Still getting my post-vacation bearings straight. But from what I’ve been hearing today, Josh Gracin’s appearance next Tuesday at the Varsity Grill will be the hot ticket among local “American Idol” and country fans.

The former marine and up-and-coming country star placed fourth on “American Idol.” Expect to hear “I Keep Coming Back," the lead single from his forthcoming sophomore disc “All About Y’all” which, according to Gracin’s Web site, was written by the Steve Robson and Jeffrey Steele, the creative team that penned Rascal Flatts hits "What Hurts The Most" and "My Wish."

Gracin’s

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Just got back from vacation. And the first call I got this morning was from my source at House of Blues. He wanted to let me know that Helmet had signed on to fill the Eagles of Death Metal’s vacated opening slot for Guns N’ Roses.

Helmet rocks! And the GNR show is again marginally worth shelling out your hard earned ducats. Maybe. And who knows? Maybe we’ll get to hear a few more of those “Chinese Democracy” songs Axl Rose has been talking about for the last decade. ‘Cause that album will see the light of day

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Well, the Guns N’ Roses tour’s cool factor just plummeted several notches after mercurial front man Axl Rose booted the Eagles of Death Metal from their opening slot after just one date. Click here for Pollstar’s account of what went down.

But don’t fret. Local fans can still look forward to opening act Sebastian Bach when the latest GNR lineup (which includes only Rose from the original lineup) stops at the Everett Events Center on Dec. 10. Maybe. We’re assuming the tour makes it to the West Coast without any more riots.

Won’t be back at the TNT for a few more days yet. But check back later this week and maybe I’ll give you a few highlights of all the trouble I managed to rustle up in Canada. No near riots this time, like the one that nearly sparked outside the Boom Boom room last time I was there.

Many recognize Glenn Danzig as one of the most influential shapers of modern hard rock from his days as the voice of the Misfits, Samhain and Danzig. But many don’t know about his other artistic forays into the worlds of film, comic books and – classical music? (Echo, echo.)

“Black Aria II,” the sequel to his first classical album from 1992, recently saw the light of day after years of delay. And when I caught up with Danzig we talked quite a bit about the non-rock stuff before circling back to his Blackest of the Black tour

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As promised, here are some more clips from my interview with George Clinton, who will appear during the 420 Funk Mob set at Jazzbones on Saturday. Along with the Wu-Tang news (see previous blog) we talked about …

… his plans to release a box set and funk’s comeback.

… the difference between what he does with 420 Funk Mob vs. P-Funk All-Stars.

I grew up on the P-Funk. So it goes without saying that I was shocked and excited to hear that George Clinton – the mad genius behind Parliament-Funkadelic – would be playing Jazzbones. (Granted, it’s not his show, per se. He’ll make a cameo with the 420 Funk Mob, a Funkadelic tribute band that features members of his backing band, P-Funk Allstars, on Saturday. Details here.

But I was even more surprised when he gave me the 4-1-1 on an as yet unannounced tour for next year. Guess who he’s hookin’ up with. To find out, check

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The Democrats took back Congress on Tuesday, and secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld tendered his resignation the next day.

So you had to figure that Natalie Maines – recovering pop pariah and infamous basher of George W. Bush – might gloat a little Saturday night at the Tacoma Dome.

And so she did towards the end of the Dixie Chicks’ lively and sometimes powerful two-our set. She joked that many of the more than 15,000 on hand must have been thinking "I can’t believe she didn’t say anything about the elections."

So she asked, "How

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Aw, give Faith Hill a break, people.

I didn’t catch the CMA Awards last night. But since everyone and their grandma has been talking about what a bad sport Hill is, after her “controversial” reaction to losing to Carrie Underwood in the Female Vocalist of the Year category, I felt compelled to go to You Tube to examine the evidence. You know, to see if she’d really gone all Kanye West on us.

And look at her. Before she does it, she’s pacing around and trying not to look at the camera, as if she’s

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I dropped in at the Cedarwood Dome in Milton over the weekend (formerly Atlantis), and there I met a brother named Kenny. If you listen to KISW-FM’s morning show, the BJ Shea Experience, you know him better as regular caller They Killed Kenny.

Nice guy, but here’s the weirdest thing I learned about ol’ TKK. He once branded “Tool” onto his chest to win tickets to go see the band Tool. No, really. There it was, in keloid letters, after DJ Ricker called him up to the mike and asked him to show everyone in the approving

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