We first discovered the emerging artist when researching bands appearing at Fun Fun Fun Fest. He is currently preparing his as of yet untitled second album and a mixtape, both produced by Tom Cruz (Shaka Girvan). The mixtape will feature two upcoming singles “Good While It Lasted” and “Bad Habits” featuring Bun B and Nicholas Thorburn of Islands / Mister Heavenly / The Unicorns. He was among one of the first artists chosen to appear at SXSW 2012,  and has won the 2010, 2009 and 2008 Houston Press Music Awards’ Best Underground Hip Hop award.

We were able to meet him, smoke him out, and interview the MC during Fun Fun Fun Fest.  His newest accomplishment has been working with Two Star Symphony. You can find more info at their bandcamp site. Listen to our interview, then check out the videos (live videos courtesy of Mark Ambrose).

Who plays which instrument and where are you headed next?

DH: guitars/vox, Nikki: bass/vox, Slim: drums. Just played Nashville. We’re on our way to Athens tonight and Atlanta tomorrow. We’ll be playin with Kurt and his violators up to DC. Then we part ways and will be doin headline spots to nyc & all the way back home. Able to line up a lot of friends bands for the back half of the trip. Purling Hiss, Fangs Out, Mansion, and Bad Dream. Should be a party!

We first learned bout him at SXSW. How did u get hook up with Kurt and the Toadies this year?

We have some of the same friends as Kurt in Philly, and got hooked up together last year when they came through TX. The bands all fans of what he does so we were stoked when he hit us up about this lil run out east. The Toadies thing was a way to get in front of new ears before the new album came out. They asked, and we said yes. Almost didn’t do it but we had a goodtime so it worked out.

How long have u been together?

Dan and I met Nicole in the fall of 07 and slowly started getting things together. We never had any plans to do much with it. Just hangout and have fun with each other. Next thing we knew we were recording and the ball hasn’t really slowed down since.

Any other bands you can recommend to us? Can you tell us more about the bands you named?

Purling Hiss, from Pennsylvania, we met last year. They were Kurt’s primary support and we just hit it off great. They’ve been real supportive of us and always make sure we have a good time in Philly. We play in Baltimore with them. Fangs Out are from Ohio, we met 2 years ago playing out east. They’re a 2 piece that makes some pretty sweet noise pop. We’ve stayed and partied with them since but Cleveland will be our 1st show together since we met. Mansion are from Kansas, and are our homies. We’ve never played Kansas without them and hope we never do! They don’t have much recorded but are great live! Heavy sludge + movements. They don’t have songs really. The peices just flow from one jam to the next. Real good stuff! Mutha fuckin Bad Dream, if I could have them on the road with us all the time I still couldn’t see/hear them enough. 3 piece, foxy drummer, best bass player I know, and a super tasteful guitar player. We met them our 1st show in Brooklyn. They opened for us and we’ve had them on every NYC bill since. They also toured the east with us last year. Most of these bands fly under the radar. Not a lot of stuff recorded and don’t tour much. That shit needs to change!

Are you signed and if so what can you say about the label? Do you have your record on vinyl also?

Both our albums are on vinyl, cd, digital download. The only cassette is the demo tracks Kemado put out for us. 1st album was on a small label a friend runs outta Austin, End Sounds. We signed with Kemado (NY) earlier this year and things have been great. They really dig our style and have been super supportive of everything (music, art, touring, etc.). They’ve got a cool mix of bands between them and their sister label Mexican Summer cover a lot (4 or 5) of styles. Some of the stuff on kemado I dig = Dungen, Saviours, the Sword, and our good buddies MOAB (L.A.) who have their debut out on Kemado–best “stoner rock” if you wanna call it that I’ve heard in years!

I know Mexican summer!

Great labels + good people!

Would u say it’s easier or harder to be a band now after the internet and why? What is the hardest part of being an up and coming band like yourself?

Internet has made a lot things much easier, booking, promos, being able to hear bands when looking for support in different cities, etc. On the other hand it’s kinda made things a bit cluster fucked. Gotta take the bad with the good though. There’s give and take with everything you know. We’re in a pretty good spot right now for us. We’ve all got full time businesses at home and never really had any major goals with the band. In the last 6 months we’ve gone from trying real hard to book tours (I do our booking) to being asked to play support for others. It’s ideal for getting into towns we haven’t been able to get into on our own, but the flip side is your only playing 20-30mins a night. I feel as long as you and your mates are enjoying playing with and for each other the rest will work itself out.

