After a five year break exploring new sounds and building their personal repertoires, the dynamic duo of Eyedea & Abilities return with the follow up to their 2004 critically acclaimed sophomore album E&A. With biting guitars, fuzzy keyboards, melodic choruses, and some of their most intricate turntable work to date, By The Throat cuts right to the vein and advances far beyond Eyedea & Abilities battle tested history (winners of HBO Blaze Battle, Rocksteady, Scribble Jam and the DMC's).

Throughout the nineties the duo played an important role in the development of the emerging underground hip-hop scene alongside friends Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, EL-P, the Living Legends, Sage Francis, Blueprint and more. Always pushing the boundaries, Eyedea & Abilities have not only grown but have elevated their talents and once again successfully brought them together with By The Throat.

Released last July 21st on Rhymesayers, By the Throat proves that Micheal Larsen and Gregory Keltgen (Eyedea and Abilities) are back and better than ever. The new album is laced in subject matter ranging from coping with loss and the hardships of addiction, to Micheal's signature fascination with neuroscience and quantum mechanics.

Call him a one-man band, a virtuoso, a gifted collaborator or a family man, Martin Dosh has gotten to now by what seems an uncanny path (perhaps call it fate). When they met, Dosh's father was a Catholic priest with pile of degrees, and his mother was living in a convent in Minneapolis preparing herself for nunhood. They left the fold for marriage; subsequently giving life to Martin.

A 10-year anniversary is a time to reflect. In a relationship, it's a chance to recount the first date; to remember the awkward pauses and the eventual connection. For musicians, a 10-year anniversary is a time to look back on their first album and see how far they've come from those earliest recordings.

The new Album Leaf album, A Chorus of Storytellers, marks the decade milestone for the group led by Jimmy LaValle. In those 10 years, LaValle went from initial improvised home recordings to five complete studio albums, from opening slots to leading an incredible world-touring band to the stage at Red Rocks, headlining the Metamorphose Festival in Japan and performing at the Hollywood Bowl with the Incredible String Band.

LaValle's well-earned reputation as a crafter of impeccable sonic imagery even led to a critically-acclaimed show at the Seattle International Film Festival where The Album Leaf performed a live score for the 1927 silent film Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.

Throughout the nineties the duo played an important role in the development of the emerging underground hip-hop scene alongside friends Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, EL-P, the Living Legends, Sage Francis, Blueprint and more. Always pushing the boundaries, Eyedea & Abilities have not only grown but have elevated their talents and once again successfully brought them together with By The Throat.

Taking its name from novelist Jack London's 1904 seafaring adventure, Sea Wolf has evolved organically from its hermetic origins in Alex Brown Church's living room into a muscular, full-bodied musical entity with passion to burn. After adopting the sobriquet, Church burst onto the music scene in two-fisted fashion with the EP, Get to the River Before It Runs Too Low, and the subsequent full-length debut album, Leaves in the River, about which Interview magazine observed, "His music is both erudite and unvarnished, a blend of swirling melodies, literary balladry and damaged art-rock composition."

Founded in Eugene in 1996 by guitarist/vocalist Mike Scheidt, YOB returns in support of their latest album, The Great Cessation, released on Profound Lore Records. The Great Cessation was named one of 2009's best albums by The New York Times, The Village Voice, Stereogum and Popmatters.

"Oregon's YOB have carved out a niche of 'cosmic doom,' which is a descriptor, not a subgenre," says Pitchfork. "Few bands do what YOB do -- marry Black Sabbath's heavy and psychedelic sides."

The Times notes that YOB, "makes long songs earn their length." They better. The Great Cessation the five songs on the band's fifth album clock in at over 60 minutes. The songs, "are played slowly, with meticulous care," the Times states, "the trick of this music is that the composed details, the subtle craft and narrative texture of it, come at you not through quietude but enveloping, mind-stud volume."

