There I was, in Whole Foods about six years ago, standing in the checkout line near a small handful of Putumayo and Norah Jones CDs on an impulse rack, when I heard the guy in front of me ask the checker, “Hey, do you know any record stores in town that sell CDs?”

“Uh, probably Best Buy,” the checker replied, to my astonishment. The bag boy also suggested Best Buy—as did a nearby customer.

I guess I was naïve. I assumed the average Whole Foods employee, and customer, might be more in tune with the local community, and would have at the time been able to name several independent mom-and-pop record stores.

Which makes the local music program at Oliver’s Market, spearheaded by vice president Tom Scott, all the more welcome.

“Tom Scott had a meeting,” says Last Record Store owner Doug Jayne, “and said he was in a Whole Foods and saw people buying Lady Gaga and Elton John CDs. He said, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we had local artists in our stores?'”

Thus, Oliver’s, in a partnership with the Last Record Store, began selling local bands’ CDs at their checkout lines. Additionally, Jayne, who’d released several local-music compilations on his Jackalope Records imprint, suggested that Oliver’s do the same. The Real Music series, an incredible, wide-ranging document of the Sonoma County local music scene with proceeds going to the Redwood Empire Food Bank, was born.

Frank Hayhurst, who most local musicians know from Zone Music, administrates the local-music program at Oliver’s, which is gearing up to release the third volume of Real Music with a record-release show on June 7 at the Sebastopol Community Center featuring a whopping 25 bands.

Twenty-five bands may sound big, and going big is all Hayhurst’s doing; so far there have been 99 bands represented in the Real Music series, with double-CD packages and long run times. Yet even those who suggested that Hayhurst keep the CDs shorter now concede that the community inclusion has been successful.

Real Music Vol. 3 features 33 Sonoma County artists on new and old tracks. Included are local Americana staples—the piano of John Allair, the harmonica of Charlie Musselwhite, the guitar of Nick Gravenites—alongside newer groups like Girls in Suede, Little Lost Boys, the Brothers Comatose, the Steve Pile Band, Dan Imhoff & Cahoots and many others.

“Tom Scott and Steve Moss, I think the reason they’re doing so well is they really have a sense of being part of our community and contributing to it in a way where everyone starts wining,” says Hayhurst.

As for the local artists on consignment at Oliver’s, sales have been brisk—last month, the stores sold over 50 CDs. Incredibly, Oliver’s takes no cut whatsoever of the profits. Let’s see Whole Foods try that one, shall we?

The record-release show for ‘Real Music Vol. 3’ features 25 bands on Friday, June 7, at the Sebastopol Community Center. 390 Morris St., Sebastopol. 6-11pm. Admission is $10 plus a can of food. 707.823.1511.

There’s no stopping Sonoma County’s former hip-hop collective Sonicbloom. The band-turned-label has become a cornerstone for artists to pursue independent careers in rapping and beat production.

Now a full-on label exec, founding member Spencer Williams, aka Spends Quality, has been promoting CFO Recordings artists, as well as his own music, through synergetic album releases. Time Piece showcases Sonicbloom beat master Mr. Tay, whose complexity and melodic risk-taking proves polished and appealing. Alongside that is the debut solo album of Sonicbloom saxophonist-vocalist J. Kendall, whose Maxwell-esque neo-soul jams on Moving Forward are kept fresh with hip-hop bass lines. Featured artists include N8 the Gr8 and Maryann, keeping the energy high on an album doused in Kendall’s velvet delivery.

Tripling down for full effect, Williams’ own Flight Music is a self-produced sophomore album, less rhythmically varied but equally proficient in showcasing his talent as a quick-witted lyricist. “After collaborating in the group dynamic for so long,” he says, “it was nice to be able to take ownership and say, ‘I produced this whole record.'”

All three albums are solid reflections of CFO’s maturing productivity. And while the threefold drop is ambitious, it should earn the label some hype for its hard work. CFO Records presents their triple album release party with Spends Quality, J. Kendall and friends at on Friday, June 7, at Hopmonk Tavern. 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. 9pm. $10–$15. 707.829.7300.