THE NEW-MUSIC FLOOD RESUMES

After a slight lull during which a local CD was released here and
there, we’re back to a week that bears a pile of new local releases
(OK, so it’s only four), each one in a rootsy vein, each with its own
accompanying celebratory shindig.

The Tucson Community Food Bank might not be your normal go-to source
for new local music, but judging from Food Is Good … For the
Body and Soul, a compilation being released this week, you
might want to rethink that.

True to its title, the disc features 17 rootsy acts—folk,
bluegrass, Latin, country and blues—singing songs about food,
starting with folkie Dennis Riley‘s opening, title track, “Food
Is Good,” a catchy little ditty that could double as a children’s song,
to The Wayback Machine‘s country-tinged closing number,
“Bluegrass Gumbo.” In between are the poignant (Duncan Stitt‘s
remembrance of a fallen friend, “Set a Place for Brian”; Lindianne
Sarno‘s narrative about the family farm crisis, “This Time We Are
Staying”), the celebratory (Keith Secola’s zydeco-flavored “Fry
Bread”), the humorous (The Mollys‘ traditional Irish folk “The
Haggis”) and even a good-old-fashioned dose of double entendre,
courtesy of Bob Malone’s “Southern Fried Lovin’,” which recalls Little
Feat.

There are also tracks from Kevin Pakulis, Grams and Krieger,
Pablo, Tom Poley, The Determined Luddites, and others.
But among the biggest treasures here: a pair of tracks from two late
Tucson legends: Rainer’s “Ain’t Givin’ Up (The New Cookin’ Blues)” and
Lalo Guerrero’s “There’s No Tortillas,” a parody of “O Solo Mio” that
opens with the lines, “I love tortillas, and I love them dearly.”

The CD-release party for Food Is Good … For the Body and
Soul takes place from 2 to 8 p.m., Sunday, May 10, at Old
Town Artisans, 201 N. Court Ave. Participating performers include
Dennis Riley, Ron Pandy, Duncan Stitt, Pablo, Lindianne Sarno,
Kevin Pakulis, Patricia Morrison, Danny Krieger, Tom
Poley and members of The Mollys and The Wayback Machine. Admission is a
suggested donation of two or more cans of food for the CFB. For more
information, check out communityfoodbank.com.

You might know Eb Eberlein from his Arizona Trails spots on
KXCI FM 91.3 FM, while a whole different demographic knows him as a
school teacher at Safford Middle School. But as a singer and
harmonica/Dobro player, he also fronts Eb’s Camp Cookin’, an
Americana ensemble that also includes Phil Anderson on bass, Tim O’
Connor playing fiddle and mandolin, and Kevin Schramm on accordion.
True to the group’s name, they sound like the type of buddies who can
bust out the instruments at a post-meal campfire—or, to quote
their press kit, “intoxicated hillbillies playing thoughtful Americana
with an Arizona edge.”

Their new self-released CD is called Plain Green Wrapper,
likely because it’s packaged in just that, and it contains 11
ragged-but-right tunes, from a slightly cinematic instrumental
(“Streets of Tombstone”) to good-time sing-alongs like “John Went
Floating” and a story-song about man’s best friend (“Drug Dog Bob”). If
you don’t have musical friends to drag along on your next camping
outing, this album should make for a suitable replacement.

Eb’s Camp Cookin’ celebrates the release of Plain Green
Wrapper with a performance from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.,
Saturday, May 9, at the 17th Street Market, 840 E 17th
St. Admission is free for those of all ages. For further details, call
624-8821, ext. 147, or head to treasureshidden.com.

Singer-songwriter Austin Counts‘ second album, which follows
2004’s Acoustic Skeletons, is You Are the Scene, a more
fleshed-out affair than the debut, judging from the three songs
provided to Soundbites. (Full disclosure: Counts is currently an intern
at the Weekly.) According to a press release, the album is an
autobiographical, warts-and-all mash note to pre-Rio Nuevo downtown
Tucson. While I wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to parse fact from
fiction, that description seems apt on “Hold on Mama,” a midtempo,
slide-guitar-driven song that recounts all the places the narrator has
lived, and the circumstances that took him there. “Sun Don’t Shine” is
a winning toe-tapper that just happens to bear a non-ham-fisted
anti-suicide message, while “Soft White Walls” is a slightly
atmospheric, building ballad whose title should be
self-explanatory.

