Odds & Ends

Last week, Scott Beggs quit his job at the Entertainment Collaborative, the company that owns and operates several Deep Ellum businesses. Beggs has been a respected and well-known member of the EC for years, most recently as a talent buyer for Trees and the Gypsy Tea Room. At press time, attempts to reach Beggs were not successful.

---

More crappy news: During his band's set at Saturday night's Tsunami Benefit, Sparrows front man Carter Albrecht made a rather unexpected announcement. It was something along the lines of, "Yeah, well, anyway, this is going to be the Sparrows' last show." Members of the audience shot each other puzzled glances: Was he talking about the band breaking up? Indeed, he was. After more than three years as one of the best--and certainly the tallest--rock bands in town, members are going separate ways. More on that in the coming weeks.

---

As good ol' Leonardo DiCaprio encouraged us to do in his Golden Globe awards speech, Americans continue to give money to areas devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami. Last week's two benefits--a local bill at Granada and Lenny Kravitz's concert at the Hard Rock Cafe--raised around $20,000 each. This week, Virgin Megastore hosts two benefits on Thursday, January 20. At the Mockingbird Station store, the concerts (starting at 2 p.m.) include performances by the Burden Brothers, The Vanished, Max Cady and Zayra Alvarez. At the Grapevine store, the concerts (starting at 4 p.m.) include performances by Mermaid Purse, Fair to Midland and California's Earlimart.

---

Ever dreamed of wearing white robes and singing choral rock?: The Polyphonic Spree is looking for a trumpet player to replace Logan Keese, who has left the group. Ideally, they would like to find someone from the Dallas or Denton area. According to a notice sent to their e-mail list, "This player needs great improvisational skills. We are obviously a touring band with many, many adventures full time. If anyone knows of a really cool kid, girl or boy, that can handle the road, thirtysomething new people in their life, and loves music with a WIDE range--please let us know!" E-mail management@thepolyphonicspree.com.