SEAN CARNAGE - Inspired by Cleveland rock.

During the time he lived in Cleveland, Sean Carnage says he had two different rock 'n' roll epiphanies. The first came when he attended his first Derek Hess-sponsored concert at the old Euclid Tavern. And the second was when he became involved in the now-defunct DIY space called Speak in Tongues. Carnage, who comes back to town for the screening of his film 40 Bands, 80 Minutes that takes place at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 1 at Parish Hall (6205 Detroit Ave., 216.939.9099), filmed the movie over the course of one night at a club he books, Il Corral, in Hollywood. It's loosely based on the "10 Bands in 60 Minutes" tour he saw at Speak in Tongues years ago.

"That was influential," he says via phone from his Los Angeles home. "I thought, "How could I do a 40-band show?' We did 52 in the end. I booked a dozen more thinking some would drop out. No one dropped out. I was surprised."

Throughout the film, which features everything from electronica (Domm's "Dad") to thrash (Erebus Nyx & Styx' "13th Shovel"), with plenty of noisemaking in between, there are signifiers that let the audience know the end is near.

"I put that stuff in there because I know everyone has a short attention span," Carnage says. "It's like feeding them an energy drink. I was also going to have a clock ticking but the time doesn't match up for every band. I didn't want bands comparing each other."

In addition to the screening of the film, which is also available on DVD with bonus footage of the 12 acts that didn't make the cut of 40, Cleveland indie rockers Proletarian Art Threat are reuniting, and Tony Erba will make his debut as a spoken-word artist. Tickets: $5. — Jeff Niesel

Sultans Turn 10

Sultans of Bing frontman Tim Askin talks in a quiet voice filled with appreciation for music and people and certain landmark events. He uses the phrase "sacred ritual" to describe that mid-week bar music phenomenon most of us know as jam night. And no wonder: That's where the seeds of his band were planted.

Jerry Garcia was still alive when Askin was playing jam nights and meeting other players at the Parkview, the Savannah and other venues. One June day in 1995, he and guitarist Curtis Leonard were driving out to Red Rocks to see Phish when they decided they needed to form a band. A few months later, Garcia was dead, the Dead was gone, and the two would pick up a crew out of the Elyria jam scene for a concert in tribute to him.

As it happens, the absence of the Dead left a vacuum in the jamming and camping festival life, and the time was right for Ekoostik Hookah and a multitude of others to fill it. Venues were in place like Nelson Ledges and Camp Goldeneye. The time was right.

So after a couple of fits and starts — including Askin's ouster from a short-lived band called Spot — the tall, sun-burst-tie-dye-wearing, shaggy-haired guitarist convened the Sultans of Bing. Keyboardist Steve Masek is the lone member of the original group still in the band. Rounding out the lineup were drummer Jeff Harmon and bassist Paul Lewis. Their first gig was at the Five O'Clock in Lakewood in January 1997.

Askin has always booked with an entrepreneurial spirit, and he showed it early, getting permission from the Port Authority to present a free concert at Voinovich Park, behind the Rock Hall. It didn't take long before his claim to being the "de facto house band at Nelson Ledges" was just about true. In the nine years since the Sultans met Ledges proprietor Evan Kelly, the Bing has played some 40 gigs there — at Gratefulfests, Hooka weekends and others that inevitably end in the beating of drums beneath the moonlight.

When the Sultans appear at 8 p.m. Friday, March 2 at the Agora Theatre (5000 Euclid Ave., 216.881.2221), Askin and Masek and company — these days it's Timothy Lane on drums and Bill McComb on bass — will have a posse of former members and special friends filling out the lineup. The line-up includes SAFMOD percussionist Neil Chastain, guitarist Curtis Leonard and the mystifying hand-snapper Sam Phillips, who's a real percussionist, not some gimmicky faker, and could whoop Bobby Badfingers any day of the week. Tickets: $15. — Michael Gill

Can't Stop La Rock

Old-school hip-hop artist Johnny La Rock, who performs both solo and with fellow MC Mushmouth, promotes other artists he's into through his label, La Rock Inc. Records. The label has just released its first compilation of such artists called The Necker Cube Volume One. Its 16 tracks feature La Rock in both his incarnations, as well as his laptop DJ Chrismick, Deaf By Arms, MC Homeless, Mad Visuals, Prof. Falcon, RMA and his former DJ Subroc, all from Cleveland, plus Pennsylvania's Amerikkkan Hostage, California-based Ceschi and David Ramons from Texas. The disc is now available online at CDBaby. It'll also be available when La Rock and Mushmouth perform on a bill at the Agora (5000 Euclid Ave., 216.881.2221) with Suburban Legends, Patent Pending and MC Lars. The show's at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 1. Tickets: $10 advance, $12 day of show. — Anastasia Pantsios

Rare Blend Bridges the Gap

Local instrumental fusion/progressive quartet Rare Blend is providing the live soundtrack for a series of classic silent films called "Bridging the Gap," sponsored by the Friends of the Library of the Cuyahoga County Public Library. The free series kicks off at 7 p.m. Monday, March 5 with the 1925 Lon Chaney film Phantom of the Opera at the Mayfield Village Branch Library (6080 Wilson Mills Rd., 440.473.0350) and continues at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 25 with the 1916 version of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at the Fairview Park Library (21255 Lorain Rd., 440.333.2120). The band will sell its CDs, including its latest, Stops Along the Way, released last year, and donate a portion of the proceeds to Friends of the Library. For more info, go to rareblend.net. — AP

A Point Blank Knockout

Undefeated and ranked Youngstown boxer Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik has started using the Tilt 360 tune "Point Blank," the title track from the band's new EP, as his intro music. You can check the hard rock band out when it performs as part of a showcase for the locally based Love Muffin imprint, which has just issued a sampler CD of its acts. The show takes place at 9 p.m. Saturday, March 3 at the Hi Fi Club (11729 Detroit Ave., 216.521.8878). Other Love Muffin acts on the bill include Drago, Skychief, Stan Shot Molly and label owner Adam Rich, who'll debut his live band. Tickets: $5. — JN

Art on Wheels Auctions Gold Record

Most famous for signing Meat Loaf to his Cleveland International Records, Steve Popovich has donated the gold record he received for Wild Cherry's hit "Play That Funky Music" to Art on Wheels, a non-profit organization that offers classes and workshops through its Gallery 222 (22050 Lakeshore Blvd., 216.731.3199). Bidding on the item commences on Sunday, March 4 on eBay. — JN