Music Makers

On the music bookshelf, life stories are the rage. Every year brings new stacks of biographies of musical luminaries. Almost all lack one thing: the words of the artists themselves. In book after book, we're promised tales of the zany antics and outsized appetites of recording artists, but rarely do we hear them telling their own stories, offering glimpses of their thoughts. Blair Jackson's Garcia: An American Life (Viking, $34.95), this year's thoroughly researched and gently paced biography of the late Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, offers exactly what we've come to expect from exhaustive looks at revered figures.

The May 28 Genesis rock concert at the Spectrum is a hot ticket that goes on sale today at the box office, Broad and Pattison. Bring $20 and get in line. Info: 389-5000. SWEET SOUNDS The music makers around town today include: David "Ziggy" Marley, son of the late high priest of the reggae beat, Bob Marley, performs with the Melody Makers, 9 p.m., at the Trocadero, 1004 Arch St. Admission: $10.50. Info: 592-TROC or 627-8034. At Grendel's Lair, 500 South St., Sun Ra and his Arkestra perform at 8 and 10 p.m. Tickets: $12 plus one-drink minimum.

Joe "Butterball" Tamburro, 70, the radio personality and tastemaker who built a bond with Philadelphia music makers and music lovers over a nearly 50-year career at rhythm and blues station WDAS-AM, died Friday, July 27. Mr. Tamburro died at his home in Haverford, according to Loraine Ballard Morrill, news and community affairs director for Clear Channel, which owns WDAS (1480). No cause of death was given, but Morrill said Mr. Tamburro had been battling complications from heart disease and diabetes and had not been well.

Fifth in a series of Daily News profiles of runners entered in Sunday's 32nd annual 10-mile Blue Cross Broad Street Run. Who: Michele Boyle Residence: Philadelphia Age: 43 Occupation: Physician's assistant (she works in hospital emergency rooms) and aerobics instructor. Education: Hallahan High; Philadelphia U., La Salle and Community College of Philadel- phia. Family: Husband, Joe (owns an insurance agency in Ardmore); daughters Allison, 15, and Jessica, 11. Broad Street Run history: She has run the race about 10 times.

It was seven or eight years ago and three city administrations back - so long ago he can't remember exactly when - that Larry Magid first started dreaming about a special event to celebrate Philadelphia's rich legacy of popular music makers. "I had this vision of a dinner where we'd gather all the entertainers who've come out of Philadelphia," recalls Magid, the 44-year-old promoter at Electric Factory Concerts. "We'd get them all together to take a picture. In the back, we'd prop up life-sized cut-outs of performers who've passed on. The collective crowd would be so impressive that the picture would have to hit every newspaper in the world.

Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and six Hollywood composers are the latest celebrities to join the Postal Service's commemorative parade. Olmsted (1822-1903) is honored on a 33-cent stamp that will be issued Sunday. The unusual Sunday first-day issue will coincide with the annual meeting of the American Society of Landscape Architects in Boston. Olmsted, also an author, is remembered for the design and construction of public parks and recreation areas. He attended science and engineering lectures at Yale, traveled throughout the country and Europe to absorb methods of landscape gardening, and became the first true environmentalist in park planning.

Rosarie M. Indelicato Geiger, 68, a social worker and music therapist credited with helping to establish a medical-condition support group, died Sunday at her home in Plymouth Township after an illness. She was among the early members and was "an influential mother" in establishing a national registry for the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, a spokeswoman said. The Maryland-based foundation offers support for those who suffer from a condition that causes bones to fracture easily and often is accompanied by hearing impairment, the spokeswoman said.

Thirdbird bills itself as the new "wing" of Ladybird and Bowerbird, the organizations directed by Anna Drozdowski and Dustin Hurt. As scouts and presenters, Drozdowski and Hurt bring together movers and music makers from near and far, producing concerts in various and sometimes out-of-the-way venues. Thirdbird's second flight landed at Christ Church over the weekend with Voransicht , pairing soprano, pianist, and composer Judith Berkson in the first half with dancer, choreographer, and performance artist Eleanor Bauer in the second.

Joe "Butterball" Tamburro, 70, the radio personality and tastemaker who built a bond with Philadelphia music makers and music lovers over a nearly 50-year career at rhythm and blues station WDAS-AM, died Friday, July 27. Mr. Tamburro died at his home in Haverford, according to Loraine Ballard Morrill, news and community affairs director for Clear Channel, which owns WDAS (1480). No cause of death was given, but Morrill said Mr. Tamburro had been battling complications from heart disease and diabetes and had not been well.

Joe "Butterball" Tamburro, 70, the radio personality and tastemaker who built a bond with Philadelphia music makers and music lovers over a nearly 50-year career at rhythm and blues station WDAS-AM, died Friday, July 27. Mr. Tamburro died at his home in Haverford, according to Loraine Ballard Morrill, news and community affairs director for Clear Channel, which owns WDAS (1480). No cause of death was given, but Morrill said Mr. Tamburro had been battling complications from heart disease and diabetes and had not been well.

