Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

Having a Ball

One of Knoxville's biggest contributions to rock 'n' roll in recent years has been Los Angeles record producer Nick Raskulinecz. A former Beardenite who played hereabouts in the band Hypertribe (later renamed Movement) throughout the early- to mid-'90s, Raskulinecz has since made his mark as a studio guy in L.A., even earning a Grammy last year for his production of the last Foo Fighters album.

Now Raskulinecz will take the stage for the first time since Movement this Saturday as bass player for Foo Fighter Dave Grohl's new heavy metal project Probot. The band will perform on MTV's new version of the Headbanger's Ball heavy rock video show (check your local listings.)

The Probot album is due out Feb. 10, a collection of 12 hard 'n' heavy tracks featuring Grohl on bass, drums, and guitar, fronted by a dozen different legendary metal vocalists (Lemmy Kilmeister of Motorhead, and former Obssessed vocalist Wino, to name but two.) Raskulinecz will be a mainstay of Grohl's touring version of Probot.

Giant Piano

Knoxville's preeminent jazz composer and recording artist Donald Brown will perform at the Giant Panda on Kingston Pike Friday, to promote his newest CD Act One, a group effort released under the name Continuum. Since most of Continuum's members live elsewhere, Brown will perform Friday with a group that includes local guitarist and University of Tennessee instructor Mark Boling, bassist David Slack and Brown's son Kenneth on drums.

Brown describes the Continuum project as "a mixture between fusion and traditional jazz." The six-man outfit includes regular Brown collaborators Gary Bartz on sax, trumpeter Bill Mobley, guitarist Jean Toussaint, bassist Essiet Essiet and Billy Kilson on drums. Brown says each member contributed one original composition to the album; other tracks include the Herbie Hancock number "I Have a Dream," and a couple of jazz standards, "Who Could I Turn To" and "I Want to Talk About You."

The CD release party begins at 9 p.m., with Brown and company scheduled to perform at 9 p.m.

Jeff and Sarah News

Since Behind the Barn lost its home at Barley's, hosts Jeff Barbra and Sarah Pirkle have been jonesing to play out more. The show aired every Wednesday on WDVX and is greatly missed. Hopefully, it'll return to the airwaves soon. In the meantime, the couple has started a monthly gig—the first Tuesday of every month—at Brackins in Maryville.

"Sarah and I sure miss playing music and hanging out with our Behind the Barn buddies," Jeff writes in an email. "So we're gonna start playing at a pub called Brackins in downtown Maryville.... We're starting at 8 p.m., which is a little earlier than we started the Behind the Barn show. Brackins is a really cool little place."

Also, the distributor for the couple's CD, Barb Hollow Sessions, is having a contest among its acts. Groups that make the top 100 sellers list for February will be included on a sampler sent out to 5,000 of its customers. "Folks, that would be some great exposure for us if we could get a song on that, so if you don't have a copy of Barb Hollow Sessions, try to buy one this month from our website," Jeff writes.

You know what you have to do.

Go.

Thursday: Go dance with the stinky hippies at Natti Love Joys' Blue Cats show. C'mon, you know you really like the hippies. They're cute!

Friday: Okay, this is easy: Leslie Woods at the Laurel Theater for the release of her excellent new CD. Then skedaddle (or take the trolley) over to the Pilot Light for Dixie Dirt. And then head back to the Fort for some early-morning grub at Vic & Bills. (The trolley runs until 3:30 a.m.! It's better than killing someone with your car.)

Saturday: Ellis Marsalis at the Unitarian Universalist Church.

Sunday: Hike up Mt. LeConte before it gets warm and all the damn tourists take the place over. Then go home and drink wine and make a big feast for a friend or two. I recommend some good Spanish wine, salmon and a salad. Apple pie for dessert!

Monday: Check out The Vagina Monologues at Clarence Brown Theatre. Then go somewhere and discuss over tea or coffee.

Tuesday: In the early days, when they thought this epidemic was much like other epidemics, religion held its ground. But once these people realized their instant peril, they gave their thoughts to pleasure. And all the hideous fears that stamp their faces in the daytime are transformed in the fiery, dusty nightfall into a sort of hectic exaltation, an unkempt freedom fevering their blood.

And I, too, I'm no different. But what matter? Death means nothing to men like me. It's the event that proves them right.

Wednesday: Get down with DJ MC RL at Magnolia Café.

—Mike Gibson, Joe Tarr