Verl Meyers

David Miles, Jr. defies gravity on the cover of Skate Express in 1987.

​David Miles, Jr. has been San Francisco's leading ambassador of roller skating for more than 30 years. Nicknamed the Godfather of Skating, the founder of the California Outdoor Rollerskating Association has been gathering revelers on wheels for Sunday boogies in Golden Gate Park since moving here in 1979, has led a 10-mile Midnight Rollers Friday Night Skate around the city since 1989, and continues to throw events both throughout the Bay Area and in Black Rock City. His parties are both a portal in time to the skating scene of the '80s and confirmation that skating is still an exceedingly fun activity, especially when set to music.

But late last month, Miles and his family saw their home in the Richmond District filled with smoke after a one-alarm fire started around 10 a.m. on Jan. 23. "I got a few burns, but nothing a little skating won't cure," Miles posted to Facebook afterward. He and his family were taken to the hospital. And now the local music community is planning a benefit for them.

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D-Ray Archer (right) and hip-hop star Drake.

​D-Ray Archer needs no last name in the West Coast rap world; she's widely known as one of the few female photojournalists with a street stamp of approval up and down the state. Her deep love for the local Bay Area scene is apparent to anyone who talks to her for five minutes.

But now D-Ray needs help from her community: She's raising funds for an urgently-needed surgery for an undisclosed but life-threatening condition.

"D-Ray has played a major role in giving Bay Area artists visibility outside of the Bay Area," says Julia Beverly, publisher of Ozone, a leading Southern rap media company in Atlanta. D-Ray served as West Coast editor for Ozone West, a dedicated magazine within a magazine when Ozone published in print form. "Every time I've met a West Coast artist, DJ, etcetera, I felt like I already knew them through D-Ray's photos."

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MissionMission.org

Good times at Mission Creek's McLaren Park show.

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We're proceeding under the assumption that your answer to the above question is nothing but a resounding "Hell yes." And having thus agreed that free outdoor shows tend to be wonderful, consider supporting the Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival's quest to put on such an event next month in S.F.'s McLaren Park. The two-year-old annual concert is a nascent summer tradition, and while this year's lineup hasn't been announced yet, past performers include the Fresh & Onlys, Kelley Stoltz, The Dodos, Devendra Banhart, and Vetiver.

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Helios Creed, beer model

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Good news: You can finally put an end to all those half-lucid drunken arguments you've had about what kind of beer S.F.-based psych-noise pioneer Helios Creed would be if he were a beer. (You've had those arguments, right?)

Now there's an official answer, because the Burnt Hickory Brewery, of Kennesaw, Georgia, has created a new beer in honor of the former guitarist of acid-punk pioneers Chrome.

And what is it? Can we get an warped, blown-out drum roll, please ?

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thrashhits.com

Steve Harwell: Ready to eat eggs.

​Steve Harwell, the frontman for the San Jose-based '90s pop rock band Smash Mouth, is getting ready to eat a couple dozen eggs -- for a price.

As soon as $10,000 has been raised on behalf of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on causes.com, Harwell will down 24 eggs, according to the gossip site Oh No They Didn't.

Apparently, a lot of you want to see Harwell get sick: So far, the campaign has raised $5667.50.

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Steve Sheraton

​You've probably never seen so many Bay Area jazz musicians on a concert program. This Fourth of July, an All-Star Bay Area musicians lineup of four bands with 22 musicians total -- including Marcus Shelby, Lavay Smith, John Santos, Ray Obiedo, and Faye Carol -- will perform at Yoshi's San Francisco.

What got all these local jazz cats in the same room? Or rather, who? The answer is 33-year-old Bay Area saxophonist Dayna Stephens, whose performances and recordings have earned praise from the New York Times and other publications. Unfortunately, the occasion is not one to celebrate.

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Meklit Hadero

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Ethiopian born, S.F.-based jazz singer Meklit Hadero is planning a big trip to Ethiopia next month to perform for the people of her native country. It's her second such visit, after a similar journey in 2009. Hadero will perform for free in two places in Ethiopia, and she and her band plan to give workshops while there. She's asking fans and the public to help fund the trip.

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