· On Tuesday, Fat Possum Records is releasing Sunday Nights: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough, a tribute featuring the songs of the late bluesman as performed by an impressive roster of artists, including Pete Yorn, Mark Lanegan, The Ponys, Iggy and the Stooges, The Fiery Furnaces, Spiritualized and Blues Explosion. Cincy Fat Possum signees Thee Shams (who kick off another bout of touring behind their FP release, Please Yourself, this month) turn in a searing version of "Release Me," and locals Heartless Bastards (whose debut for the label, Stairs and Elevators, is due in stores Jan. 18) do "Done Got Old" for the compilation. (fatpossum.com)
· Local trio The Sundresses have announced that they have been invited to play the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, again this March (the band made its SXSW debut last year). The band is also gearing up for a new release, a "split CD" they'll share with locals 4192 (the disc will feature the songs that helped them get their SXSW slot this year). The band also hopes to launch their first tour when they go to Austin this year. In the meantime, you can catch the 'dresses on Saturday at the Beer Sellar in Newport with The Invitational and Cleveland's Amps to 11. (thesundresses.com)
· Singer/songwriter Elliott Ruther has started Josie Wails and the Fusstones, a new recording project that teams him with bassist Joel Cotton (of the Elliott Ruther Trio and Uplift I) and drummer Dan Allaire (formerly of Pearlene and currently the touring drummer for the Brian Jonestown Massacre). The threesome converged to record the timely new song, "Upon Reading the Minutes of the SORTA Board," an intense burst of old-school, bleeding-raw Punk that's actually about something (just like the good ol' days). In this case, "SORTA" is a clever and biting damnation of the recently proposed bus fare hikes and discontinuation of Sunday bus service ("Don't make a fuss/Or yer bus will be cut"). The song is available through Ruther's Web site at elliottruther.com.
· It's an eclectic night of local Rock on Friday at the BarrelHouse. PatientZero and Noctaluca — both of whom are working on new albums for 2005 — will be joined by Super 77 and Odd Man Out for the 9 p.m. show. (patientzero.net)
· On Saturday, it's another local Rock fest at the Madison Theater in Covington. The 7 p.m. show features sets from Fickle, Name and a Nation, Grace, Sweet Ray Laurel, Krinj and Only Everything. Advance tickets for the 18-and-up concert are available through madisontheateronline.com.
· Local bluesman Phil Blank will perform a special brunch show every Sunday this month at Fat Fish Blue in the Newport on the Levee complex. The singer/guitarist/harmonica-ist performs each week at 1 p.m. (fatfishblue.com)
· Although the tragic tsunami disaster has everyone's full attention at the moment, some local musicians are joining together to remember and help out the victims of the Florida hurricane barrage last year. Spearheaded by Brother Pink, singer/bassist for the band Dosage (a Collective Soul cover band), the "Friends of Florida" hurricane relief benefit on Saturday at Never On Sunday's features fellow area cover bands Darkest Days (a Green Day tribute), Solid Ground, Random XS and Drugstore Valentine.
