From Thursday's episode of 30 Rock:

Frank: Valentine's Day is the perfect time to meet vulnerable women. It's scumbag Christmas!

Lutz: Just tell me what to do.

Frank: Look, guys like us have to pick low-hanging fruit. We look like Far Side drawings. So we go where women are sad, desperate and weak. Cat shelters. Blood banks. The ice cream stand at a Celtic Woman concert. And we strike!

*****

Celtic Woman performs at the Straz Center in Tampa on Feb. 14. The nearest ice cream stand is the gelateria at the Sono Cafe inside the Tampa Museum of Art.

Fellas, you're welcome. ... Read more

One of our favorite games this time of year at SoundcheckCorp. is to survey the list of Best New Artist Grammy nominees, and figure out who's most likely to come to Tampa Bay within the next year.

We did this in 2010 and 2011 (one of our finest moments: predicting nearly a near in advance that Drake would headline Last Damn Show 2011). And with the Grammys on Sunday, we figure it's time to lay some odds. Let's examine the list:

The Band Perry (N/A): Well, that was easy -- these country newbies are already coming to town. They'll be performing at the Florida Strawberry Festival on March 7. Case closed.

Bon Iver (25-1): It's a minor miracle Bon Iver ever played here. But he did, in 2009, and it was fantastic. At this point he should be (and is) playing theaters, and he hasn't announced any Florida dates. So unless Ruth Eckerd Hall or the Straz steps up to give a shaggy Wisconsin kid a break, we just don't see it happening in 2012. But we hope we'll be proven wrong.

Skrillex (above) (8-1): The dubstep DJ was just at the Ritz Ybor in December, but that show was a sold-out spectacle, so it stands to reason he'll probably book another big tour in 2012. We'd be surprised if he doesn't play the 1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheatre or Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Nicki Minaj (5-1): Is it possible that Nicki Minaj has never played a solo headlining concert in Tampa Bay? She's made a club appearance here and there, and she headlined Last Damn Show 2010 (and she's performing at the 2012 NBA All-Star Game this month in Orlando), but it's time for her to step up and headline the Forum or 1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheatre. We bet it'll happen this year.

J.Cole (2-1): We're surprised he's not headlining Wild Splash 2012 in March -- although Wild 94.1 promises more acts to be announced, so there's still time for the young rapper to show up. But if he doesn't, he's a lock for Last Damn Show 2012, or at least a supporting slot on one of this year's big hip-hop tours.

-- Jay Cridlin, tbt* ... Read more

Over the years, Dunedin Brewery has produced several music-themed beers, including Dropkick Murphys Erin Red Ale, a nod to the famed Celtic punk band (I'm Shipping Up To Boston.) In March, when the Dropkick Murphys perform at the Ritz Ybor in Tampa, Dunedin Brewery’s Dropkick Murphys Erin Red Ale will be on tap at the venue.

But Dropkick Murphys Erin Red Ale wasn't the first music-themed beer produced by the good folks on Douglas Avenue. That would be Leonard Croon's Old Mean Stout, a nod to the defunt '90s local group known as The Leonard Croon Band.

The group sprung from the ashes of Hum, a popular early-'90s group that was forced to change its name when it learned that another band had claimed it first. Frontman Dave Korman -- whom you might remember from yesterday's Artist of the Day, Memphis Train Union -- picked a new name off the top of his head. The name “Leonard Croon” had no special significance, he said — he just liked the sound of it.

Korman and his rotating group of musician friends plied their alt-country trade throughout the Bay area in the '90s, opening for artists like Leon Russell, Dickey Betts, Kansas and Little Feat. But their most lasting contribution to Bay area culture may be creating the namesake for Leonard Croon's Old Mean Stout, a popular seasonal beer that started flowing this week at Dunedin Brewery. On Saturday, the brewery will start selling 22-ounce bottles of Leonard Croon’s Old Mean Stout. Memphis Train Union will perform at the event. Click here for our story about the beer and its connection to Korman's music. (That's Korman, above left, with Dunedin Brewery brewer Trace Caley.)

If there are some Leonard Croon Band fans out there, you might be interested to know that Memphis Train Union's new CD, The Bluebird Sessions, features three re-recorded LCB songs: Queen City, Devils Elbow and Come Along. “When I was in the studio, we had a keyboard player and an organ player," Korman said. "I never recorded those songs with a keyboard and organ, so we jammed on it, and it was like, ‘Wow, this sounds way better.’”

Click here to check out the new CD. 

-- Jay Cridlin, tbt* ... Read more

Lace up your New Balances, because this week's biggest music event is ... a road race. Huh?

The Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon St. Pete is Sunday, and in addition to a slew of quality local bands (The Semis, John Q, Sound Parlor) performing at various venues along the track, you'll get a headlining concert by the current holder of the No. 1 pop song in the country, Flo Rida. Click here for a ton of details about the race and the music, which will hopefully include a triumphant performance of Good Feeling.

Beyond that, it's a pretty busy Valentine's Day concert week around town, with concerts by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kansas, Emilie Autumn (above), Mishka, Gringo Star, Robert Cray, Scars on 45, Tank, Ellis Paul, Van Dyke Parks, Authority Zero, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Glen Phillips, Rubblebucket, Hurt and more. Here to walk you through it all is Carole Liparoto... ... Read more