What’s the latest video you have seen on YouTube, or a favorite?

Most recent and a new fave! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrsKPKjGF_Y

How open would you be to having your music in a video game or tv/movie soundtrack?

I play a lot of video games so that might be cool. Believe it or not we’ve had a couple songs on the MTV show 16 and pregnant. Not super stoked or proud of that one. but that’s what happens when you put the stuff out there to be used. Will see where our next jam pops up. I’ve been interested in scoring movies and/or creating very atmospheric tunes since my musical beginnings so I really hope we get a chance to do some of that with True Widow!

Have you got to hang out with Kurt Vile and his band any? They seem chill. And what is your preferred method of getting high?

We’ve had a little bit of hangtime. All cool cats! Dosen’t seem to be a heavy smoker (like myself) in the group so no hook ups like that. It’s always nice sharing the road with another band that has the same town to town needs. We bang a lot of joints on the road (no devices in the van) so when I’m back home I really like my bong time! I’m a head man, I just like to smoke!

It’s been 20 years since Nirvana came out with Nevermind. What are your thoughts and feelings?

20 years? Fuck man I feel old! Bleach hit me like a ton of bricks so I was waiting for Nevermind to drop. Then I just set back in awe and watched the freak show go down. Pretty amazing how all that played out.

You like to party and have good time. It’s really hard to talk about music and not drugs they are always together. How do you find balance? 3 well known bands were in news lately: Wolfmother, Kings of Leon, and Coheed & Cambria for issues related to this.

Music + drugs is right man. A few of my drug experiences 1st happened at shows and I spent hours trippin out on The Butthole Surfers and Ween. I don’t think it’s a must but man it sure is fun! I guess we can thank the jazz movement for that, hahaha. The one thing I did get was that jazz = drugs. I’ve met a lot of people in the last 2 years that love True Widow but don’t smoke or indulge in any substances. Seems like our sounds are filling the void for them. Crazy but pretty awesome when you think about it. Wolfmother–heard the 1st album, is there a second? Kings Of Leon–how awesome was it having them totally melt down in dallas?! They’ve got a few songs I dig if I’m in the mood. My favorite thing that Coheed & Cambria do is comic books

.Last question for you what would you say to those that haven’t listened to you yet?

That’s a good one…If you feel like taking a sonic plunge throw our LP on!

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One of the young, emerging bands we were fortunate enough to discover this year is Reptar. The four piece from Atlanta released their first EP, Oblangle Fizz Y’All, toured as opening support for both Phantogram and Foster The People, and even played Lollapalooza and ACL. I was able to catch up with the guys backstage a few weeks ago when they were opening for Phantogram. We discussed music genres, the Georgia music scene, and of course we played a round of Urban Dictionary Quiz. You can listen to our interview below:

Photos, Video and Interview provided by M.E. correspondent Jason Henshaw

You guys started in ‘03 in ATX via an ad in the Austin chronicle. Did you guys know that this would work out?

Aaron: No we just went, we didn’t really have… I don’t really know, we really didnt know where we were going did we?
Thomas: No, we just both wanted to make music that was different, so we just got together and started doing that. That was the only rule
Aaron: Yeah, I think thats still the rules.

For the fans that don’t know, How did you guys choose the band name?

Aaron: Literally, it just came into our head, its was seriously like we were doing a play called Ghost Sonata… Well we were working on music for a friend that was doing the play Ghost Sonata by August Strindberg and with the help of Telescope pictures, it came out. And that is the only way I can explain it. It wasn’t like anything I thought about.

…It just kind of clicked?

Aaron: It really did.

Did you guys have any alternates that you were working with?

Thomas and Aaron: no

What is your favorite song to play live?

Thomas: I like “Midnight Voyage” Aaron: Im digging “Midnight Voyage” cause its always part of the set where you’re really starting to get out there. Like mid-set … Its vibey, its got a good vibe

Now that you guys are touring all over the place, do you have a particular part of the world that you were like “what the hell, where did all these fans come from”?

Aaron: You know honestly, I can tell you we are watching it grow and its like Thomas and I said from the beginning… its been about us trying to do something creative together. We really found that communication together so thats been what has really been good. Thomas: I can say ‘what the hell’ about where the people learn to drive in Brazil. (laughter) Thats just flat out scary what they do there.

