Some of our friends are playing out and about:

The Inconsiderate Few and aBetter Yesterday are appearing with the Neon Swing X-perience on Friday, July 29, at the Hard Rock Cafe at Station Square. Doors open at 9 p.m., and it's $5 to get in for a night of music.

A show featuring the Primatives ("Folk music that rocks!"), along with Ramblin' Roon Boone and Dave Brosky, is at the Uptown Theatre in Washington on Thursday, July 28. That's also $5 and starts at 8.

Blind Date is appearing at the Versailles American Legion (412-751-5760) on Saturday, July 30. The fun starts at 9:30.

The youngster stands before a large, oddly shaped instrument, holding a pair of equally odd-shaped sticks.

He starts striking strings in rapid succession, producing sounds that are reminiscent of a harpsichord, only much more dynamic.

He's Adam Sutch of Daisytown, and he's playing the hammered dulcimer, an 85-string instrument spanning 4 1/2 octaves. And it's not to be confused with the much smaller Appalachian or lap dulcimer that's much more commonly heard around Western Pennsylvania.

Adam, 14, has been playing hammered dulcimer for about 2 1/2 years and started feeling sufficiently comfortable this year to start performing in front of audiences. And they've been very enthusiastic as he regales them with a repertoire of mostly Celtic folk tunes.

He attributes his interest in the unususal instrument to a family member: "My mom always like dulcimers." And Michelle Sutch also has learned to play the hammered variety. In fact, she accompanied Adam on a CD he recorded and sells at his performances, "Sutch Sounds." Other accompanists also are family members: grandparents Ron and Darlene Howes of Fredericktown, who play guitar.

Adam, who will be a freshman at California High School, says he has more recordings in the works and plans to perform an original he wrote, called "Eye of the Hurricane."

If you want to check him out, here's his schedule: July 30 at the Coffee Den in Mt. Lebanon; Sept. 11 at the Sheep Fest at Weatherbury Farm in Avella; Oct. 13 at the Main Street Farmers' Market in Washington; and Oct. 22 at the fall festival at Quail Acres, North Strabane Township.

(Sound clips of Adam's work are coming soon.)

We've compiled a brief slide show featuring audio clips and photos of most of the bands that played at the Peterswood Park amphitheater during the township's Community Day. Thanks to Ivan Kilowatt of Ivansound for providing the audio portion, recorded straight off the soundboard he ably ran during the event. (I took the pictures, and if the kids look like they're roasting, it was well into the 90s that day.)

Click here to check it out

The fellows at flidop.com have prepared the "1st ever Fli-Cast, featuring interview/commentary on Lumberjam with Aaron Bennett and Bill Smith (both of Patchwork Blu) and Jason Mitchell (of Doodis) and tracks by: Patchwork Blue, Doodis, Wino Riot, The Borderless Puzzle, and Grimace."

Click here to listen

From Robert Carey of Grimace, another band that will be performing at Lumberjam II:

"Grimace plays instrumental jazz, funk, rock. We mix originals with covers. Each set features some jazz standards and arrangements - James Brown, Meters, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and John Scofield tunes, amongst others. The music would best be described as a guitar-based Medeski, Martin and Wood."

Robert also tells me he's a big fan of guitarist Henry Kaiser - by all means, check him out if you run across any of his stuff!

Grimace also will be playing Monday, July 25, at the Walnut Grill in Shadyside.

For some reason, I've noticed that bass players often are the mouthpieces for their bands. That's cool! Here are a couple more talking about their bands, which will perform at Lumberjam II.

Nick Michaels of Wino Riot: "We mainly play funk, with traces of soul, groove, jam, rock and even some pop. We're
a six-piece group consisting of two guitarists, keyboardist, drummer, percussionist and bassist, all from varying musical backgrounds. We have a studio album, 'GyroFishChili,' out on Hometown Records and recorded a track, 'Stronger Now,' for a compilation that the same label released earlier this year. We also have a wide array of originals aside from our studio cuts and are expanding our catalog of covers.

