LOCALS ONLY

The boom of music joints in downtown continues on June 6 when a new jazz-oriented restaurant-nightclub called Anthology opens its doors in Little Italy. Designed to mimic a 1940s supper club, the restaurant can hold 125 diners or 600 standing-room-only patrons. Housed in two stories at 1337 India St., the new venue's music programming is being handled by former Humphrey's manager Mike Pritchard, who will focus primarily on booking national touring jazz acts. Tickets are already on sale for Chick Corea and Lee Ritenour; locals Peter Sprague and The Steely Damned are also scheduled. Although Pritchard plans to occasionally book non-jazz acts, he'll be staying clear of rock. Future plans include an after-hours jam session. www.anthologysd.com.

Although the lineup of performers isn't confirmed yet, the 17th Annual San Diego Music Awards will be held on Sept. 17 at Viejas Concerts in the Park. To be eligible for album categories, bands must have put something out between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007. www.sandiegomusicawards.com.

Weatherbox is the latest group to deal with the realities of life on the road. Arriving in New York on May 8 to start their first nationwide tour in support of their new Doghouse Records CD, American Art, the band's van was stolen with all their gear inside. Their tour mates, The Casket Salesmen, have stepped up and are sharing their instruments so that the tour can go on, with a stop at the Che Café on June 1. www.myspace.com/weatherbox.

Singer-songwriter Lisa Sanders' upcoming album, Last Night in Roseburg, will feature collaborations from two major tunesmiths. The song "Texas" was co-written with Susan Gibson, who scored platinum for The Dixie Chicks with "Wide Open Spaces." Meanwhile, Sanders co-wrote the title track with Jenny Yates, who's collaborated with Garth Brooks. The album also includes two songs by locals: Mark DeCerbo's "Gold" and a track penned by Steve Poltz and Maia Sharp called "Firefly." www.myspace.com/lisasandersmyspace.

The next project from A.J. Croce's Seedling Records will be a six-disc set of vintage public-domain material culled from the archives of Lou Curtiss, owner of Folk Arts Records. The material will be arranged by theme, including jazz and prohibition songs. But, Curtiss explained, "there's no shortage of potential subject matters or material. In the old days, they wrote about everything. We could even do an album just filled with songs about chickens." www.seed lingrecords.com.

Screamo band Unset has signed to Tennessee label Gridiron Records. The label is owned by ex-Snot guitarist Mikey Doling and Kyle Turley (yes, the former offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs-apparently a big screamo fan). www.my space.com/unset.

CD-release shows this week:

Roots-rockers The Coyote Problem at Dizzy's on May 20. www.thecoyoteproblem.com.

Instrumental thrash-metal band Earthless at The Casbah on May 17. www.my space.com/earthless.

Glammy rockers The Truckee Brothers at The Casbah on May 18. www.myspace.com/ truckeebrothers.

O.B.'s kings of '70s funk, Superunloader, at Tiki House on May 17. www.super unloader.com.

Got tips? E-mail our music editor at troy@sdcitybeat.com.