… did you almost get run off a cliff?

No but I had to stop looking at the road of the first trip…

WORD ASSOCIATION:

Occupy:
Thomas “territory”
Aaron “space”

Bacon:
Aaron “grease”
Thomas “eggs”

Earth:
Aaron “wind”
Thomas “Martians”

Texas:
Thomas: “LONE STAR STATE BABY!!!”

Beer:
Thomas “good”
Aaron “cold”

Your last album was a little over a year ago, is there a new one in the works? Can you give us a little insight into that?

Thomas: I think we are going to get to work after the new year. Aaron: Yeah, were gonna start jammin, trying to find it.

You guys thinking about any new techniques or anything new you are gonna do on the next album?

Thomas: New techniques, thats the name of the new album!!!! Aaron: Yeah I like that, i really like that. (laughing) you might have just hit the bell, thats a really good name.

What are your thoughts about the death of the CD?

Thomas: To me I really don’t care anymore, all the other stuff is cool, but when they come to the live show they get more of the sound. Aaron: Yeah, who knows with all the other stuff its all legalities you know mortality, live or die you know. But the live show will always go on.

Yea, your shows are so energetic. So upbeat, its like an energy around you, do you think that is why your fan base is so strong and loyal?

Thomas: Yeah, they are part of the show you know…When you look at the audience they are actually involved with the energy of the show. Its like fuel to the fire. Aaron: Its like a circulation man, sending out positive energy and they send it back, its like a constant ball of energy.

So in an old interview, you guys said the craziest venue you played was in a mormon town in Idaho. Has there been any other venue to top that?

Thomas: For weirdness? I have to say no. Aaron: Yeah that was pretty odd. Thomas: They were all serious before the show and took us aside and said heres the deal. “No cursing, no drinking on the stage, no this, no that. Aaron: But then that seemed like all that was out the window as soon as the music started. There still was no alcohol but all the rest was crazy.

Finally, I believe “Sad Sad City” was featured on the remake of 90210? What were your feelings on your music being used in Hollywood?

Aaron: i think its the same thing we feel about music, its whatever, thats all bonuses, thats stuff that spends off the creativeness. As long as we create good music its bound to happen.

As for the live show, as you can see by the accompanying media provided, the live show was delivered as advertised.

We got to talk to Félix Rodríguez from Sweeden’s The Sounds.  The Sounds are a Swedish Indie Rock band.   Formed in Helsingborg in 1999, the group’s musical style has been compared to New Wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies , and Missing Persons.  Contributing photojournalist Michelle Pelissero was able to chat with Felix, and capture some captivating photos of the live show. You can see the rest of her pictures here.

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How did you guys start as a group? How did you decide to get into music?

I’ve been into the music since I was four. We always had a lot of instruments, my dad, mom and brother played. I used to play with brother like death metal music. I play guitar now in the band, but I used to play drums with him. Just in general I’ve been into music since day one. How we started a band was, it was in 1998 it was me and Johan the base player, we have been friends since we were 10 playing random sports like Tennis and Soccer. We got bored of that. We lived in a small city in Sweden, so there’s not much to do. I guess you do sports or music. So we started to be more interested in music. He played in another band, we started to hang out together and just started talking about starting a band. So we did, and we knew the drummer from his neighbor and Maja was in the same art class as me.

Did everyone have the same musical interests?

We all come from a different world, Maja was more into Hole and Smashing Pumpkins, stuff like that. I was more into other poppier stuff, hip-hop and electronica. We always blended everything I guess.

Where did the album title “Something To Die For” come from?

That comes from, I think not our mentality but the way we live. The way we want to spread our message. For us, that’s a strong title with a positive meaning. For us we’ve always believed in what we’ve done and never let anyone tell us what we can or can’t achieve. Nowadays I think it’s important for people to actually believe in themselves and try to do something positive. We found that together making music. That’s the only thing we’ve been doing for 13 years. I wouldn’t kill myself if we couldn’t play, that’s not what we mean. It means that if you believe in something you should show that to the world. It could be someone you love, for religion, or whatever you do. For us it’s been music, we have a strong passion. So that’s what that title represents.

Is there a meaning behind the “Dance with the Devil” music video?