"You can hear our music at www.winoriot.com or streaming at
www.myspace.com/winoriot, www.purevolume.com/winoriot, www.bandspace.com/winoriot or http://www.flidop.com."

Bill Smith, who plays bass for Patchwork Blu, says to check out his band's Web site. And he adds: "Lumber Jam is great chance for people to show support for local music for an amazing price. I mean come on you can't even go to a normal campground for a weekend for $15, let alone with live entertainment. It's also a chance for local musicians to meet each other and try to build the local scene. There is a lot of amazing music in this area; the key is to bring it all together. Check out http://www.flidop.com to see what I mean."

With Lumberjam II's approach imminent, here are some of the bands you'll hear this weekend:

K9 and the Old E. Allstars lead off the proceedings, starting at 8 p.m. Friday, July 22. Says percussionist Mark McCall: " We're a 6 piece Pittsburgh-based funk and R&B band. We play mostly originals, with the occasional funk or Motown cover. We've been playing around the region in spots like Erie, State College, Indiana and Morgantown. We've got some mp3s on www.flidop.com if you want to take a listen. Look for our name on the right hand side, click on it and that will take you to our profile. We're currently working on our debut album, due out in October or November."

Bass player Jeff Radosevich talks about his band, scheduled to play at 5:30 p.m. Saturday: "Social Coyotes are a funk, reggae, rock fusion band based in Pittsburgh. Drawing on a wide range of influences, Social Coyotes shows take the audience on a sonic journey full of powerful lyrics, catchy medodies and danceable rhythms. Social Coyotes cater each show to the audience and venue."

Here's an update on some coming performances.

C.J. from Fynal Tyme 2 reports: "(we will be off for 2 weeks following this one), so get your FIX this FRIDAY, the 22nd of July, up in Perryopolis, at Mayor Edz Pub! (formerly Club Maxx). Comming down Rt-51 from the Valley, that's heading south...go thru Perry-O...at the Fox's Pizza, (on the right) Make a left...go straight one block, into their parking lot! That's it..nothing to it!"

As for Blind Date: "Next Saturday July 23rd, we'll be appearing at the First Church Cafe Street Concert, First United Methodist Church, Canonsburg."

And don't forget about Lumberjam II in Eighty Four this weekend.

Get a dozen or so bands and all of their friends together, and you have one heck of a summer gig going.

You also have Lumberjam II, the second annual festival hosted by Doodis at the family home of guitarist Pete Mansmann. Over the weekend of July 22-24, the music starts Friday night and wraps up Sunday morning, with a variety of acts keeping everyone entertained in between.

The tradition actually dates back to 2001, starting as "just kind of a party for the Mansmanns," says Doodis bass player Jason "Mitch" Mitchell. Pete and his buddies being musicians, the rest of it just naturally took hold.

This year's rendition features a bigger lineup, with 10 bands, a couple of solo acts and some late-night jam sessions. Stylistically, the music includes jambands like Doodis and Fungus, with some jazz, reggae, bluegrass and good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll at various points in the program.

"We thought, let's try to get as many different kinds of bands as we can," Mitch says. "All the bands just kind of donate their time. It's a good opportunity for everyone to get out and expose themselves to everyone."

And it's an opportunity for busy musicians to catch their fellow performers.

"Most of the bands we've all seen. We're friends with some of the people, and we catch them when we can," Doodis drummer Shane McGraw says. "This is a chance for us to say, 'Come on our turf and do it when we can be around."

The organizers are keeping the proceedings kind of low-key, spreading news of the festival mainly through word of mouth, through the participating bands, and through a Lumberjam II Web site. That way, everyone kind of knows each other, and those who don't can get to know everyone quickly.

Shane liked that approach during last year's festival, his first with Doodis.

"Between the people in the other bands and fans we'd seen around, there were a lot of people I knew on a first-name basis," he says. "It's just a big, extended musical family."

