Their third album comes out on April 8 and 13 days later, punk supergroup OFF! will play Club Congress. Made up of members of Black Flag, Redd Kross, Burning Brides and Rocket From the Crypt, the band was a big deal the minute they played their first show, holding true to the same simple-chorded, single-minded fury that Black Flag was once known for.

No opener announced yet, but in authentically punk style, the show is all ages. See OFF! at Club Congress, April 21 at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $16 in advance, $18 day of show if they last that long.

March Radness is not terribly far off (March 8! Get your tickets now! They're going to get more expensive!), so we're going to give you a taste of what to expect from the stellar lineup of bands here on The Range between now and then.

First up, Wild Ones. Portland alt-weekly Willamette Week called them "arguably, Portland's breakout band of the year" and Time called them one of the bands to watch in 2014. If you liked the Cranberries (more "Linger" or "Dreams" than "Zombie") but wanted the singer to calm down some and the band to add some synths, you'll likely be into Wild Ones and their charming electro-indie-pop.

See them and a bunch of bands (Sir Mix-A-Lot! Pinback! Murs!) on March 8 at March Radness, presented by the Tucson Weekly!

A bonus, their free-downloadable cover of Drake's "Hold On, We're Going Home":

• kontikitucson.com

In 1963, the sounds of a swooning steel guitar might have wafted through the palm-fronds as baby boomers were seduced, if not back to a suitor's off-campus lodging, at least into the tender mercies of alcohol (ew! ptui!) swathed in sugary fruit juices with a gardenia on top.

Happy 50th birthday, Kon Tiki! UA students from 1963 through 2014 remember you well. Not for nothing have you been locking down Best Signature Cocktail and Best Cocktail Menu cocktail categories in Tucson Weekly's annual Best of Tucson® issue for almost as long as it's been published.

If you were looking around the Arizona Daily Star's website yesterday, you might have noticed a blog entry by Darren DeRonco about an app designed to fight the scourge of graffiti:

Got a graffiti problem in your neighborhood?

There’s now an app for that.

Tucson’s released an app where residents can file a report and even send a picture of the graffiti.

The app, dubbed MyTucson, was created in a joint collaboration between the City and Graffiti Protective Coatings. MyTucson is free to download for the iPhone and Android.

I suppose that DeRonco copy doesn't exactly mention when the app was released, but if you're thinking the story has a bit of a not-so-fresh feeling, it might because you remember our story on that very same app back in 2010:

The new application, called myTucson or Target Graffiti, debuted locally on Sept. 1, as part of a high-tech effort to crack down on graffiti in Tucson.

The app allows users to take a photo of graffiti using their phone and send it, along with a description and GPS coordinates, to the city of Tucson, where it is sorted by location and surface type before being forwarded to a Graffiti Protective Coatings employee in the field.

With the help of this new technology, the company can usually paint over a tag within 24 hours, said Lupe Mercado, the general manager of Graffiti Protective Coatings.

But, hey, we don't always share the same audience, so better late than never, right?l

Alan Davis, Tucson Weekly multimedia intern, captured some glass blowers competing at the 13th Annual Flame Off on Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Rialto Theatre. There were 20 local and international talents playing with fire at this year's Flame Off. This is one of the most visually appealing Gem, Mineral & Fossil events that comes once a year, so check out this two minute video if you missed it.

Here are some of the 2014 Flame Off winners:

Solo Competition:
1st: Matt Bain
2nd: Paul Kowan
3rd: Eli Mazet

Teams:
1st Place: Patty Lakinsmith & Joy Munshower
2nd Place: Ely Andrew Miller & Josh Kellems
3rd Place: Micah Blatt & Brian Jacobson

• The Potted Desert
• Winter in Desert Potted Garden

Fertilize your citrus around Valentine’s Day Special Attention Needed in February
1. Water both the day before and immediately after applying granular fertilizers.
2. Use a granular fertilizer according to the directions on the package. Size and age of the trees determine how much fertilizer you use.
3. Fertilize mature trees away the trunk, meaning the outer two thirds of the ground of the leaf canopy where the most active roots are.
4. Give the trees a deep soaking watering after applying the fertilizer.
5. Newly planted trees do not need fertilizer the first 1-2 years after planting).
6. Note: Whether you use Ammonium Sulfate, Ammonium Phosphate or Citrus Food fertilizer it's important to read instructions because the amount of fertilizer need per year will vary depending on the age, size, and type of citrus tree. For example, a medium-sized adult tree 5-6 years after planting needs 6.2 pounds of Ammonium Sulfate per year (split into three applications). Grapefruit trees 5 or more years after planting need half the amount for other citrus.
7. Continue to pick your citrus. You do not need to harvest all of the fruit just because the trees come into flower. Grapefruit and Valencia oranges will continue to sweeten while left on the trees.
(Source: Pima County Master Gardener Program)

• Image courtesy of Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Warning: This is going to get pretty wonky, so now is the time to flee if you don't want dive deep into the weeds of educational theory. That being said . . .

The Star published an AP article, High-tech RI project tackles low-income word gap. It's an interesting piece about a project in Rhode Island "that aims to boost the language skills of low-income children by using recorders to count the words they’re exposed to." That may or may not be a valid way of increasing children's school readiness, I'm not sure. But pay close attention to the next quote.

Studies show poorer children enter school having heard millions of fewer words than more affluent children, a disadvantage that can limit future educational success and occupational opportunities.

[snip]

A landmark 1995 study found that children in families receiving welfare hear less than one-third as many words per hour as their more affluent peers, and they reach age 4 having heard 32 million fewer words than children from wealthier families. Students who begin school with this disadvantage are less likely to succeed academically or professionally later in life.

First, don't accept any statement that begins with the words, "Studies show." Studies don't "show" anything. They indicate. They conclude based on an analysis of the data collected. No study should be taken at face value, and that's doubly true of educational studies.

Second, there's a serious question whether the much-quoted "landmark study" referred to here is worth much.

I had always accepted the validity of the study about the number of words spoken to children in different socioeconomic groups until a friend, Carole Edelsky, Professor Emerita at Arizona State University whose area of specialty is language and education, told me I should question the findings. She pointed me to an article that takes the original study to task. Edelsky is right. The study was poorly constructed and the conclusions demonstrate a potentially destructive racial, ethnic and economic bias.

• Check out the snappy new logo.

In what's seemingly a promotion for the world of alt-rock in Tucson, Lotus-owned radio stations KFMA and La Caliente (the biggest Spanish language in the market) are switching frequencies, with KFMA moving to 102.1 and La Caliente taking over the dual spots of the dial of 92.1 and 101.3 on March 21 at midnight. For what it's worth, 102.1 is the more powerful tower, broadcasting at twice the wattage of 92.1, so if you've had issues picking up my Friday at 8:05 a.m. appearance on the Fook morning show, this has to be good news.

• Jim Nintzel

Yesterday's 76-54 win over Oregon State delivered a confidence boost to the Arizona Wildcats, following their first loss of the season, the season-ending injury to Brandon Ashley and the recent trouble the team has had with free throws.

This week, the Cats—now 23-1 overall and 10-1 in the conference—are going up the road for a Valentine's Day date with Arizona State. Tip off is 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14 and you can catch the game on ESPN.

After the jump: Some photos from yesterday's game.