Yeah, I know that The Guitar Center is a corporate entity, and there are plenty of other music shops around town that are actually locally owned. But there's no denying that The Guitar Center's naming of its new rehearsal spaces after the late Tucson blues guitarist Rainer is really, really cool.

From an email we received from William Clipman, who played drums in Rainer and Das Combo:

The Guitar Center in Tucson has created a suite of rehearsal studios in memory of the legendary blues guitarist Rainer, including individual studios named for Rainer's family members as well as the musicians who performed and recorded with Rainer in his classic power trio Rainer & Das Combo. I am deeply honored and profoundly humbled to have my name associated with Rainer's legacy as part of this beautiful new facility. Rainer's great music lives on; the man himself will be forever missed.

And don't forget that Fire Records, the fine label that released Giant Sand's back catalog, as well as the reissue of the Rainer tribute album The Inner Flame, is also planning to do the same with Rainer's back catalog.

Calling all local bands and performers:

Time is running out to get your submissions in for this year's Great Cover-Up, the annual three-day blowout in which local acts that normally perform original music cover other, more famous acts, in 20-minute sets, all in the name of charity.

This year's event will take place at Plush on Thursday, Dec. 13, Club Congress on Friday, Dec. 14, and the Rialto Theatre on Saturday, Dec. 15, and all proceeds will be donated to the Southern Arizona Artists and Musicians Healthcare Alliance (SAAMHA — formerly TAMHA), which you can read about here.

More information about the event itself is here.

To submit an application, just send your band name, what type of music you normally play, your top three choices of acts you'd like to cover, contact info (name and email address or phone number) to greatcoveruptucson@gmail.com.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, Oct. 19.

Please remember that this is a populist event, so try to steer away from obscurity, and toward something the audience will recognize. (Bonus points for dressing the part, etc.)

The event's organizers (of which I'm one) are patiently standing by, waiting for your awesome ideas.

• Bloodspasm

Bloodspasm tore up a series of now-closed Tucson clubs and house parties starting in the mid-'80s with blistering hardcore punk rock.

But the band's lasting mark is surely "We Got Cactus," a song that exemplifies life as a desert rat and a local classic that's endured for nearly three decades, in its original wild and boisterous form as well as new country-rock and folk cover versions.

The song tells the story of Tucson in 1985, with a sarcastic and self-deprecating pride that focuses almost entirely on the seemingly negative aspects of the city. And in comparison to the glamorous attractions of other cities—surfing, nightlife, lakes, beaches—all Tucson can claim is cactus.

"In terms of modern Arizona there's not a song that nails it better than that," says Al Perry, who covered "We Got Cactus" on his 2004 album Always a Pleasure. "It perfectly encapsulates life in Tucson, and it works so well on every level. There will never be a more accurate portrait of Tucson. That song is the beginning and the end."

Bloodspasm singer Bob McKinley says he wrote the lyrics to "We Got Cactus" in about five minutes one night over a pitcher of beer at the Bay Horse Tavern. Bandmate Eric Snyder already had the music and the song just fell together seamlessly.

"It's nothing really cosmic or anything, just my observations of the city," McKinley says. "You look at Tucson and that's about what I saw. It's about being young and I think it hits the pulse of what was going on in Tucson at the time."

The song isn't anywhere close to a postcard view of Tucson. It's about low-wage jobs, cheap rent, meager bus service and the prevalence of 7-Eleven stores. It's about wanting to escape but at the same time loving the easy-going freedom. Hawaii's got surfing. LA's got Hollywood. New York's got nightlife. We got cactus—and lots of it, to stab your butt on!

"I'm a very satirical person," McKinley says, deadpan and modest in interview. "But the lyrics couldn't have existed without the original hardcore music."

Bloodspasm's original 1985 version, which saw a wider release on the 1993 compilation Yeah, But It's a Dry Heat, clocks in at 1:18, a breakneck pace the whole way. Perry's rendition stretches things out to 3:29.

No, it was in Live Theatre Workshop's tiny black-box room, in January 2009, as Christopher Johnson held court as Hedwig in Etcetera's production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

The show was loud, profane and amazing. The band was tight; Johnson sang his ass off.

Well, Johnson—who is now part of the Rogue Theatre's ensemble when he isn't doing stuff for Winding Road—recently announced he was bringing Hedwig back to Tucson late next year.

But he needs dough.

I am writing to let you know that I have started a new company—The Bastard (Theatre)—solely for the purpose of bringing HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH back to Tucson. I am writing you not only to officially announce the production, but to solicit your help in raising the money to produce the show. I need to raise $5,000 between now and next Valentine's Day in order to pay four musicians and one actress, rent out The Screening Room for two weekends, secure the show's royalties and purchase serval pounds of red glitter lipstick and some kind of Lady Deodorant.

I've set up a website (hedwigtucson.com) with all of the pertinent information and one-click donation opportunities for you to help me bring Hedwig back to Tucson—even if that means simply buying a ticket now. Depending on how generous a Sugar Daddy you would like to be, there are several incentives in place to reward you (more about that on the website under 'SUGAR DADDIES' menu tab).

I appreciate any love and support you can send my way to help with this exciting project, and hope to see you at the show next spring!

Get thee to Johnson's website and donate!