Jim Trageser's CD and book reviews, musician and author interviews, weekly opinion column from the North County Times (San Diego) and ongoing Reading Diary. http://trageser.com Cathryn Beeks admits that longtime fans of her band, the Cathryn Beeks Ordeal, might be a bit surprised by her new release, "Mood Swing." Having carved out a loyal following in the local roots music scene for her folkie, country-infused brand of Americana, Beeks changed direction a bit on her latest outing, particularly when compared with her previous release, "Desert Music." "It's half kind of a mellow country, and half that's kind of rock," she said of "Mood Swing." Beeks said the stylistic difference came out of the different process for assembling the music this go-round. http://www.nctimes.com/entertainment/music/article_6c159081-3a51-5889-b397-7a2993e2e051.html Oceanside-based guitarist Johnny "V" Vernazza has two music careers going these days: playing and promoting his own music, and keeping alive the spirit and memory of his late friend, harmonica player Norton Buffalo. It's not quite as hectic as it might sound - Vernazza and Buffalo leaned toward rootsy, blues-based Americana stylistically. And Vernazza was in Buffalo's last band, the Knockouts. "He was very eclectic, and that's what was so much fun about playing with him," Vernazza said of Buffalo during an interview last week. "He wasn't pigeonholed, either - which was good and bad. He didn't really do the blues circuit, at the same time there aren't a whole lot of venues for that eclectic Americana style." http://www.nctimes.com/entertainment/music/article_ee6b25a0-2134-5834-bfaf-d1a53441b114.html For drummer Stanton Moore, there was no "aha" moment when he realized he could make his way in the world as a musician. It is just what he's always done, and he segued into his career in jazz as a natural outgrowth of the gigging he'd done growing up in New Orleans. "I started playing gigs when I was about 16, and I never really had a day job. "Pretty much from when I was in college, still I was playing gigs and making enough money to pay rent. I was pretty much able to do it from moving out of my parents' house as a teenager to go to college." http://www.nctimes.com/entertainment/music/article_498f515d-0458-5c23-b7f4-84190709a96f.html Charlie Hunter is one of the most respected and best known current jazz guitarists. Touted as artistic heir to Joe Pass for his combination of technical prowess and warm feeling in his playing, he's been featured in nearly every guitar magazine of note for his use of an eight-string guitar that allows him to play guitar and bass parts simultaneously. While grateful for his fans, he said that all jazz musicians struggle to get by - even the famous ones the rest of us might assume are rolling in coin. "I'm lucky to be able to do what I do. I love doing music, and I'm happy that I can just barely pay the bills every month doing it. If I made any real money, I'd be astonished - and it would be such an incredible bonus. But I'm happy with the way things are going - at least until the kids get to the age to go to college." http://www.nctimes.com/entertainment/music/article_752c16ac-f28d-5be5-98db-a230732f231a.html By any reasonable standard, James Stacy was following the law. After all, California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996, allowing for the establishment and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries. And during his election campaign, now-President Barack Obama had said that his administration would not prosecute those in compliance with state marijuana laws, even where state law conflicted with federal regulations. Inexplicably, despite some very public statements along those lines by Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the local U.S. attorney's office is now prosecuting Stacy after a September raid on his Vista dispensary. http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/trageser/article_d892a738-472f-541a-97a3-37b51c67fb11.html On my best days, I wouldn't be so foolish or naive to think I was anywhere near capable of going toe to toe with Helen Acosta or Greta Kertz. Truth be told, both women scare the snot out of me. Helen runs the Workbench, a framing studio in downtown Escondido, and Greta owns Royal Travel, around the corner. I've been a customer of Greta's any time I've had money enough to go anywhere interesting the past 15 years, and Helen has not only framed most of the artwork in my house, but is a longtime friend. And yet it says here the city can't just let them off the hook for their delinquent downtown business improvement district fees. http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/trageser/article_63ab7f8b-3c55-55cc-845e-610ecedbe5c7.html Good to see common sense prevail on the Escondido City Council last week. The increasingly common habit of various government entities passing resolutions condemning each other's actions has yet to fix a single public ill. Besides, the likelihood that the proposed resolution condemning Arizona's new law regarding illegal immigration actually represented the viewpoint of Escondido's citizenry is somewhat iffy, if recent voting patterns are any indicator. Rather than worrying about how the folks in Arizona decide to tackle their challenges, how much better for Escondido's elected officials to focus on issues facing Escondido residents. Last time I checked, we've quite a few challenges of our own. http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/trageser/article_024dbfd2-362f-5924-8212-5759da92302b.html Science journalist travels to some of the most remote spots on Earth to interview physics researchers about their latest work. Equal parts travelogue and popular science. http://trageser.com/books/reading-2010.php#physics A paid assassin is the protagonist in Tom Hinshelwood's debut novel, a spy thriller that is equal parts Patricia Highsmith and Robert Ludlum. Fast-paced, smartly done – one of the best of its kind in a while. http://trageser.com/books/bookreview-killer.php Hard-boiled p.i. - and wizard - Harry Dresden only finds out he has a daughter when his ex-girlfriends seeks help in getting her back from the vampires who've kidnapped her. http://trageser.com/books/reading-2010.php#butcher Olga Diaz's racial siren song is wearing thin. The Escondido councilwoman is one of the most intelligent people I've ever met. So surely she is aware that her intentional blurring of the issues of legal and illegal immigration is at best dishonest. And to imply, as Diaz did in interviews with this newspaper last week, that opposition to illegal immigration is de facto racism is despicable. In fact, the whole overreaction to Arizona's new state law requiring local police to enforce federal immigration law (which is what had Diaz in self-righteous overdrive) is so over the top, you wonder what planet some of these people live on. http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/trageser/article_2f0ed7e2-3619-5de6-9b83-2a9037e8b212.html