There's a new kid in town

Well, I found out that the man behind tonight's surprising Michelle Shocked show at Marilyn's TONIGHT is Scott Brill-Lehn, and he's got quite a line up of shows coming. Two that I'm particularly jazzed about - OK, three - no, four - are rippin' guitarist Junior Brown at Marilyn's on April 9, live techno band BLVD at Beatnik Studios (very cool place if you've not been there, and even if you have) on April 29, Skinny SIngers at Marilyn's on May 2, and Mike (M) Doughty, formerly of fabulous Soul Coughing, at Marilyn's on May 10.

For more details, visit www.sblentertainment.com

Right ON, Scott. I'll do what I can to help.

Here's the line-up.

Monday, March 23, 2009 7:00 pm

Michelle Shocked

Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)

Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 DOS (click Tickets)
Artist Website: www.michelleshocked.com

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 8:00 pm

The Waybacks

Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, US (MAP)

Tickets: $15 Advanced $18 DOS
Buy now @ "Tickets" page
Artist Website: www.thewaybacks.com

Monday, April 6, 2009 7:00 pm

Papa Grows Funk

Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)

Tickets: $12 Advanced $15 Day of Show (Buy @ "Tickets" page)
21+
www.papagrowsfunk.com

Thursday, April 9, 2009 7:00 pm

Junior Brown

Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)

Tickets: $17 in advance, $20 Day of Show (click tickets)
Artist Website: myspace.com/juniorbrown

Friday, April 10, 2009 8:00 pm

Hockey

Beatnik Studios, 2421 17th St., Sacramento, CA, 95818 (MAP)

www.myspace.com/hockey

Saturday, April 11, 2009 8:00 pm

Izabella

Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)

Tickets: $12 Advanced $15 DOS (Click "Tickets")
Artist Website: www.izabellaband.com

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 7:00 pm

BLVD

Beatnik Studios, 2421 17th St., Sacramento, CA, 95818 (MAP)

www.blvdsource.com
Tickets: $10 advanced $12 Day of Show
Buy tickets @ "Tickets" page

Saturday, May 2, 2009 8:00 pm

Skinny Singers (featuring Jackie Greene and Tim Bluhm)

Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, US (MAP)

Tickets: $25
Buy now @ "Tickets" Page
Artist Website: www.myspace.com/skinnysingers

Sunday, May 10, 2009 7:00 pm

Mike Doughty

Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)

Tickets: $18 Advanced $20 DOS
Buy now @ "Tickets" page - Tix on sale 3/2/09
Artist Website: www.mikedoughty.com

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 7:00 pm

That 1 Guy

Beatnik Studios, 2421 17th St., Sacramento, CA, 95818 (MAP)

Tickets: $13 Advanced $15 DOS
Buy now @ "Tickets" page
Artist Website: www.that1guy.com

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 7:00 pm

Cowboy Mouth

Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)

Tickets: $15
Buy now @ "Tickets" page
Artist Website: www.cowboymouth.com

Friday, May 22, 2009 8:00 pm

Jackopierce

Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)

Tickets: $20 Advanced $25 DOS
Buy now @ "Tickets" page
Artist Website: www.jackopierce.com

Sunday, May 31, 2009 7:00 pm

Melvin Seals and JGB

Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814
(MAP)www.jgbband.comTickets: $20 Advance $25 Day of Show: Buy @ "Tickets" page

Friday, June 5, 2009 7:00 pm

Freakbass

Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)

Tickets: $10 in advance, $12 Day of show
Artist website: www.myspace.com/freakbass

Friday, June 12, 2009 8:00 pm

Moonalice

Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)

www.moonalice.com

Saturday, June 20, 2009 7:00 pm

Charlie Musselwhite

Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)

Tickets: $17 in advance, $20 DOS (click Tickets)
Artist Website: charliemusselwhite.com

How the HELL did I miss this?

Michelle Shocked is apparently playing Marilyn's on K Monday night, March 22.

Even my best friend didn't tell me. WTF?

Better to know now than later, however...

Cool!

Worldfest acts: Indigo Girls, Los Lobos, Jackie and Tim

So, people keep telling me, "I read your blog," and my answer is always, "WHAT, exactly are you reading?" Because I am so lame - and so all over the place, I'm a tad scattershot. I write stuff for SacramentoPress.com, where I am managing editor, and for other publications.

And Facebook has really usurped the blog, to a degree, though you can't write LONG on Facebook. Not even close. But is writing long really still of any value in the era of Twitter? I'd say yes. But not as long as we used to get away with in Features at The Bee. Let alone the New Yorker. But that's not my level.

