WEDNESDAY, JAN. 8 2014 >>>

1. At the grocery store and in a park Regan Lane comes across as the most normal of guys - which doesn't mean he is.  After all, when you've been a key member of several popular and notorious Tacoma bands that spent the last three decades receiving rave reviews and an ever-growing following - not to mention soaking in the rock 'n' roll lifestyle - how, exactly, could anyone remain "normal"?  Which raises the question of what, exactly, is normal, anyway?  So let's just say Lane keeps things low-key ... except when he's on stage. When he's behind the mic, guitar in hand, he's a rock star. The way he carries himself, interacts with the crowd and most importantly his talent, Lane is a professional musician who brings it every time. Lane's pop band Strangely Alright joins Vividal and Charles Mack at the Maurice The Fish Records 1st Wednesday Sessions at Jazzbones, which kicks off at 8 p.m. True pop-heads won't find anything normal, or strange, about Lane and his band.

2. Digital media pioneer Jennifer Steinkamp fabricated a vividly seductive digital artwork following a tree through the four seasons as though blown by unpredictable winds, causing the branches to twist and clench. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Tacoma Art Museum, the artwork charts the passage of time by following the path of a single tree as it cycles through a year of change in 11 minutes.

3. Author and Washington State Historical Society Head of Education, Stephanie Lile, will discuss the research behind her book about the secret world her father never talked about - his experiences as a World War II tail gunner who survived 59 missions in the European Theater at noon in the Washington State History Museum.

4. Roughians smashed the Tacoma Brewing Company's windows over the weekend. The beer company was forced to pick up a large part of the tab that insurance didn't cover. In celebration it has renamed its Citra IPA #1 to Broken Window IPA and will tap the sucker tonight.

5. Saxophonist Kareem Kandi has hosted an open jazz session for years, a backyard patio for his music school friends, fellow musicians and newbies to jam out standards - fresh, fiery and exciting. The jam now resides every second Wednesday at 7 p.m. in The Swiss.

LINK: Wednesday, Jan. 8 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area