That was the director’s fault, it was his idea. We wanted to do something a little bit different than just a regular music video. Sometimes when you see a video there’s a story that maybe doesn’t really represent what the message is, I guess in this one we just wanted to do a different video. I don’t think it’s a hidden message with a girl in a gas mask and guns. It was like we’re going to have dancers with guns and this girl’s going to try and save you. Yea that sounds odd.

I read that you started releasing your albums on your own independent label. Why did you start doing that and what were the hardships and successes you saw from doing that?

I think that we needed to be more independent than we were before. We’ve always been really involved in the process. We just wanted to cut away at all the middle hands, we didn’t really need them because we’ve been building our career through fans by word of mouth. It’s the fans that have been building our career it’s not the record label. We never needed to have a big record label. How it is nowadays, it’s tougher and tougher for bands with all the deals that record labels give new bands. I don’t understand how they can survive. We felt like we wanted to do this on our own, we wanted to work with people that wanted to work with us because they like us people and like our music, not because they like the paychecks. If you’re stuck in a system sometimes, which you can be in a big label, and you don’t feel comfortable there it’s not going to be a healthy relationship for anyone. And our band just felt like we wanted to do everything ourselves. So we do everything ourselves now. Every album we do, we record ourselves and obviously pay for it, and you know just do whatever we do if someone out there likes it we can have a joint venture.

So you shop labels?

Yeah. I mean now we have a label that we are going to stay with, but on “Crossing the Rubicon” we did the same thing, we created our own label and we found a record label that wanted to sign us for two albums but we only did one because it didn’t really work out. I’m really relieved that we can do that. Not many bands can. You have to build up a career to be able to do that. This is our album, this is our record label, we can basically just do what the fuck we want. No one can tell us what to do and we don’t really care if radio plays us or not, because they’ve never played us before. We just do what we want to do.

How did you select this tours’ support, like the Limousines?

We always pick support acts. I remember this tour I was talking to John our manager and he was like ‘we have different bands that might be good for you to bring on tour’ and we got on youtube and watched some videos and listened to songs. They’re great, they are actually better live than they are on YouTube. So we brought them on the tour and everyone is really happy, and Kids at the Bar as well. We want to have a night that’s not just two or three bands, we want to have a night to where you walk in the door it will be a party that will continue all night long. They really bring a lot to the table. They play cool music, they DJ really awesome. It’s a good vibe in the room that builds up a better crowd for us when we walk out.

Who are your favorite bands right now?

I don’t know, I’m horrible at that question. I’ve been listening to Lil Wayne’s new album, I like it, he does pretty cool stuff. Far away from The Sounds. It’s fun to listen to new stuff I guess.

What are your goals for this band?

To still have fun. Just have fun and do what we’re here to do. Trying to have a healthy relationship, you know of what we built together and we’re really a happy family now. We have a good time, we want to keep writing music, we want to meet our fans and we just really want to keep being in that mood. Even thought the business is going down, our fans, we won’t let them down. It’s still fun to do.

Do you have any funny tour stories from this tour or others?

I forget so much stuff on the road. I remember one time, it was a long time ago 2004 maybe, we had a pretty fucked up tour manager. Back then we didn’t really know much about touring or the world. We just lived in the moment. We had this unhealthy tour manager that was supplying us with…not good stuff…and we were in Brooklyn and there was a shootout. Someone got stabbed. There were a bunch of gangbangers walking around shooting people. The tour manager he was pretty fucked up so he has this Samurai sword in his bunk. So he jumps out of the bed and just runs out of the bus in his underwear and t-shirt and says “I’m a master swordsman” and he tried to fight them with his sword. We were like “holy fuck”. Nothing happened to him but it’s a funny story now. Back then I guess we were also pretty fucked up, we weren’t really paying attention but to run out in Brooklyn when there’s a shootout with a Samurai sword isn’t the brightest thing.

He was trying to protect you guys. Haha

That he did. He was like a body guard with a Samurai sword.

The first time you came to the US was it hard to transition?

