Before his shift as a cashier at Fred Meyer begins on a Friday morning, Dan Pantenburg takes some time to chat about his main love, his band, The Autonomics, one of Bend’s most promising rock acts and one that’s found a bar following despite the fact that none of its members are of legal drinking age. This week band is releasing an EP entitled Good Luck and Medicine, an impressive five-track rock assault that was produced by Empty Space Orchestra’s Shane Thomas, and are celebrating the debut with a string of three shows on three consecutive nights.

Steve Earle coming to Bend is one of the coolest, most intriguing bookings we’ve seen at the Tower Theatre (PDXchange not included) this year and that’s probably why the show is sold out and has been for a while.

While there are almost 500 ticket holders who know plenty about Steve Earle and understand why they should see the politically minded country rocker, it’s still worth noting (and celebrating) the fact that such a performer is playing in town. So, think of June 29 as Steve Earle Day in Bend—even if you didn’t get a ticket in time.

There was a time when the Slackers album, The Question, would spend weeks at a time in the car stereo. The record is a pure recreation of authentic Caribbean ska music, not dressed up in punk accouterments, as was the case with so many other “ska” bands that were on the airwaves in the mid-1990s. Some might find what the Slackers do closer to reggae, and maybe they’re right, but classifications aside, The Question is decisively my favorite album of the genre.

But in the past eight years or so, I couldn’t even be positive that the disc was still in my possession. That was before I heard that the Slackers were the next in a continuing line of ska bands to, somewhat oddly (but awesomely) play the Mountain’s Edge Bar on the south end of town on Tuesday night. Further evidence of the Mountain’s Edge’s plan to become Oregon’s integral ska venue (if that’s possible) is the fact that just before The Slackers arrive, the Voodoo Glow Skulls play the joint on Friday night.