Ms. G Leads the Roadhouse Wives Tonight

In the mid-1980s a young high school student came into the offices of the Martinez News Gazette for an interview about her efforts to make the city a nuclear free zone. Before she got there, I thought this would be a cute exercise - an adorable kid on a mission. But the kid - Gina Graziano - was a force of nature, and though she was in fact adorable, her passion and commitment to the cause left me no choice but to take her extremely seriously.

Tonight, that kid - now all grown up and herself a storied music teacher at John Muir Elementary - leads her own band, , at Armando's, 707 Marina Vista, beginning at 8 p.m. She brings the same passion and commitment to her latest project that she brings to all her endeavors.

The Roadhouse House Wives is the latest iteration of a rich musical career. Graziano left Martinez shortly after graduating from Alhambra High School and pursued fame and fortune in Austin, Texas, with several alt country bands. She released two CDs, and toured the east coast, even playing the infamous CBGB's club in New York City, before returning home and reinventing herself as a music teacher.

These days, Graziano has the best of both worlds -- she is a much-loved teacher, having helped countless students find their voice and their rhythm, and she is still a local musical icon, with every appearance getting requests from fans for songs like "Refinery Town," which is an autobiographical tune about her early experiences here.

Roadhouse Wives is her latest project, and tonight she and her friends will be debuting a new batch of songs Graziano wrote for the effort. But she will also no doubt dig into her extensive bag of musical tricks and deliver a wide array of favorites, both original and covers, that fans have come to expect from her shows.

The Roadhouse Wives begin at 8 p.m. at Armando's, 707 Marina Vista. Cover is $10.