When CityBeat profiled Butler County kinda roots kinda indie/alt rockers Sohio a few months ago about their forthcoming album, it was confirmed that the release was finished (after more than three years in the making) and that it would be released in early 2010. What the band members didn't know was what the full-length would be titled. We'll all find out Friday at the Southgate House.  

When Monty Are I coalesced nearly a dozen years ago, the quintet was a Skatecore/Ska band. That aspect of the band still creeps up in their current Alternative/Punk/Pop sound (which they've dubbed "Action Rock") when Andrew Borstein and Ryan Muir break out their horns.  

The Elms' latest anthemic, blue-collar swaggerfest, 'The Great American Midrange,' is rightly inspiring even more effusive praise. With this kind of heat coming from their studio work, it's clear that The Elms approach every live gig with the blazing intent of a demolition crew.  

Locals Seabird spent 2008 riding high on their debut for EMI/Credential, 'Til We See the Shore,' promoting it on the road and in network TV shows and even scoring the Cincinnati Entertainment Award for "Artists of the Year." They close out another good year with a release party for their new album, 'Rocks Into Rivers.'  

The story behind this all-star contemporary Folk/Bluegrass/AltCountry band is an unusual one. Although the group playing the Southgate House is a five-piece based around three singers/frontmen in guitarists Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek) and Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket) and fiddler/guitarist Luke Bulla, plus bassist Sebastian Steinberg and drummer Jerry Roe, its roots are in something very different.  

The members of Flobots hope to evoke change in society and seriously give a damn in an obvious, non-ironic way. Yes, they want to sell records. But they also want to "be the change" that gets Americans off their asses in order to think more critically.  

Before I could even fully ask the question, Chuck Prophet (the Petty-with-an-edge Americana singer/songwriter/guitarist) was laughing. I said the word "Wikipedia," and he instantly knew I was heading to this paragraph in his entry: "Chuck Prophet parted with New West Records in 2005 after a restaurant tab argument involving an extra order of garlic bread."  

People sure do love The Seedy Seeds. The endearing Folktronica trio cleaned up at this year's Cincinnati Entertainment Awards, claiming three trophies: Album of the Year, Best Live Act and Best Alternative/Indie. The relatively young group now has six CEAs to its name. They're performing at the Southgate House with tourmates The Young Republic and D.C.'s Vandaveer.  

Tommy Castro is one of those guys who's been around so long and has so many incredible affiliations it's astonishing he's not a household name. He got his chops playing with Bay Area cover bands in the '70s, leading to his membership the Retro Rock band The Dynatones in the '80s and a long solo career that kicked off in 1991.  

The amazing local Power Pop trio hasn't been a "full-time" band for several years, but Ohio fans always know that, come Thanksgiving, they'll have a chance or two to catch the 'dots. Their annual shows (by the band's account, this will be the 666th) happen Wednesday at Canal Street Tavern in Dayton and Friday at the Southgate House.