• Taking the adage that it's the driver, not the car, David Grisman's Acoustic Disc label has compiled 42 master musicians laying hands on a beloved 1933 Martin OM-45 guitar and a 1922 Gibson F-5 mandolin. Next Tuesday the label releases the fruit of this unique four-year effort in Tone Poets, a two-CD set that shows the range of sounds drawn from these same vintage instruments by different fingers, slides, and flatpicks.

More questions than answers are blowing in the wind, my friend, with superstar artists cutting deals that exclude traditional mom-and-pop record stores from carrying their upcoming CDs. Walmart's 800-pound gorilla already dictates to the major record labels what it's going to take to get their product into their stores - approving cover art and a take-it-or-leave-it cost margin.

"Tell them to get ready to rock and roll!" That is Edgar Winter's official message to those who'll see him Friday night at River Roots Live. And considering Winter's accomplishments in 35 years of performing, who wouldn't be ready? With more than 20 records to his name since his Entrance entrance in 1970, innumerable concert appearances, and continued public awareness due to the longevity of his '70s classics "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride," Winter is a bona fide musical legend, and one with a style that - like the musician himself - can't be easily categorized.

With bringing-down-the-house hits such as "Dixie Chicken," "Time Loves Hero," "Tripe Face Boogie," and "Fat Man in the Bathtub," Little Feat is legendary. Just don't tell that to songwriter and lead guitarist Paul Barrére.