Did you ever wonder what Penelope does when she's not spitting out Avengers tunes?

Check out her myspace, her website penelope.net or come see her playing live in San Francisco. Here the info:

Music in Schools Benefit (and Instrument Recycling) Featuring Penelope Houston and Colin Gilmore
Hosted by Café du Nord, San Francisco on Monday Sept 8th, 2008

Local Punk/Folk goddess, Penelope Houston, is giving away her childhood violin. "It was my introduction to playing music but became an instrument of torture for me. Perhaps I should have started with something more tuneful, like piano or guitar." Luckily, Houston eventually discovered how to write her own dark folk/pop songs using the easy-to-play autoharp, or a handy co-writer such as Chuck Prophet, Billy Joe Armstrong, Steve Jones, Charlotte Caffey, and most frequently guitarist Pat Johnson, who performs with her band Sept 8th. Their set will include six new songs and the addition of cellist Jeffrey Luck Lucas to the line up.

Also on the bill is Colin Gilmore currently on a US tour. Son of Austin songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore, he describes his music as "West Texas-style rock, with a country/punk/psychedelic/pop edge."

A portion of the night's proceeds will go to Music In Schools Today (MuST), a San Francisco non-profit organization supporting music programs in public schools K-12, serving over 10,000 children annually; and the Claremont Middle School Band & Orchestra from Oakland. Donated instruments (in usable condition) will be given to the Adopt an Instrument Program of MuST, which has distributed much needed items to over 100 schools and community centers. This is a great way to help save our landfills which are fast becoming choked with old trumpets and piccolos.

Penelope Houston and Band at 10:30
Colin Gilmore at 9:30
Doors at 8:30
Ages 21 and over Ticket price $12
Cafe du Nord, 2174 Market St. San Francisco CA 415.861.5016