When The BoDeans close the opening day of the River Roots Live festival on Friday, August 19, it might be your last chance to see the group. And the guys could certainly use your support. Five days after the band's appearance at the Davenport festival, the band has a court date, at which it will ask a judge to reconsider his ruling that portions of the band's lawsuit with its ex-manager must be re-tried.
With bringing-down-the-house hits such as "Dixie Chicken," "Time Loves Hero," "Tripe Face Boogie," and "Fat Man in the Bathtub," Little Feat is legendary. Just don't tell that to songwriter and lead guitarist Paul Barrére.
Junior Brown is about as matter-of-fact as people get. On record and in interview, he sounds as excitable as a corpse. About his upcoming live record, due in September? He says it's "just to answer some requests.
When Eric Mardis was a teenager, he dreamed the way most adolescent boys dream: "I totally wanted to be a rock star," he said in a phone interview, "a cross between [Deep Purple's] Ritchie Blackmore and [Metallica's] Kirk Hammett.

Friday, August 19

Jim the Mule - 5 p.m. Members of Jim the Mule have been making music in the Quad Cities since May 2000. Jason Gilliland, Tom Swanson, and Ryan Koning played together in a variety of bands while attending St.
Andrew Landers Project - noon The music of the Andrew Landers Project is a melting pot of rock, funk, jazz, punk, folk, and a bit of country. Their music has something for everyone. It's hard to describe the Andrew Landers Project's sound, but one fan summed it up by saying, "They're like George Thorogood meets George Benson meets George Clinton meets George Jones, and then they all get together and go harass Boy George.
Strange Neighbors - 11:30 p.m. Friday night, Quad City Live A full band and the ability to add pieces at live performances has made Strange Neighbors a must-see act. With three CDs under their belt, Strange Neighbors is hitting the recording studio soon.
Next week Louisville, Kentucky's Center for Women & Families gets a boost from the Coalition of Independent Record Stores, as it will receive the proceeds from a limited-edition EP only available at the coalition's exclusive list of 27 retailers nationwide.
• My pick of the week is the infectious, funky, laid-back perfection of the Animal Liberation Orchestra, waxing a soulful, pensive philosophy of "traversing and rehearsing and perversing along the doubt-laden extension-cord thread of life" in "Welcome to Your Barbeque," one of 10 wickedly tasty jams on the group's new CD, Fly Between Falls.
Here are links to the charts (as PDF documents) from the 2005 River Cities' Reader Music Guide: Bands

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