MUSICALLY SPEAKING >>>

It's Monday, which means my outlook on life isn't quite as rosy as it was merely 48 hours ago - and it's time for your weekly preview of what's on tap musically speaking from the Weekly Volcano.

C AVERAGE: It's been over two years since Oly's quintessential heavy, heady rockers have taken to the stage - but that all changes Saturday at the Eastside Club. The Weekly Volcano's Nikki Talotta sat in on a recent C Average practice, and she'll bring you the juicy tidbits - including why C Average drummer Brad Balsley "plays for his mental health."

SONG SPARROW RESEARCH: After being talked into the proposition by $2000 Puma, Seattle's Song Sparrow Research - a band that's done plenty of evolving over the last few years - will make its first trip to T-Town, playing The New Frontier on Saturday. Leader Hamilton Boyce, who says Song Sparrow Research is going into Tacoma with "an open mind," sounded optimistic about playing Tacoma for the first time. "I've been to some shows down there," says Boyce, "and have been impressed by some of the musical taste."

WESTERN GHOST HOUSE: From Austin, Texas - this gaggle of alt-country tinged troubadours will hit The New Frontier on Tuesday, March 2, as part of the band's "Lonesome, Rowdy and Restless Tour." The Weekly Volcano's Rev. Adam McKinney connected with lead singer Jesse Pantoja this week, and you'll be able to catch his interview and more in Thursday's print edition of this fine rag.

PLUS: Taj Mahal, Sok and the Faggots, Thrones, and France's L'Orchidée d'Hawaï