YOB's first three song self-titled demo was submitted to Stonerrock.com in 1999, sending shockwaves into the doom metal scene worldwide. In 2001 YOB recorded its first full-length record for 12th Records in Spokane, Washington titled Elaborations Of Carbon. This offering received dozens of rave reviews from magazines/fans worldwide.

Eugene's Rye Wolves just finished recording their second full length record and are in the final stages of the mixing process. The new recording sees Rye Wolves expanding on epic songs that urgently transport the listener to a private realm where they may encounter everything from slow sprawling doom to blackened riffs that charge the listener with a trance inducing journey through all that is nothing short of universe expanding psychedelic genre defying metal of the purest form.

P.O.S. returns with Never Better -- his follow-up to 2006's critically acclaimed Audition. P.O.S. produced more than half the beats on Never Better, which bears his unmistakable signature. The album enters the room like a bombshell with a black eye - badass, noisy and impossible to ignore.

Most of P.O.S.' recent album was written in a moving car. On it, he raps at full-clip to rolling drums and revving distortion. There's an urgency that he keeps in careful check, and then unleashes for spring-loaded verses that represent his best work.

P.O.S. built his reputation as an innovator, with an unlikely punk rock past and expressive, honest content. He re-earns the accolades with every release. His records capture his charisma - they're driving and sincere, the dark moments counterbalanced by some giggling banter with the engineer. On Never Better, the new disc, he conjures getaway cars, racing chariots, the pursuit of sirens, and the occasional rueful nighttime drive.

Like many great rappers, P.O.S. creates his own self-contained little microcosm - his characters become familial to us; we get in on his slang and inside jokes. His mother and his son Jacob emerge as familiar personalities. We know his politics too: P.O.S. doesn't hesitate to call out the compounding absurdities of pop culture, either with a little friendly ribbing or with a Molotov cocktail. On Never Better he drops deft one-liners that cut to the quick of America's stuff-obsessed culture.

Led by guitarist/vocalist Art Alexakis, Everclear, whose only other appearance at the WOW Hall was in February of 1995, is well known for their radio hits spanning more than a decade. The band formed in Portland in 1992 and, for most of its existence, consisted of Alexakis, bassist Craig Montoya and drummer Greg Eklund (drums, percussion, backing vocals). With the exception of Art Alexakis, Everclear's lineup overturned in 2003 and again in 2009. So please welcome the third lineup of Everclear.

Art Alexakis suffered through a troubled youth in the slums of Los Angeles, where he fell into heavy drug use. A near-fatal cocaine overdose finally pushed him to clean up. In the late 1980s, Alexakis played in rock bands in Los Angeles and San Francisco before relocating to Portland, Oregon. There, he placed an ad in local music weekly The Rocket, which earned two responses: bass player Craig Montoya and drummer Scott Cuthbert. The new band, Everclear, began recording in a friend's basement. The sessions culminated in two releases: the Nervous & Weird EP and the band's first full-length release World of Noise, both released by Portland's Tim/Kerr Records in 1993.

In 1994 Everclear was signed to Capitol Records by Gary Gersh, who was responsible for signing Nirvana, Sonic Youth and Counting Crows to DGC Records. Just before their signing, Everclear parted ways with Cuthbert and brought in former Jollymon drummer Greg Eklund. In May 1995, the band released their first album for the label, Sparkle and Fade. Its first single, "Heroin Girl", received some modest airplay, but it was the second single "Santa Monica" that found a strong audience via alternative radio. Sparkle was followed in 1997 by So Much For The Afterglow, whose third single, "Father of Mine", catapulted the album to mainstream success. It went double-platinum, got a Grammy nomination and won Billboard's Modern Rock Band of the Year Award

A four-piece jam band from the San Francisco Bay area, Tea Leaf Green is comprised of Josh Clark (guitar and vocals), Trevor Garrod (keyboards, vocals, guitar, harmonica), Reed Mathis (bass and vocals) and Scott Rager (drums). The group began in the fall of 1996 on the campus of San Francisco State University. Founding member Ben Chambers was the group's original bass player but left in 2007; he is featured on the first four albums.

