To Grammy or not to Grammy, that is the question. For some, the Grammy Awards are a waste of time, but most of the time, those who bitched about them had a sudden change of heart once they won one or got nominated. Let’s face it: The Grammys are still a powerhouse and even though I haven’t renewed my membership to The Recording Academy (I’ve been broke, OK?) I still believe receiving a Grammy or a nomination does wonders for one’s career. My advice: Go to the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (LARAS) mixer at the Cadillac Bar on Thursday, June 16 ($20 general, free for members, 5-7pm, 212 S Flores), and ask all the questions you want. Learn about the voting process and participate (the Latin Grammys are in November, the Grammys in February). If you are an artist and join the Academy (either LARAS or NARAS, the original National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) you automatically become a voting member. And if more people like us overcome our skepticism and join, the less likely we will have to see a band like Jethro Tull win a Grammy in the heavy metal category again. Grammy-winning Mexican Regional artist El Güero will perform at Thursday’s mixer. RSVP closed on Monday, but write to [email protected] and beg anyway.
Here’s one more thing you shouldn’t miss: the Riff House concerts. This is a series of unique monthly shows taking place in the living room of Tim and Candyce Slusher. Last month, the Rosedale Highs had a solid set (despite a needless, prolonged opening set by Jason Treviño on ukulele), and the next one is a must-see: Little Brave (formerly known as Stephanie Briggs) and friends (including K Phillips) will be there on Saturday, June 18 starting at 8 p.m. The suggested donation is $10; you can RSVP through riffhouseconcerts.com or its Facebook page, and directions are available there as well.
If for any reason you miss this show (shame on you if you do; this is the one to see), do not panic: You can catch Little Brave at Fralo’s A The opening sequence in Incendies is a stunning piece of poetic filmmaking: A desert in the Middle East framed in the window of a barracks where a dozen young Muslim conscripts readied for combat are having their heads shaved. Radiohead’s haunting “You and Whose Army?” quietly plays as the camera zooms in on a child soldier who refuses to blink. rt of Pizza on Thursday, June 30 (7pm, 23651 IH 10 West) and at the G.I.G. on July 16 ($6, 9pm, 2803 N St. Mary’s). I heard she’s been working
