Music

Leslie Lindell

I HAVE HEARD it said that there is no music scene in Marin anymore. However, every time I take a look around, something new and cool is happening. Sure, things have changed, but in the musical universe (much like the real one) the only real constant is change.

 

AS WE finish up the short month of February, we start the weekend with two bands known for their long improvised jams.

On Feb. 26, Sebastopol's Hopmonk Tavern features the double bill of New Monsoon and Hillside Fire (Petaluma's own). It's a chance to see two bands that seem to be spearheading the new wave of improvisational jam bands.  

Tenor saxophonist Ron Stallings, who died of cancer last April at 62, was one of the Bay Area's most beloved musicians. This memorial album, a double disk set spanning 40 years of his music, is testament to the high regard in which Stallings was held by his friends and fellow musicians.

 

Sonoma County singer-songwriters Sam Misner and Megan Smith began performing together as a duo after discovering their mutual affection for folk music when they were both actors in a production of "Woody Guthrie's American Song."