Inside Music

• According to South by Southwest creative director Brent Grulke, veteran rocker Billy Idol has confirmed an opening night set at SXSW 2005. The 49-year old singer is known for hits such as 'White Wedding,' the onanistic 'Dancing With Myself' and a trashy cover of 'Mony Mony,' his completely absurd videos, breaking his leg in a savage motorcycle accident, and a surreal cameo in the 'The Wedding Singer.' His new album, 'Devil's Playground,' is due out March 22 on Sanctuary Records, where many a veteran rocker has ended up over the past few years. Grulke says there are plans for a sit-down interview with Idol.

• Los Lonely Boys, and specifically guitarist Henry Garza, are featured on the cover of Guitar Player magazine's January issue. Garza talks about his playing style, the band's songwriting and his aesthetic relationship to such guitar gods as Carlos Santana, B.B. King and, of course, Stevie Ray Vaughan. The caption on the cover reads 'We Have Seen the Future of Blues Rock!' which, given the sorry state of said genre, probably wasn't too hard to figure out. -- J.G.

• Hurts to Purr, the trio centered around rising local songwriter Liz Pappademas, is heading into the studio in January to record the follow-up to Pappademas' EP 'Five Songs From Laurel Street.' 'We're going to be recording at Rotund Rascal Studio in Los Angeles,' Pappademas, 25, says. Session engineer Brian Kehew has worked with Aimee Mann and Fiona Apple. The sessions will be produced by Kevin Ryan, an assistant at Sugar Hill Studios in Houston. 'A few months after I met Kevin, I got this mysterious e-mail from some address that I'd never heard and it was a link to a site that had remixes of stuff from our EP,' Pappademas adds. Ryan eventually 'fessed up to having made the remixes. The band plans to spend five days recording basic tracks for 10 or 12 songs, and finish the album at Sugar Hill in the hopes of having a completed recording in time for SXSW. The band opened for Norah Jones at the VIP Pavilion Stage of Verizon Amphitheater in San Antonio on Oct.16. -- J.G.

• The Melissa Etheridge Information Network (MEIN) will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a party at Sidekicks/Xtreme starting at 7 p.m. Dec. 17. They promise live music, comedy and a viewing of the 'Lucky Live!' DVD. Representatives from the Pink Bracelet Fund will also be on hand to sell special collectible Breast Cancer Awareness bracelets made in honor of Etheridge, who announced in October that she had breast cancer. Proceeds will go to the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation. Bracelets are $5. There is no cover for the MEIN event, which features music from Sharon Bousquet and Sarah Glynn. The live music is sponsored by www.GoGirlsMusic.com. In addition to the Melissa Etheridge fan club event, a party featuring San Francisco DJ Amber of Sister SF and Austin DJs Jacqui Queue and Panther will begin at 9 p.m. at Xtreme. Tickets for the party, hosted by TRIX Productions and Soundcave Records, are $10 at the door. -- J.G.

• 91.7FM KOOP radio celebrates its 10th anniversary 7 p.m. to midnight Dec. 18 with 'The Tin Party,' which will take place at The Off Center (2211-A Hidalgo St., 472-1369). Featured music includes jazz from the Swingsters, country from the Sapphires and rock from This Microwave World. KOOP DJs Little Danny, Jay Robillard and Ram & Vikrant join spoken word artist Liz Belile, fire dancing, tarot card readings and chair massages. Food and beverages will be provided by Ararat Middle Eastern Restaurant, the Clay Pit, Independence Brewery, Junior's Beer & Wine, Ruby's BBQ and St. Arnold Brewery. Admission is a $5 suggested donation or three cans of food for the Capital Area Food Bank. -- J.G.

• Feb. 1 is the new date for the Neville Brothers and Angelique Kidjo show at Bass Concert Hall. Tickets range from $22.50 to $46.50 and are available at www.utpac.org or by calling 477-6060. All tickets purchased for the original date of Jan. 27 will be honored. -- J.G.

• Local indie pop label Peek-A-Boo Records has started its annual holiday sale. When you order from the Peek-A-Boo Web site at www.peekaboorecords.com, take 25 percent off all Peek-A-Boo releases and 10 percent off all other catalog items. -- J.G.