Drawing inspiration from The Grateful Dead, Chuck Berry, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Band and Neil Young, Tea Leaf Green began gigging throughout San Francisco, becoming the de facto house band at the Elbo Room for a period in 1999. The eponymously titled first album was released that year and featured twelve original compositions.

Tea Leaf Green released its second album, Midnight on the Reservoir, in 2001 and followed up with a live release from the Great American Music Hall often referred to as the "Green Album" because of its all-green cover. In 2002, the band embarked on its first national tour, using the High Sierra Music Festival as a springboard. Their third studio album, Living in Between, was book ended by two live releases: Slim's (2003) and Live at the Independent (2004). The title track from the band's fourth album, 2005's Taught to Be Proud, earned Tea Leaf Green a Jammy Award for Song of the Year.

Raised on jigs and ballads in San Francisco's Irish community, Jerry Hannan grew up listening to the music of his Irish-born parents (The Dubliners, The Clancy Brothers), as well as Cat Stevens. As a youngster he took accordion lessons, switching to guitar in high school and playing in rock 'n roll bands.

Described as, "shades of Dylan, John Prine and Van Morrison...very Americana with a faint Irish lilt", Hannan's songs speak of our everyday lives and the magic that we sometimes miss. He's a storyteller who loves to stir the crowd. He's been called a "three chord wizard" with guitar, lyrics and harmonica, often funny, sardonic in a good-natured way, while dealing with issues like ecology, friendship and love

Vagabond Opera, based in Portland, is kicking off their 2010 West Coast Tour at the WOW Hall and bringing Jason Webley as special guest and co-headliner. Jason will open with a solo set, followed by VO, then all the musicians will hit the stage together and no one knows what will happen. But will happen here and one time only!

If the word opera immediately brings 'elitist', 'stuffy' or 'boring' to mind, it's time to expose your senses to the neo-cabaret phenomenon that is Vagabond Opera! Kicking off their 2010 North American West Coast tour at the WOW Hall and finishing up at the Livermore Performing Arts Center February 27, this insanely talented sextet takes classical opera and pumps it full of raw energy, enormous stage presence and undeniably addictive melodies.

Incorporating trained operatic tenor and soprano vocals, accordion, tenor saxophone, two cellos, musical saw, standup bass, drums and lyrics in fourteen languages, a Vagabond Opera show delivers flawless musicianship and theatrics reminiscent of vaudeville's glamour and drama but with a contemporary edge. The May 2009 release of The Zeitgeist Beckons marks the third full-length release from the band to date. Having performed across the USA and in Europe, Vagabond Opera have shared stages and players with Pink Martini, Devotchka, The Decemberists and the Oregon Symphony, proving their easy crossover appeal.

Notes the Seattle Times, "This sextet has fine voices, unbelievable musical chops and a huge and humorous stage presence. They know how to dress, how to make an entrance and how to craft an instantly hummable tune."

Punk accordionist and world troubadour Jason Webley is described by the Seattle Times as "one of Seattle's most talented musicians, a singer-songwriter with a rare gift for crafting timeless songs that approaches Waits and Leonard Cohen territory." His relentless touring schedule has built him a cult following all over North America, Europe and Australia, as well as a bizarrely large and loyal following in Russia. Known for bellowing out apocalyptic dirges in a sandpaper baritone to the accompaniment of his squeezebox and the stomping of his feet, Webley's true specialty is involving his audience in his music. Webley frequently tours with his friends the Dresden Dolls and has shared stages with Architecture in Helsinki, the Avett Brothers and Regina Spektor. His fifth full-length album, The Cost of Living, was released on his own independent Eleven Records label.

It's been almost a year since James McMurty last played the WOW Hall. In the interim he's been traveling, and is bringing his new CD, Live in Europe, so you can share the experience.

James McMurtry's recent studio albums, 2005's Childish Things and 2008's Just Us Kids, earned him formidable accolades. The Village Voice called him, "a poet of the people." Stephen King, writing in Entertainment Weekly, pronounced him, "the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation."

