Is it Summer Yet?: Izabella gives us a taste of sunshine

Izabella rock the Old Stone to brighten up your February.With the peppering of warm days we've had in the past few weeks, sometimes it's hard to believe that July is still another four long months away. That means that above-freezing nights, gin and tonics, and most importantly, shaking a little daisy-duke-covered-ass at an outdoor music venue is still a ways off. But Friday night at the Old Stone Church is probably going to feel like summer - and that's not going to help you get over your sun-starved blues, but it will be a taster of a promising summer music season.

Although the bigger, sweeter second annual 4 Peaks Music Festival is slated for July, the festival organizers are giving a sample of the sunny fest on Friday by bringing San Francisco world jammers Izabella to the Old Stone Church. The familiar faces of Southern Oregon's State of Jefferson are slated to open. If the 4 Peaks crew's show with Poor Man's Whiskey at the Old Stone a few weeks ago was any indicator, Friday should have the warm vibe of the summer fest...but this show will be in February...and indoors.

Izabella has only been a band for a year and some change, but it has already gained enough steam to support a West Coast tour (and a tour bus). Things are looking promising for these guys and Brian Rogers, Izabella's multi-instrumentalist (he's one of three guys who shares bass duties) says come summer, things are only going to get warmer.

"It feels like we've been on a fast track. It seems like we never know where we might be headed - it's day to day," Rogers says as the band's aforementioned bus rumbles northward for a show in Olympia. He goes on to say that the band is working on suring up a summer schedule that includes a return visit to see us at 4 Peaks.

Izabella owes some of its momentum to Bay Area jam band Home At Last the band three of Izabella's members once belonged to. The three then teamed with members of Rogers' former band, Four Guys From Reno, and Izabella began - benefiting from their parent bands' built in fan bases. The result of this amalgamation is a supremely talented band with the capability to play nearly any genre while switching off on instruments throughout the show. And after you give them a taste of their constantly up-beat, slightly psychedelic approach, you'll see why they remind me of summer.

"Izabella is definitely empty canvas. We're still shaping it as a band," Rogers says.

The fact that Izabella is so new to the scene is perhaps the reason to catch them now - while the seeds are still sprouting and the canvas still partially blank, and of course, so they can inject you with a shot of musical sunshine.

Izabella, State of Jefferson

7pm doors, 7:45pm show. Friday, February 29. Old Stone Church, 157 NW Franklin Ave. $7/advanced, $10/door. Tickets available at Ranch Records or at www.4peaksmusic.com.