A Buddhist friend once told me she found great peace by sitting in a comfortable place, shutting her eyes and paying attention to nothing. She said it was like a TV screen with no picture. She'd watch whatever popped up, then watch it disappear. On a recent evening, after days of vexation over the smallest things, I followed her instructions. Some time passed before a figure came into focus: John Fox, bassist with The Twang Junkies during the group's recent show at The Swiss. Having grown up on the local music scene - Blue Baboons, Running With Scissors, Voodoo Ranch, Last Chance Romeos and whatever he and Phil Wood, god rest his soul, could dream up. Fox fits The Twang Junkies perfect. The traditionalist and the rebel, on the surface, may seem like natural enemies. But they often can be friends, and sometimes they're even one and the same. I watched Fox roll with this rockin' country band - from the Hank, Cash, Haggard end to the Stones, Beatles and Bowie side and back. He has amazing rhythm.

THE TWANG JUNKIES, 9 p.m., The Swiss, 1904 Jefferson Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.2821