So, Worldfest. California Worldfest. I've been the last three years, and at this point, would not miss it. Terrific setting, great food and people, and the bands are ALL OVER the place - seriously a more diverse festival of live musicians is not available in this area. I'm a big fan of High Sierra, but it's more a particular realm - "jam band" stuff, with newjazz around the edges - but California Worldfest really does bring in musicians from all over the world, and from all realms of music.

Two artists who stick out from my three years are Eileen Ivers, a remarkable fiddler (with a great band) from Ireland (but with African rhythms) and Fiama Fumana of Italy, who play techno music with "natural" instruments, live. Brilliant concept, great execution.

Now, from Worldfest HQ in Chico, some news: This year's festival runs July 16-19, and there are some interesting acts, most of whom I've never heard of, which I like.

Just added: The Indigo Girls. Other you-know-'em acts on the schedule: Los Lobos, Tommy Emmanuel (great Australian acoustic virtuoso in the Kottke realm, guy plays the guitar so hard it's got holes in it!), Sacramento homeboy Jackie Greene in his collaboration with Tim Bluhm from Mother Hips (The Skinny Singers), and Wailing Souls.

Others:
Lura (Cape Verde Afro-pop)
Old Blind Dogs (Scottish Celts)
Issa Bagayogo (Malian Roots & Dance)
Ledward Kaapana (Hawaiian Slack Key)
Gokh Bi System (Senegalese Hip Hop)
Bearfoot (Alaskan Americana)
Bluehouse (Australian Folk/pop)
Abalone Dots (Swedish Softgrass)
Fishtank Ensemble (Gypsy & Flamenco)
John Cruz (Hawaii’s Singer/songwriter)
Del Castillo (Flamenco & Latin Rock)
Joe Craven (Rhythm Mania) - LOVE JOE!!!
On Ensemble (Taiko Drum)
Cuban Cowboys (Cuban Surf Rock)
Banana Slug String Band (Eco Family Music)
Markus James & the Wassonrai (Blues Connection-Africa to America)
Done Gone String Band (Yukon Old Timey)
MaMuse (Singer/Songwriters)
Handful of Luvin’ (Jam ‘n Dance)

More artists will be added as the contracts are signed. Go to www.worldfest.net to listen to the artists and for a continual line-up updates. Information at 530-891-4098. The Early Bird Ticket Special deadline is March 30 - you'll save $20 off of each adult 4-Day or 3-Day camping ticket.

US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse talks Truth Commission

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Back in The Bee, sorta

Rainy, rainy day. Naked Lounge as crowded as I've ever seen it, ditto the Apple Store - WHAT recession?

I was asked by Daniel Weintraub at The Bee to write an editorial for the paper. It ended up not on paper, but on The Bee's website, here.

And here's the actual text...

Paper is passe, but the need for news lives on

By David Watts Barton

Published: Sunday, Mar. 1, 2009 - 12:00 am

I was in San Francisco recently, sleeping above a quiet residential street. At sunrise, I heard a sound like nail guns: "POW!" "Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow!" It echoed up the street, and as a vehicle drove past, I realized that it was the free daily Examiner being delivered to every house.

It was so industrial, it reminded me that what is changing most these days is not journalism itself, but its means of delivery. The resources required to create and deliver the paper are getting scarcer and more expensive.

But the human need to tell stories, and to hear them told, is not gone. Nor is the need for accurate, dependable information in a free society. With the Internet, the information and the stories are more easily available than ever before. This is good.

But the nature of journalism, like its delivery, is also changing. These days, the Internet has made "broadcasting," in all its forms, passé. The model that traditional journalists take for granted, whether in print or on radio or TV, is morphing. The Internet allows for a "narrowcasting" of the news, which appeals to readers interested in specific topics and advertisers interested in reaching specific groups of people.

But more crucially, the Internet provides two-way communication. I'd like to see more direct input from the public. Readers responding to news stories, readers writing news stories, and all of it delivered via the Web. The Internet has turned the model of large newspapers being the "gatekeepers" of information on its head. Large newspapers are still diligently minding the "gates," but the fences are down. The information is flowing around those gates.

Although the Sacramento Press is largely reader-written, I continue to encourage the age-old principles of newspapers - accuracy, fairness, timeliness - for the simple reason that newspapers evolved over a long time in a very competitive and flexible market, and those principles work. But we are all gatekeepers now.

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David Watts Barton is the managing editor of the Sacramento Press at www.sacramentopress.com