It’s hot. It’s cool. Hot sun. Cool shade. Hot licks. Cool jazz.

The 2nd Annual Mastropietro Winery Jazz Festival, Sunday, June 28, brings together five of the best local and regional jazz bands for nine hours of great jazz at this beautiful family winery near Berlin Center.

The stellar trumpeter Jack Schantz from Akron and Cleveland and his Quartet open the show at 1 p.m., followed by Youngstown vocalist extraordinaire Janet Opritza-Davis & Company (her five-piece group) at 3:30. Pittsburgh’s premier jazz band Harry  Cardillo Trio take the stage  at 5 with vocalist Michelle Bensen. The John Morton Quartet, led by Akron vocalist John Morton, who is well known by aficionados in this area, comes on at 6:30, with Youngstown’s premier jazz combo, The John Reese Project — led by trombonist and vocalist John Reese– filling the featured spot at 8.

Local artisans will be displaying their work on the grounds, the Fifth Season Restaurant and Catering Company will offer a varied menu throughout the day, and of course, visitors can enjoy selections from the extensive Mastropietro wine list, the perfect jazz compliment. Each guest will receive a complimentary, commemorative wine glass.

Parking on the grounds is free.

Advance tickets, at $20 for the event, may be reserved by credit card by calling 330 718-4323; admission at the gate will be $25. In the event of bad weather, the event will move into the winery’s banquet room.

Please check the Mastropietro Winery profile page on JamBrain for a map of its location.

Robert Dennick Joki has two main goals for his one-man show, “I’m Not That Girl,” June 26 and 27 at the Oakland Performing Arts Center, downtown Youngstown.

The first is to get his audience to accept that this bald and bearded, 300 pound man is “Audrey.”

The second is to set the stage for a ‘Second Stage’ series of showcases for local talent at the Oakland, where he hopes to have “more shows, and more kinds of shows.” His Monday media preview performance was also intended to be the start of a trend.

Joki, who has been called the soul of the Oakland for his tireless efforts as a director, designer, writer, costumer, fundraiser, Magic Carpet Tour manager, and drag performer, claimed to be nervous at his preview performance — even though he sings “constantly” — because he is usually either behind the scenes or behind his drag queen “clown makeup.” He should be over that, now.

“Ever since I started doing musical theater when I was in high school,” he explained, “I have always been particularly impressed with the songs done by leading ladies (hence the drag queen shows).” He created this show around those songs. And, if the terminology can be appropriate when a man performs as a woman dressed as a man, he plays it “straight.”

He is surprisingly convincing. Joki has a rich and powerful baritone voice. He can flat belt out a ballad. And when his voice quavers with tender emotion, it is easy to ignore his decidedly masculine appearance.

Though he will be alone on stage, Joki will have a supporting cast performing behind a shadow screen, while he runs through an ambitious and challenging repertoire of tunes from “Wicked,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” and many others. The shows, Friday and Saturday, start at 8 p.m., with a $15 admission charge.

Robert Joki’s claim that, “I Am Not That Girl,” is obviously true. But it’s hardly a stretch to accept that he IS that other one.

There is a bit or irony in the annual Steel Valley Super Nationals hot rod event in Salem, Ohio, hosted by Quaker City Drag Strip, this weekend.

The Quakers — a nickname for the Society of Friends religious community who “quaked” at the word of the Lord, and who were prominent in the settlement of the city in 1806 — were known for prayer meetings distinguished by long periods of silence. Now, their fair city is known internationally for an event which features roaring car engines and squealing tires.

Burning rubber is music to the ears of many hot rod fans, and there is plenty of that to like at the Super Nats. But there is also plenty of the more literal music at the event which features fabulous modified automobiles from around the country cruising this town’s streets for four days each spring.

In addition to karaoke and DJs at several businesses, live music — from mariachi and steel drum, to country and rock — is scheduled at eight venues throughout the event; all within easy walking distance of each other.

There are also games, and food (including Haystack breakfasts at the Eagles on N. Ellsworth Ave.), and hot rod chicks.

And for those whose hearts sing for Super sounds, who quake for cacophony, there’s the burn-out pit at Stadium GM Superstore on W. State Street and at the drag strip just north of town; hymns for this car cult’s true believers.

Talk about a Mickey Rooney — “Let’s put on a show” — moment. Ian Fitch was sitting in his huge back yard on the north side of Youngstown, chatting with his buds, Ian and Evan James, who are, together, the new noise band Hospitality, when one of them noticed the cement pad in the corner of the yard, the floor from the former garage. It looked like a stage.

Wouldn’t it be cool to practice there? That would be the perfect spot to play. We could invite our friends; some other bands; have a show.

“We asked the neighbors, and they said they were cool with the idea,” Fitch said, and Bingo! Reality. War! In My Yard. “We had been talking about having our own events,” Fitch explained, “and we figured, what the hey! we’ll  go ahead and do it.”

They’ll do it Saturday, June 13, starting at 5 p.m. and running til 1 a.m. They’ll have 10 bands; Hospitality will be featured. Ian James’ other band, Braille*, will perform, as well as Braille’s Tony Cucitrone doing his solo act, Mammal, between bands. All but one, The Revisiter from Kent, are based in the JamBrain area. Most call themselves “noise, jam bands, or alternative.”

The other bands are: White Hair, Exit Exit*, Black-Black, Psychic Assassins*, Sewing Machine War, and Panzer Talk*.

Fitch’s big back yard is at his place at 425 Fairgreen, just off Belmont on the north side. This War! is free.

*See JamBrain articles about these bands.

By Gary S. Angelo

Youngstown’s college-indie experimental jazz outfit, McKelvy Raygun,  adds tranquil textures to smooth  ‘50s cocktail rhythms. They combine the post-punk tribal sound ethic of early Talking Heads with the signature harmonies of Fleetwood Mac.

The band, which features Ray Christopher on guitar and lead vocals, Alexandra Ahren on guitar and lead vocals, Chris Ahren on guitar and vocals, and Dave Merrick on synthesizers and keyboards, was the brainchild of the Ahren siblings.

Alexandra, who had a ballroom dance career in Chicago, and Chris, had separately recorded some material which they performed together at open mic stints before deciding to form a band. They settled on McKelvy Raygun, because “It kind of has a throwback feel to staple classic rock names such as Steely Dan, Jethro Tull and Fleetwood Mac,” Alexandra explained.

The members of  McKelvy  Raygun are influenced by the more conceptual side of the mainstream, from Michael Jackson to Kate Bush, but their approach to experimental jazz is so individualistic that their influences aren’t obvious.  Chris comments “We let our influences “influence” rather than dictate our sound.”

Cherishing dreams of full-time careers, playing live is their main focus, now. The band is continuously developing old and new ideas in their set, and sequencing their live repertoire. The band feels that presenting what they do on a live recording would take over 20 band members.

With close friends and support from family, they are developing a local fan base. Chris comments, “I think Youngstown is a lot like most small towns across America. There’s more hidden talent in just one nook and cranny than Clear Channel could provide over the course of a year.”

McKelvy Raygun is playing June 6 and 7 at The B&O Station, June 12 at The Robinhood in Kent, June 19 at Ace’s Wild Wings in Boardman, and June 20 at Barleys.