Club Notes: Jackie Greene plays Boulder’s ‘etown’

Jackie Greene has performed with everyone from Phil Lesh to Gov’t Mule, but the roots and rock artist is ready to promote his own CD this summer.

Wednesday night, Greene will play the environmentally friendly “etown” radio show. The live radio taping will take place at the Boulder Theater at a later 8 p.m. start time.

Greene is hitting “etown” to promote his new CD, Till the Light Comes. The record hits stores on Tuesday.

“My sound is totally into blues and Americans roots music,” Greene said. “I feel very connected to that vibe, and the music I do is sort of a combination of all the stuff I like. I’ve always been into artists like Ray Charles, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Bob Dylan and The Beatles.”

Greene’s music has headed into the mainstream, and his tunes have been heard in the movie “Brokeback Mountain” and on TV’s “Private Practice.”

However, the musician has also become known for his guitar and vocal skills. Greene spent two years as part of the Grateful Dead spin-off band Phil Lesh & Friends.

“I didn’t know a lot of Grateful Dead songs, but I dove in head-first when I toured with Phil Lesh,” Greene said. “I did that for a couple of years between 2007 and 2009.”

It’s been a few years since solo records, so Greene’s ready to wow fans with Till the Light Comes.

“I wanted to evoke a certain feeling with this record,” Greene said. “The songs are a little more hopeful than some songs I’ve recorded. These are human stories.”

Greene’s also ready to make his “etown” debut. The artist says he tries to be an environmentally conscious guy.

“I don’t usually drive and I’m pretty good about taking public transit,” Greene said. “It’s all about the little things you do. I’ve been thinking it would be great to develop a canteen that you can take to shows instead of plastic water bottles.

“I’ll be playing some new stuff at ‘etown’ and pumping the record.”

Cage

Rapper Cage is using his summer tour to fund a new CD. The hip-hop artist has found himself without a label, but he’s determined to bring his music to the fans.

Thursday, Cage — aka Chris Palko — will show off his rhyming skills at the Marquis Theater in Denver.

The performer went though some very tough teen years before he found his calling to rap.

Shia LaBeouf is now turning the hip-hop artist’s biography into a movie. The actor’s been working on the project between “Transformer” movies.

“My record label went defunct, so that’s put things in a bind,” Palko said. “Now I’m trying to work and make money for a new record.

“I am still working on the movie with Shia. We finally have a script, but he’s been busy on the ‘Transformers 3’ set. Biopics take a long time to make — especially when you’re making them yourself.”