High school senior Cayson Renshaw auditions for East County Idol 2012 singing "New Shoes" by Paolo Nutini

The first round of East County Idol auditions were held March 17th at Somersville Towne Center before Antioch Music Foundation judges (left to right) Linda Thompson, Rudy Fernandez and Sharon Vela.

Final audition opportunity for East County high school students will be held at the mall this Saturday, March 24 from 10 am to  3 pm.  Finalists will perform on April 20th at the El Campanil Theatre. (photo by Walter Ruehlig)

The Antioch Music Foundation is sponsoring the East County Idol auditions Saturday March 17th and 24th from 10 a.m to 3 p.m. at the Somersville Towne Center. The audition room is  adjacent to the security desk.

Finalists will perform at the El Campanil Theatre on April 20th at 7:30 p.m , for $700 in prizes. For applications go to www.antiochmusic.org and look under events, or call Walter Ruehlig at (925) 756-7628.

The contest is open to any high school student, public or private, living in Far East County.

Las Vegas, NV – Long before Brian Setzer’s “Jump, Jive & Wail”, David Lee Roth’s “Just A Gigolo”, and the motion picture SWINGERS, paving the way was the originator, the great Louis Prima.

Louis Prima, Jr. brings his famous father’s music to back to life, with an energetic performance and the unique, first hand perspective of being the son of a music legend.

Louis Prima was the original Sicilian “King of Swing.” His exuberant personality and energetic, raucous shows sold out the Sahara’s main room night after night with his band, The Witnesses.

Louis Prima and the Witnesses became a legendary landmark during the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Like most high rollers and celebrities, even the famed Rat Pack were regulars at the “Wildest Show” in Vegas. With hits like “Jump, Jive, an’ Wail,” “Angelina,” “Just a Gigolo,” “That Old Black Magic,” “Buona Sera,” “When You’re Smiling” and “Sing, Sing, Sing,” the shows remained sold out for years. When Elvis was asked where he got his wiggle, he answered “From Louis Prima, of course!”

Louis Prima Jr. performs an electric tribute to his father’s popular Vegas show. The Witnesses have been reborn. Talented vocalist Sarah Spiegel is his beautiful onstage foil. In the vein of his father, Prima Jr. has put together a show with a swinging and rocking band that will “Jive” you crazy with the feel of the “Wildest Show” in Vegas.

• “Louis Jr’s show was outrageously fantastic. Incredible energy, exciting music- they should have a permanent spot on the Vegas strip” (Robin Leach)
• “Blows the doors off” (Atlantic City Weekly)
• “Louis has serious swing chops and dynamite entertainment value just like his old man without a doubt. LPJ take the family lineage into the 21^st Century” (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• “LPJ revived his Dad’s hits in a high powered show. People were literally dancing in the streets” (Los Angeles Jazz Scene)
• “Prima and his sizzling 8 member band took fans back to the era when his father was the hottest act in America. The life, times, and music lives on in his son and the sensational present-day Witnesses” (Napa Valley Register)
• “Junior has recreated his Dad’s sound and wild antics” (NY Daily News)
• “Louis slayed the sold out Hard Rock Café. The band blew out the Vegas Strip. High energy. Packs ultimate power punch” (www.vegasnews.com)
• “It’s a show with infectious energy” (www.dailyfiasco.com)
• “Louis Prima Jr. is a dead ringer for his Dad” (www.neworleans.com)

Louis Prima Jr. is making his first ever appearance in Antioch at the El Campanil Theatre on Friday night, March 23^rd. The concert will benefit the Pittsburg Historical Society Museum and the California Historical Theatre Foundation. Doors/Reception (beer/wine) at 7PM. Concert at 8. Tickets available at El Campanil Theatre box office or www.elcampaniltheatre.com. For more ticket information, please call (925) 757-9500.

Sunday, Mar 11 3:00p to 10:00p
at Bases Loaded Bar and Restuarant, Antioch, CA
Price: $10.00 Adults – $5.00 children under 18
Phone: (925) 785-8342 – Barbara Gorin with Guitars not Guns
Age Suitability: All Ages

Bands to perform are Blue Moonshine, Square One, The Breedloves, Al Smith, and Haunted by Heroes – 11 year old boys who are nationally known as the youngest rock band in America! Plus special guest appearances!

Food and drink specials and a raffle for a guitar autographed by the bands with proceeds to Guitars Not Guns.

