Los Skarnales, with Dale Peterson

Los Skarnales's most recent record, Pachuco Boogie Sound System, was runner-up for our Album of the Year, and musically it covered more bases than one of Condoleezza Rice's press conference non-answers. So many bases, in fact, that Los Skarnales has become one of the few bands in Houston that can play just about any venue in town, fit into any bill. The band features stellar musicianship and a fantastic sense of the visual with frenetic front man Felipe Galvan's natty attire and cherry-bomb-under-a-tin-can leap-frogging. Skarnales songs tend to begin like a blitzkrieg and end like an Albert Pujols shot into the upper deck. Their electro-eclectic combination of ska-cumbia-salsa-punk-Tex-Mex-surf-metal rock gives our eastside pachuco boogie heroes instant entrée and mucho cachet with everyone from the black T-shirt designer-drug indie crowd to the come-as-you-are ganja-huffing patrons of roots-rock joints like the Continental. Can a Mucky Duck date be far off?

They'll be paired with L.A. East Sider Dale Peterson. Peterson's guitar playing and soul-brother vocals are reminiscent of the hard-edged bluesy side of fellow East L.A. stalwarts Los Lobos.