Yet a lot of current McMurtry converts were introduced through the 2004 release Live in Aught-Three. Live albums aren't typically greeted with rave reviews, but McMurtry's rockin' treatments of songs like "Choctaw Bingo" and "Out Here in the Middle" in concert made an uncanny translation to record. The Austin Chronicle proclaimed, "This is no-frills, freak-flag rock. Turn it up!" PopMatters called it, "a snapshot of where McMurtry is now, [marking him] as a legitimate inheritor of the Texas songwriting tradition."

In October, Lightning Rod Records released Live in Europe, a document of McMurtry's recent European tour, on which he was joined by keyboardist Ian McLagan and fellow Texas songwriting legend Jon Dee Graham. The set is available as a CD with a bonus DVD, or as a deluxe vinyl LP package with a CD and DVD insert.

In early 2009, James McMurtry and his trio traveled overseas to play their first European tour. The guys played for enthusiastic crowds in Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Scotland and Belgium. The best recordings from the Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Geislingen, Germany concerts were combined to create Live in Europe. The album includes a bonus DVD featuring performances from the Amsterdam show. This marks the first time fans will be able to purchase video footage of McMurtry live in concert. The deluxe vinyl version includes inserted copies of the CD and DVD. Fellow Austin-based songwriter Jon Dee Graham opened the shows and joins the band on a version of his tune "Laredo" on the bonus DVD.

Tart, Tangy, Smooth, and oh so lip-smacking Sweet! Aaah yes, time to praise the almighty summer sippin' thirst quencher, being served straight up G. Love and Special Sauce style, ice cool and always refreshing. On their second release for Brushfire Records, the Philly boys offer up "Lemonade", a series of soul drenched tracks pouring out their blues infused hip-hop, which people have been trying to label for years. The best advice - dont try to tame it or claim it; its simply their sonic trademark, instantly recognizable and addictively delicious.

"The whole thing about lemonade for me was when I first set out from Philly to make it in the music world I went up to Boston, and I would just sit on the front porch of my place after playing the streets or practicing and make myself a big pitcher of lemonade. It just symbolized old time porch loungin' for that's where I did a lot of my shedding and writing. It was so simple and great, I said, if I ever get a record deal I'm going to get Lemonade tattooed on my arm."

Even though G. is an insatiable musical omnivore when it comes to feeding off influences, "Lemonade" is his most stylistically cohesive and focused album yet. Grown out of the somewhat dark tension of "The Electric Mile" (2001) and the ass bumping smorgasbord of "The Hustle" (2004), "Lemonade's" overall kickback beat begs the listener to blow out the speakers in musical reaffirmation. "Free" perhaps its deepest and most powerful track pulls the continuity string through it all, for its positive examination of the cycle of rebirth through a persons life backed with a "Fixin' to Die" blues beat perfectly captures the sweat your funk out, soul searchin, dust ridden road warriors G. Love and Special Sauce have come to embody.

The magnificently indefinable Asylum Street Spankers began in 1994 during a booze and hallucinogen-fueled party at the Dabbs Hotel in Llano, Texas. There Christina Marrs met Wammo. During a night spent singing and playing along the banks of the Llano River they discovered a shared love for early 20th century music. Upon returning to Austin they gathered a few like-minded pals and began playing free shows at clubs and busking around town.

Within a year they conquered Austin, playing three SRO weekly residencies, including the city's first Gospel Brunch. In 1997 the band began venturing out into the wider world. Since then, Christina and Wammo have pushed their ever-evolving troupe from country blues revivalism toward original compositions, new works for the stage and sociopolitical commentary.

Regular touring throughout Europe, Japan and the states has established the Asylum Street Spankers as an underground institution, widely considered one of the best live acts working today. Their discography spans eight albums, including, What? And Give Up Show Biz? a two disk live document of the group's two week stand at New York's Barrow Street Theatre, and Mommy Says No!, one of the most honored family oriented releases of 2007, as well as several EPs, live official "bootlegs" and two full length concert DVDs.