LA Alert!: Sandra PIller's Toys for Tots holiday concert Dec. 6

All Treklanders know the name Piller, but this time we're not about the late great Michael, writer-producer and arguably "the man who saved Next Generation." Quite apart from his contributions, his widow Sandra Piller has always had a music career in her own right—an L.A. native with plenty of Nashville savvy. And since his passing in 2005, she has plunged right ahead to renew her singing and songwriting: her latest CD Kindred Spirits on Shady Hill Records is now out, a mix of heartfelt country and pop/folk.

This weekend, as part of the holiday cheer, I wanted to help Sandra get word out to the SoCal region: her band's holiday show this Sunday, Dec. 6, at Molly Malone's on Fairfax from 7-10 p.m. carries an admission price of simply an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots.

Sandra is also introducing her new single, "Mistletoe and You." Go by and give her some support on what will be a fun night with good music and good food, and take another chance to help out Toys for Tots this year.

Facebookers can check out more at her event page here.

Two words in the same sentence: 'country' and 'Trek'?

Can this year get any stranger, er, better?

A Newsweek cover is nothin'... but now we have STAR TREK on the opening of Tuesday's Country Music Association awards, fer Prophets' sake? When did THOSE two ever entities ever share a stage together? (OK, well, there was the Brad Paisley/Shat hookup a few years ago... sorta.)

This has to be a good thing, Miri. Cute, well-done, and as broad-based in appeal as the movie itself. Another marketing masterpiece. (And this one doesn't have to worry about heart, canon, breweries, ship sizes, etc.)

Direct link for the video-challenged is here.