Lumberjam II has plenty of room for camping, for folks who want to make a whole weekend of it. Dave DeFlippis is coming in from State College to handle the sound, and the guys from Doodis like what they've heard when they've worked with him.

BTW, Lumberjam came across its name only partly because of its proximity to Joe Hardy's renowned lumber company.

"Really, the reason it's called Lumberjam is that the stage is right under a tree," Mitch says. "And it just so happens it's in Eighty Four."

Folks who heard Fynal Tyme as Pittsburgh's self-proclaimed loudest band might be surprised at the current configuration of the group.

Final Tyme 2 features the familiar rhythm section of C.J. Swaney on bass and Brian Paulman on drums, but this time around they're joined by an acoustic guitarist, Greg Minkus, and multi-instrument percussionist, Joe Sopchak.

After the power-trio lineup of Fynal Tyme wound down last year, C.J. - a Ringgold graduate who's carried on the band's moniker since the early '80s - says he decided to work with an acoustic player as a change of pace.

"I was thinking of doing a smoky, Wednesday-night bar kind of thing, me and him."

Brian joined the project, then the guys invited Joe to set up his congas and various other percussive "toys."

"When he started playing, we said, 'We have to talk this guy into doing this with us!'" says C.J. "The only word that fits what he brings to the band is groove. It's the perfect marriage for this type of music."

This type of music, as played by Final Tyme 2, is what the band bills as radio rock: "If you listen to the radio, you're going to know these songs."

But rather than note-by-note imitations, the guys do their own take on a tune, often stretching it out if it's getting a good response.

"We've never done a song the same way twice," says C.J. (who told me he once played in a band in Germany called Funk & Clapp, with a guitar player named Harry Funk ... go figure.)

Fynal Tyme 2 also does originals, with C.J. drawing songwriting influence from his favorite performer, Elvis Costello, and Greg contributing some material.

Incidentally, neither Greg nor Joe had played in a group setting before joining Final Tyme 2, but they've fit in well with developing the band's sound. Rather than shooting for high decibels, the approach is clear music through a state-of-the-art amplification system.

"The compliment we fish for and get the most is, 'I heard everything you played and could talk to the person next to me,'" C.J. says.

Look for Final Tyme 2 on July 9 at Good Times Bar and Grille on Route 51 in Pleasant Hills, and check out the band's site for other dates this summer.

As the old bumper stickers used to say, "There's nothing like a Grateful Dead concert."

That's true. But a decade after the final Grateful Dead concert, some bands still are around to make old Deadheads (and young ones) happy by continuing to play the music they love.

Fungus has been doing so since 1991, coming together around the height of the Dead's popularity. They got off the ground by playing shows whenever the Dead wasn't on tour, mainly because all the members wouldn't have been available during those periods.

"Half the guys in our band were hardcore and were following them around," explains co-founder Dave Gasbarro, a Connellsville native who now calls Jefferson Hills home.

Fungus got its start after the demise of the national recording act the Zippers, at which point that band's guitarist, Terry Callahan, had some free time.

"Terry and I were heavily into the Dead back then," Dave says. "We started jamming, picked up a drummer, picked up a bass player."

A couple of eventual members - bass player Steve "pUNK" Cunningham and keyboardist Bill Maruca - came from Sandoz, another band that specialized in playing the music of the Grateful Dead (and that released a cool album on Relix Records, "Unfamiliar Territory").

Fungus peppers its sets with originals and covers of songs by other artists. But the foremost consideration continues to be paying tribute to the Grateful Dead.

"The feeling is still there, the reverberation of what they created still exists," Dave says. "That speaks volumes about what the Dead were, that the people still want to hear us."

When they get the opportunity, that is.

"It's getting harder to go places to see live music, let alone music that you like," he laments. "Karaoke and DJs rule."

You can catch Fungus live, though, including shows at Moondog's in Blawnox on July 8 and at Lumberjam II in Eighty Four on July 22.

Tie-dye is optional.