Guitars Not Guns, Inc, a federally exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, provides free guitars and lessons to foster kids, at risk youth and other deserving children.

Enjoy dinner before the band starts – seafood, steak and more while overlooking the river! Humphrey’s on the Delta is located at 1 Marina Plaza, at the foot of L Street, in Antioch. For reservations call 778-5800. For more information visit www.HumphreysontheDelta.com. For more information about the PhD’s visit their Facebook by clicking here.

El Campanil Theatre and the International Film Showcase Present the film “The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner” on Friday February 24 at 7:30 pm and Sunday February 26 at 2:00 pm.

After surviving a horrific car accident a young man can’t even remember his own name. In an attempt to cure him from his amnesia, his quirky grandfather (Miki Manojlovic) travels to Germany and organizes a spiritual journey for his grandson, back to the country of his birth.

While traveling with his grandfather across time and place on a tandem bicycle, the young man begins to reconnect with his forgotten past. Based on Ilija Trojanow¹s autobiography, this touching crowd-pleaser explores such powerful themes as family, loyalty and cultural identity. Beautifully directed by Stephan Komandarev.

Rated: NR (Not Rated), Country: Bulgaria, Runtime: 110 minutes, Languages: Bulgarian, German, Italian, Slovenian, Hungarian. Subtitles: English

Tickets: General Admission: $8, Seniors (62 and Older): $7, Students: $7. Tickets are available by phone: (925) 757-9500, online: www.ElCampanilTheatre.com or at the box office.

About The International Film Showcase
For those who enjoy extraordinary movies not usually available to the general public, the INTERNATIONAL FILM SHOWCASE is what you are looking for.

This project is the brainchild of Efi Lubliner and JoAlice Canterbury. For years Efi and JoAlice have been screeners/attendees at festivals around the country and have compiled a list of films which they believe deserve wider distribution and recognition throughout the United States. After repeatedly recommending their favorite films to friends, they were frustrated to discover that these gems were neither screened in local theaters nor released on DVD. Thus, the birth of the INTERNATIONAL FILM SHOWCASE at the Orinda Theatre.

El Campanil Theatre has scheduled three movies over the next three months to gauge interest in East County.

The popular Christian pop rock band from Australia, Newsboys, will bring their God’s Not Dead tour to Brentwood on Saturday, February 18 for two concerts at Golden Hills Community Church. The band, formed in 1985, has released 15 studio albums of which six have gone gold.

The 7 p.m. concert has been sold out for a couple weeks, so they added a second, matinee show, starting at 1:30 p.m. with tickets still available.

Presented by Compassion International, the concerts will also feature three other groups, The City Harmonic, Anthem Lights, Abandon, and evangelist Bob Lenz.

The City Harmonic, best known for their song Manifesto, is an award winning Christian rock band from Canada. According to Wikipedia, their music is described as “nostalgic Brit-pop meets campfire sing-along mix that features raucous gang vocals along with agile, soaring anthems crafted to include the listener” ^[4] Musically, their sound is often compared to artists like Coldplay, Aqualung or Arcade Fire. In 2011 they won three Covenant Awards from the Gospel Music Association of Canada for New Artist Of The Year, Recorded Song Of The Year and Modern Worship Song Of The Year. http://thecityharmonic.com

The band members of Anthem Lights, from Los Angeles, form an innovative, high-energy pop foursome with soaring vocals and hearts bent on ministry.  According to their website, the band has “an arsenal of influences including dcTalk, Michael Jackson, One Republic, Stevie Wonder, Gavin DeGraw, tobyMac, and Justin Timberlake… [and] has fashioned a dramatic pop experience that is all their own… a rarity in today’s music scene.” www.anthemlights.com

Abandon, an American Christian rock band from San Antonio, Texas, is best known for their song Live It Out, which is featured on The Food Network and at ESPN’s 2011 ESPY Awards Show. www.abandonrock.com

Lenz speaks to about 500,000 teens and adults across North America each year through school assembly programs and faith-based outreaches and events.

Compassion International exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults. Compassion helps more than 1.2 million children in 26 countries. www.compassion.com

Tickets are just $20 and are available online at www.itickets.com/events/281007.html. The church is located at 2401 Shady Willow Lane, off Lone Tree Way in Brentwood.

For more information on the tour visit www.newsboys.com and for Golden Hills Community Church visit www.goldenhills.org or call (925) 516-0653.