The Blender

As you may have noticed in my music feature this week, I've become obsessed with the yacht that Dick Dale has for sale on his website.

I've also recently been quite enthused by Dale's legendary surf guitar stylings, which I hadn't heard for about a decade until this month when I reacquainted myself with his catalog of insanely skillful guitar tunes. And did you know that Hendrix was influenced by Dick Dale? You didn't know that, did ya?

Dale is at the Domino Room tonight at 8pm and there are still tickets available at the door. It's all ages, so if you're a young guitar slasher, try to make it out this show -- you'll probably learn something.

There are few rock and roll stories as interesting as the one that belongs to local singer-songwriter Chris Beland, who went by the name Chris Chabot until very recently when he discovered the identity of his real father. That man turned out to be career musician John Beland, a former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers and a guitarist known for his work with several other legendary artists.

The two were united for the first time in the past few weeks, coincidentally right before Chris released his excellent new record, The Weatherman. He's celebrating that release tonight at The Kilns with a release show. That show is at 7:30pm.

Check out the title track from the album -- it's already one of my favorite locally crafted songs of 2010.

As a fundraiser for KPOV, Bend's community radio station, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones are coming to Bend tonight to play some of their holiday tunes.

The show is at 7pm tonight out at Mountain View High School and the last I heard, there were still some tickets available. I interviewed Fleck last week and we talked mostly about Christmas music (and how to make it un-cheesy) and also about his long career with the Flecktones. You can read that profile here.

Here's some footage of the Flecktones doing "Jingle Bells" with the help of Alash, the Tuvan throat singers who will also be on hand tonight.

A collection of veteran Central Oregon musicians, including some heavy hitters, are taking to the stage tonight at the Pine Forest Grange.

The band, dubbed French Z and the Lost Call, features Tim Goodman, a former member of The Call, as well as players who've performed with the like of the Greg Allman Band and Tower of Power. Also in the band is longtime Central Oregon music producer and recording specialist, Frenchy Mallen. Joe Leonardi will also be on hand.

Mallen described the sound as a bluesy mix of Americana and roots rock -- and with the sort of talent he's assembled, we'll go ahead and guarantee they bring the heat.

The show is a family friendly gig and runs from 6pm to 10pm. There's no cover -- it's totally free.

Alt-country-rock band Lucero is in town tonight and playing the Domino Room.

For those not familiar with this Memphis-based band, they dish out a gritty, punk-influenced brand of soulful country rock and have been surging in popularity over the course of the past year, thanks in part to the success of their first major label release, 1372 Overton Park.

The show begins at 8pm and is $15. 21 and over. I Can Lick Any Son of a Bitch in the House opens.

Wondering what you should do on this cold, cold Thanksgiving Eve? Well, you could go to a bar and enjoy an impromptu reunion of someone else's high school, or you can head to the Domino Room tonight for a raucous show from the Texas Hippie Coalition.

The band, the geographical origins of which need no explanation, is a hard rock collective that sounds something like Pantera but with bigger belt buckles and cowboy hats. In short, these guys dress well. Or at least hilariously well. I can't decide which. Oh, and they're not real hippies, in case you hadn't figured that out yet.

The show is at 7pm tonight and also includes opening acts Tempesta and Exfixia. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Just a few days after the release of their new full-length album, This Cage Has No Bottom, Portland indie folk rockers The Ascetic Junkies are playing a show tonight at the Silver Moon to celebrate the release.

I profiled the band this week and you can read that right here.

The show is at 9pm, is $7 and Erin Cole-Baker opens.

Cole Huiskamp, the band's bassist, made an excellent video for "Why Do Crows," and excellent cut on the album and I wanted to include that in my story, but unfortunately we still can't embed videos into newspapers. The technology doesn't exist yet.

So here's the video.