Lenny Kaye will release his debut solo record, Goin’ Local on July 17 via Yep Roc Records. The 79-year-old punk pioneer and Godfather of Garage Rock is best known for his longtime tenure in Patti Smith Group and role as the curator of the garage-rock anthology Nuggets, as well as his work with Allen Ginsberg, Philip Glass, Suzanne Vega, Soul Asylum, Jessi Colter and The Jim Carroll Band, among others. He also authored Waylon Jennings’ autobiography and recently released a memoir of his own, Lightning Striking: Ten Transformative Moments in Rock and Roll. + PENELOPE HOUSTON & THE JAILBIRDS The first thing you’ll read in any overview of Penelope Houston’s career is that she fronted the seminal San Francisco punk band, The Avengers. While her involvement in that band and the power of the music she helped create with them should never be diminished, it seems odd that the two short years she spent in a band while barely out of her teens could overshadow a long, award-winning career as a pioneering singer-songwriter. Her fearlessness made her willing to take the creative plunge into the nascent and exciting world of punk rock in the late 70’s without much experience as a writer or performer. The subsequent series of battles, successes and disappointments would provide her with the courage to take risks in everything she’s produced since. The Jailbirds–Michael Montalto (of Red Meat), Tom Heyman, Bill Shupp, and Dan Carr–trade Houston’s traditional punk sound for a blend of country, folk, and Americana.