Joe "Butterball" Tamburro, 70, the radio personality and tastemaker who built a bond with Philadelphia music makers and music lovers over a nearly 50-year career at rhythm and blues station WDAS-AM, died Friday, July 27. Mr. Tamburro died at his home in Haverford, according to Loraine Ballard Morrill, news and community affairs director for Clear Channel, which owns WDAS (1480). No cause of death was given, but Morrill said Mr. Tamburro had been battling complications from heart disease and diabetes and had not been well.

Thirdbird bills itself as the new "wing" of Ladybird and Bowerbird, the organizations directed by Anna Drozdowski and Dustin Hurt. As scouts and presenters, Drozdowski and Hurt bring together movers and music makers from near and far, producing concerts in various and sometimes out-of-the-way venues. Thirdbird's second flight landed at Christ Church over the weekend with Voransicht , pairing soprano, pianist, and composer Judith Berkson in the first half with dancer, choreographer, and performance artist Eleanor Bauer in the second.

TOURS HAUNTED HOUSE PARTY Should very old acquaintance be forgot, book a 75-minute reservation for the Colonial-era Powel House's end-of-year "Toast with a Ghost" tour. Organizers guarantee you'll experience at least one of the following spirits: deceased dignitaries, dead debutantes, champagne (or sparkling cider). Ages 13 and up. Powel House, 244 S. 3rd St., $25. 8 and 9 tonight; 9 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. tomorrow (8 p.m. tomorrow tour sold out). 215-413-1997 or 215-413-7000, www.ghosttour.net . CASINOS JUMP START Tomorrow night you won't be able to swing a swizzle stick in Atlantic City without hitting a New Year's Eve bash in a casino.

T HE GIZMO: Gizmo Granddaughter previews Sesame Street "Let's Rock! Elmo," one of the hottest toys hyped for the holidays. HER FIRST REVIEW: If Leah could type, I'm sure she'd give "Let's Rock! Elmo" a rave notice. She loves it when the parental units put on music. (Don't know where she got that.) And although her mom (my daughter) and dad won't let her watch TV, not even Elmo's home base on "Sesame Street," Leah somehow knows and loves this big, red, furry creature, speaks his name (over and over again)

Fifth in a series of Daily News profiles of runners entered in Sunday's 32nd annual 10-mile Blue Cross Broad Street Run. Who: Michele Boyle Residence: Philadelphia Age: 43 Occupation: Physician's assistant (she works in hospital emergency rooms) and aerobics instructor. Education: Hallahan High; Philadelphia U., La Salle and Community College of Philadel- phia. Family: Husband, Joe (owns an insurance agency in Ardmore); daughters Allison, 15, and Jessica, 11. Broad Street Run history: She has run the race about 10 times.

The musicians of the Musicopia String Orchestra range in age from 8 to 14 but play with the focus and fervor of instrumentalists twice their age. With bows at the ready during a recent practice, members stared intently at the sheet music for "Arlington Sketches" and began to play their stringed instruments. The 47-member ensemble strung, stroked and plucked, stopping occasionally to receive instruction and praise from music director Daniela Pierson as they played the Elliot del Borgo composition with a youthful charm.

Northern Liberties may have its hip events at the great Piazza at Schmidts, and South Philly may hold its Ninth Street Italian Market Festival in high esteem. But when it comes to celebrating bold, original music, Northwest Philadelphia has the West Oak Lane Jazz & Arts Festival, with two stages of internationally renowned artists young and innovative (Esperanza Spalding), older and respected (George Duke, David Sanborn), and, most important, local (Odean Pope, Joey DeFrancesco). "For so long, festivals came into Philadelphia with our musicians in the audience and not on the stage," says Graziella D'Amelio.

They are senior citizens, some with gray hair, a few with bulging waistlines and receding hairlines. Yet a half-century ago, they were part of the youthful, original sound of Philadelphia - doo-wop. On Thursday, in the parking lot of a Mount Airy diner, members of the Tymes and the Neighbor's Complaint deftly belted out hit sounds of the 1950s and early '60's in crisp, a cappella harmony. They gathered in the lot of the Trolley Car Diner at 7619 Germantown Ave. for the dedication of a mural honoring the two groups and marking the diner's 10th anniversary.

"It's the first night of South by Southwest, I think," said J. Blynn, the Philadelphia-bred, New York-based coleader of the promising pop-rock band Harper Blynn, on stage at the PureVolume House on Tuesday. "It may not be officially, but we're starting it early tonight. " So it is with SXSW: Just when you thought it was monstrous enough, it gets a little bigger. It used to be that you could arrive in Austin on a Tuesday and ease into the action of the sprawling music festival and conference, which will present a couple of thousand bands over four days and nights at 76 official venues and a lot of unofficial ones.