Austin Counts celebrates the release of You Are the Scene by
performing a free show in the lounge at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St.,
at 9:30 p.m., Sunday, May 10. Questions? Call
798-1298.

Unfortunately, we didn’t receive a copy of Sound Suite (Old
Bisbee), the debut release from Awkward Moments, a local
supergroup collective of sorts founded by Jimmy Carr (Loveland,
Crawdaddy-O, Cathy Rivers) and Stuart Oliver (The Dusty Buskers, Family
of Light) that now also includes Stephanie Dickson and Johnny
O’Halloran (Lemon Drop Gang), Ryen Eggleston (Golden Boots) and Sean
Rogers (Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta, Silver Thread Trio). Tunes found
on MySpace include a spare, accordion-driven instrumental (“Jug or
Not”), a mandolin-abetted tune sung by Rogers that reminds a bit of
Will Oldham (“Far Out at Sea”) and a pair of songs on which Dickson is
allowed to do her charming thang unfettered (“Jesus,” “Wine for the
Sadness”).

Awkward Moments perform a free CD-release show on the patio at
Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., at 7 p.m., next
Thursday, May 14. Also performing are Naim Amor and
The Fell City Shouts. For further 411, call 622-8848.

EARTH FIRST, MUSIC SECOND

The locally based Earth First! Journal, the
29-year-old “internationally circulated environmental publication that
covers the campaigns of action-oriented grassroots organizations from
around the world,” according to a press release, is holding an event at
The Hut, 305 N. Fourth Ave., on Saturday, May 9.

From 6 to 8 p.m., the event will feature presentations by speakers
from local environmental-outreach organizations and short films. Then,
from 8 p.m. onward, the musical portion of the night takes over, with
performances from Spirit Familia, Planet Jam, The
Wayback Machine, Combo Westside and Greg Morton and the
String Figures. Several local organizations will also have
information tables present. Admission is $5. For more information, call
623-3200.

SHORT TAKES

The Hard Truth Soldiers Tour 2009 brings a pack of talented,
socially aware rappers to the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress
St., at 8:30 p.m., Friday, May 8. On the bill are Talib
Kweli, Paris, Planet Asia, Kam,
T-K.A.S.H. and Sellassie. Tickets are $22 in advance, or
$24 on the day of the show. 740-1000.

A benefit “to raise awareness of bikes on the road and funds to
build the Kory Laos Memorial BMX Bike Park” will go down at 6 p.m.
at The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave., on Sunday, May 10.
Performers include N.Y.C., Hemlock, Stands With
Fists, Angelic to Ashes, Cities Like These,
Sinister Mustard and Double Speak. $15.
629-9211.

Jenny Owen Youngs, a fine singer-songwriter whose chamber-ish
rock and pop songs (with just a hint of theatricality à la
Nellie McKay) are buoyed by her delicate, lilting voice, arrives at
Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., on Tuesday, May 12,
in advance of her upcoming album, Transmitter Failure, which
will be released later this month on RCA/Nettwerk. Jukebox the
Ghost opens at 9 p.m. $7 in advance, $8 day of.
622-8848.

The Tucson Jazz Institute presents the Seventh Annual Mother’s
Day Big Band Concert, with local jazz acts, including special guest
saxophonist Brice Winston, performing jazz and big band hits
from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, at 3 p.m., Sunday, May 10, at the
Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Tickets—$20 for
adults, $15 for students and seniors—will be available at the
door, or in advance by calling 514-0935.

ON THE BANDWAGON

Scott Weiland at the Rialto Theatre on Tuesday, May
12; the Zydepunks, Gabriel Sullivan and Amy
Rude on the patio at Hotel Congress on Monday, May
11; Tom Goss at Crave Espresso Bar on Wednesday,
May 13; The Grough and Eligh, edIT and Afro
Classics at Club Congress on Wednesday, May 13;
Ninja Academy and fourfivesix at Plush on
Wednesday, May 13; Bass for Your Fucking Face featuring
12th Planet, Calculon, Ultrablack and
M.F.D. at Club Congress on Friday, May 8; The
Tryst and Combo Westside at Solar Culture Gallery on
Friday, May 8; Flagrante Delicto and Chris Black with Thoger
Lund and Gabriel Sullivan at The Red Room at Grill tonight,
Thursday, May 7; New Found Glory, Bayside, Set
Your Goals and Fireworks at the Rialto Theatre on
Sunday, May 10.

This article appears in May 7-13, 2009.