Amoeba follows the Rhino trail

Each Sunday, Fast Tracks will keep Calendar readers up to date with recent news from the pop music world on artists, their recordings and careers.

HEARD of Amoeba Records?

No, not the ginormous 40,000-square-foot indie music emporium in Hollywood. We’re talking about Amoeba, the record company.

Coinciding with this month’s closing of the Rhino retail store in Westwood, the Berkeley-based Amoeba mini-chain is launching its own label.

Among the early releases: several previously unreleased recordings by country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons.

As with Rhino Records, the still-thriving reissue-centric label born in the back of the store in the ‘70s, Amoeba Records was created to cash in on the chain’s access to catalogs of artists dead, largely forgotten or both.

Somewhere along the way, the original plan took a left turn.

“I was interested primarily in artists who aren’t around anymore,” says Dave Prinz, one of Amoeba’s co-owners. “I wasn’t planning on doing live people. It just sort of happened. There’s not a lot of rhyme or reason to what we’re doing yet.”

The Parsons recordings, including a live 1969 performance by his band, the Flying Burrito Brothers, are planned for April.

In addition, Amoeba plans to offer several Gypsy jazz albums from artists including Brandi Shearer with the Robin Nolan Trio and teen phenoms the Gypsy Kidz, who range in age from 15 to 20.

A virtual music store offering Amoeba downloads is also in the offing, although music fans are advised not to interpret the Web expansion as a harbinger of the demise of brick-and-mortar music stores. “There’s always room for a good store,” said Prinz. “Downloading is still only 5% of the market.

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Ain’t that a shame

Fats Domino may have found his thrill on Blueberry Hill, but he is about to lose his New Orleans birth home in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His house on Jourdan Avenue is scheduled for demolition by the city after being badly damaged by the storm.

Rick Coleman, author of the forthcoming “Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock ‘n’ Roll” (due in May), calls the move a grievous mistake. “Louis Armstrong’s house here was demolished 40 years ago, and this would be one more chip away from our musical legacy,” he said. “Fats’ birth home represents a great part of not only New Orleans’ history, but American and world musical history.”

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Feel irie with Sinead

Everybody’s favorite pope-defiling Irish skinhead-cum-Rastafarian priest, Sinead O’Connor, has booked a West Coast leg of her U.S. tour. In support of her album of reggae covers, “Throw Down Your Arms,” reggae notables Sly and Robbie (who produced “Arms”) accompany O’Connor on the road, including a Feb. 27 date at the West Hollywood House of Blues.

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Winging it with Joaquin

“Walk the Line” star Joaquin Phoenix migrated behind the camera recently to direct the debut video for U.K. indie rock group People in Planes’ single “If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode).” Shot in the Southland, the clip visually references Japanese architectural photography and retro departure lounges.

Guitarist Pete Roberts left the experience well informed of Phoenix’s on-set mien. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody literally jump for joy,” Roberts said. “He did it regularly, which was strange but heartwarming.”

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Yeah, you want more

Look for the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album in the spring. The New York trio’s yowl-tastic lead singer, Karen O, told NME magazine it’ll be called “Show Your Bones” -- as in “what happens when you stick your finger in the light socket.” The first single, “Gold Lion,” is pegged to hit the streets stateside Feb. 14..