Generally, the nature of this column is to tell you about what's going on around town and get you out of the house. Now, however, I'd like to urge you to stay home and turn your TV on ... or at least to throw a videotape in your VCR and set the timer before you head out of the house.

Sounding Board is a fine weekly local music concert show that airs on Capital Region Time Warner Cable. Bryan Thomas is the featured performer this weekend, and he'll be playing selections from his stunningly good new CD, Radio Plastic Jennifer.

Recorded in December and released last month, the album is a dazzling whirlwind of folk-funk, as Thomas tackles love and betrayal, sin and salvation, lollipops and lingerie. The songs are smart, erotically charged and full of heart -- an all-too rare combination.

Six for example, is a dizzying stream-of-consciouness slab of rock-rap with Thomas riffing on everything from 'The Wizard of Oz' to 'The 12 Days of Christmas,' from mood rings to junk bonds, from Loretta Lynn to Guns 'N Roses to Danny Partridge.

Cycle cuts even deeper, a tale of young African-Americans struggling against all odds to survive in a hostile world. An epic emotional rollercoaster of a song, Thomas descends from heartbreaking sorrow to bone-chilling terror before finally grabbing hold of a sliver of hope and redemption in the power of love. By the end of the song, he's chanting 'Everything's gonna be all right,' as though he can make it so solely through repetition and his sheer passion.

And that's just a sampling of Thomas' talents. He'll be performing both of those songs on 'Sounding Board,' as well as several others. Watch the TV show. Buy the CD. And the next time that Thomas steps onto an area stage -- as he will at Caffe Lena's Folkathon in Saratoga Springs at 10 p.m. Saturday May 22 and at Valentine's in Albany on Sunday, May 23 -- get out of the house and see what he can do in person. You won't be disappointed.

all stuff copyright 1999 bryan paul thomas and wt3 records
bryanthomas.com