Native Sacramento guitarist, DJ and producer Early Times will return home for a performance at Harlow's on Friday.

While his MySpace page lists his genre categorization as "Crunk/Dutch pop/Black Metal," Early Times' music is even more eclectic in reality. The sampling of songs on his profile ranges from the slap bass funk of "Doin' the Nasty," to the Hammond organ-inflected blues of "Black Panties," to the spacey, improviasational jam piece "DUI." His capability to play multiple styles has earned him collaborations with a diverse group of musicians both local (Tesla, Cake) and national (trumpeter Wynton Marsallis).

Though he currently resides in New York City, Early spent his years in Sacramento building his reputation in the local scene. His past nominations for nine different Sacramento Area Music Awards, including Best Rock Band, Best Blues Band and Best Jazz Band, showcase the broad scope of his influences. He made the move to Manhattan a year after winning the Critics' Choice Award as Sacramento's Best Guitarist in 1997.

"I try to make it out to Sac once a year," Early said via phone en route to Sacramento from Minneapolis, Mo. MN. "It's pretty much around this time, too. There are plenty of people in the music scene there I'm still in contact with."

As for his categorization, it seems that the wide space of "multi-genre" is the only one Early is comfortable occupying. "You pretty much have it with that classification," Early said of his sound being described to him as "broad and tough to pin down." "When I was in Sacramento, I would play a jazz club for a few nights, then a blues club and maybe a rock club, all in the same week sometimes."

The show this Friday will be a mix of old and new songs from Early's career and will "probably include some improvisations here and there," he said.

Early's lineup will include his longtime rhythm section of Neil Franklin (drums) and Artis "A.J." Joyce (bass). The main guitarist will be The Sacramento Press' own Sales Manager, Sonny Mayugba. Aside from the main lineup, the set will also include appearances from a range of other local musicians. "I'm not sure who will be making it out, but whoever does will be sitting in and joining whenever," Early said. "It's always a big party when I play."

A compilation CD of unreleased tracks, titled Sacramento's Most Wanted: 1990-1997, will be available at the show. "It's pretty much a bunch of stuff I did awhile back but never found a spot for," Early said. "Most of the songs have been played live, and I like them all enough to have them on the record."

His adventurous and unpredictable blend of genres is sure to thrill the crowd at Harlow's. The show starts at 9 p.m. at 2708 J St. It is 21+.

Early Times' biography and samples of his music can be found here:

http://www.myspace.com/earlytimesband