Service - is an organization that is dedicated to bringing about positive and beneficial environmental consequences on behalf of members of the music industry through the means of active litigation and negotiation.  The Foundation also continues its support of the Delta Gamma Center for Children with Visual Impairments.

The clock is ticking down the hours and minutes to MerleFest 2009, presented by Lowe's, which will begin its 22nd year of "Music, Moments and Memories" next Thursday, April 23, and wind up on Sunday, April 26, on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

The Starry Plough bar, on the corner of Shattuck and Ashby in Berkeley, stands out on the block as there is not much else around. I arrived a bit early and saw Dead Heads standing outside the bar smoking joints and cigarettes, making me think I was walking down the mythical “Shakedown Street.”