Normally I don't promote shows that I'm personally involved with on Line Out, but this one gets a pass because none of the profit is going to the musicians. All proceeds from the show go to locally-based New Beginnings, an organization whose mission is to provide shelter, advocacy and support for battered women and their children; and to change attitudes and social institutions that foster and perpetuate violence.

So let's try this again with gusto (and without disclaimers): Thursday August 20th at the Triple Door! CD Release Party for the Love/No Love Compilation!

Love/No Love is a two-disc compilation benefitting New Beginnings, the previously-mentioned organization working against domestic violence. The compilaton is the brainchild of a local artist-support project called The Levee Breaking, and it features the likes of Thao & the Get Down Stay Down, Ani DiFranco and Karl Blau. The show tonight, on the other hand, features the likes of Your Heart Breaks, wunderkind Sage Redman and, well, me.

And since you probably always think about volunteering for an organization that matters to you, but chances are you haven't gotten around to it quite yet, remember the "good cause" angle when looking at the $15 cover charge. Here's a chance to donate to a deserving local charity and get the swanky-as-you-wanna-be atmosphere of the Triple Door in return. Advance tickets are available at thetripledoor.com

Also tonight in music, My Philosophy directs you to Lo_Fi for a night of sneakers and hiphop:

Shouts to all the places 206 heads cop 'em, from Sneaker City to Champs (ha) to all the fly boutiques like Goods, Rock Paper Scissors, Winner's Circle, and my folks over at Triple Crown, formerly known as Laced Up. TC is throwing a shindig at the Lo-Fi on March 27 called Shoe Shine, featuring a custom shoe installation from Emmanuel Labor and sets from DJs Fever One and blesOne, plus They Live! and TC fam B-Awake. B-Awake just dropped his debut album, Classic Material, a promising collection of the young MC's sober ruminations on self-elevation, greed, and poverty.

...and to the Rendezvous for the Corner:

That same night (March 27), starting late (it's a party, y'all), is the first-anniversary edition of The Corner at the Rendezvous, featuring Corner founder Candidt, JFK of Grayskul, Silent Lambs Project with Felicia Loud (the killer combo known as Black Stax), Rudy and the Rhetoric, and Mr. Hill.

Also, there's some gay thing up at Chop Suey.

More events here and here.

Yes, Kudzai, the frontman for the Red Sea Sharks, is the brother of Charles Mudede, an associate editor of this publication, a fact I had completely forgotten when I stumbled upon the band's myspace page recently during a particularly exhausting bout of restless leg syndrome.

None of this, though, changes another fact—that Red Sea Sharks create quite a glorious racket. I'm hearing vague traces of Pavement and Velvet Underground in their songs, and while the musicianship can get loose at times, it only adds to the appeal. Seriously, just listen to "Elvis Christ", and deny its greatness.

Here is what Charles had to say last September:

Yes, my brother, Kudzai Mudede, is the lead singer of Red Sea Sharks. My brother and I do not, however, share the same musical world. He likes rock; I like hiphop. He likes punk; I like dub. His fave band is Blur; mine is not even a band: Basic Channel. My brother believes in live music; I live in processed music. My brother is much younger than I am, and the music he makes is hard for me to grasp. It has lots of guitars, vigorous drumming, and loud singing about existential matters. His is a spare and raw rock. And when he sings or screams into the microphone, I’m amazed that we were raised by the same parents. CHARLES MUDEDE

Anyway, the band plays the Wildrose tonight with Isms and the Lights. I'll be there.

Genghis Tron - "Things Don't Look Good"

There’s a lot of good stuff going on tonight, and in the swarm of shows it can be easy to forget about Studio Seven. I do it virtually every day. But tonight I’ve got their back, as they are hosting a top notch bill – Baroness and Genghis Tron. I missed Baroness in May because I didn’t want to go to a Coheed and Cambria show, and couldn’t justify spending the gas money to get to Portland for their show with Genghis Tron, Converge and the Red Chord. But both of their most recent albums are quite good, and since Baroness has been touring on their Red Album for over a year now they might be playing some new material. So tonight’s my big chance to see both acts for the first time, right? Big excitement? Nope. I can’t go. I double booked. The forces of the universe desire to keep me from witnessing these bands in person. But if you go to the Funhouse for the Steel Tigers of Death / Rad Touch / Reptilian Civilian / Therapist show you can hear me scream in desperation about how my band isn’t nearly as good as the ones who are playing a few miles south. Or, better yet, just go see Trent's band at Neumos.