The first time we got here, it’s such a big country, I think we first played the bigger cities like New York. The first time we came here we came through a funded trip from the government. It was called Expo Music Sweden.  The government does it every year, or at least they used to do it, they might have problems with that now. Every year they brought over maybe five bands to the states and we were one of those five bands. So they set up showcases in different cities, New York, Chicago, L.A., San Diego just to show that we’re Sweed, this is our music, this is the best in the country right now. Which I think is a great thing for a country to do. That was the first time. That was the bigger cities. The huge difference from that was when you actually tour the whole country. When you’re criss crossing up and down, because this country is like many countries. One state from another can be such a big difference. We didn’t really know what to expect. We didn’t know how our music would translate, but we started to get a buzz really quick. Actually we got a record deal before we came over here. It was the guitar player from Smashing Pumpkins, he heard about us and we met him in Sweden. We became friends and then signed us to his little label. So he kind of brought us here and helped us start to tour, but everything was just a good experience. To come to the States as a Swedish band, I think I can speak for every artist that’s something you want to do. This is the biggest nation in the world. Rock and Roll was invented here, you know. We really look up to the states. Sweden is pretty Americanized. I don’t mind being big in Germany or Japan, or whatever but it’s the States that everyone wants to be able to tour. So we had high hopes, we didn’t really know what to expect but we got a little buzz and just kept coming back. I think why we made it here, and we’re still here is because we saw and understood in the early days if you want to make it here you have to be devoted. You have to be willing to leave some markets out. We were not in Europe for years, Sweden and the States. Not so much Europe, because we really needed to build this on our own. You know play a venue that holds 50 people, then the next time 100 people and move on up. We understood that in the early days that if you want to make it here and be successful you have to devote a lot of time. So that’s what we did.

You obviously did a good job, because you’ve toured with No Doubt and tons of huge bands.

Yea we did. No Doubt, that was an amazing tour, they’re great guys. Me and Jasper became very good friends with Tony Kanal, the base player of No Doubt. We’ve been writing some songs with him as well. It’s fun to meet people in the business that are on a much higher level, but you are still on the same level when it comes to making music and understanding how to create stuff. He’s a fun guy, we’re fun guys and then everything else besides that doesn’t really matter. It’s fun to try new things with new people.

Do you do most of the writing or is it a collaborative effort?

On the first album it was more of a band rehearsing together in a small room, you know just playing instruments and coming up with ideas. Then we translated that into more writing in front of computers, programming and sitting more and writing instead of just being the band together. Since we are always on tour doing like 200 days a year you can’t really hang out together. Trying to create stuff, that doesn’t work. So now we sit more in front of computers. Now it’s mostly me and Jasper that write the music and lyrics and then you know everyone always has an opinion, but it’s us that write it.

So you write most of your music on computers now–you don’t jam as much?

We don’t jam. I mean, we jam but in a different way. Nowadays a computer is an instrument and sometimes maybe he sits and does something on the computer and then maybe I walk in and take over and try to do something. Jasper and I jam, but we don’t jam as a band.

How often are you in the studio?

I’m there as often as I want. We have computers and keyboards so we can write on the road but it’s fun when you’re in your own studio and have all your own equipment.

Where do you record?

In Sweden. We record in our own studio. On the last album we flew over a sound engineer to help us out.

That outside opinion is good.

Yea, yea, yea because sometimes you get blind. Sometimes it’s good. Sometimes, for example the song that we have on this album, “Better Off Dead”, I refused to listen to anyone because I know there were some people involved that were thinking…maybe it’s too long, maybe that doesn’t make sense. I don’t really care. That song makes sense in my head. That song actually turned out to be a lot of people’s favorite. That’s when I refused to compromise. I’m not going to listen to you, or you, or you, we’re just going to do it this way.  That song was a trip. It was many different layers of many different decades I was in. It’s inspired by a lot of electronic music because I used to go to a lot of raves back in the 90’s, crazy rave parties. That feeling, that claustrophobic feeling you can get when going to clubs like that. I wanted to blend in with The Sounds, and it’s not really a Sounds song but it becomes a Sounds song if we do it, you know. That’s my personal favorite. That’s a song I was born to do, but we weren’t able to do it and now we can.

You can see the rest of Michelle’s pictures here.

Washington based The Lonely Forest recently got a chance to tour with Seattle’s Minus The Bear. They have also toured with Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s, and of course there’s that infamous connection with Death Cab For Cutie. The 4 piece are from Anacortes, not Aberdeen, but have still been influenced by Nirvana. The first act signed to Chris Walla’s new label, Trans, we caught up with singer John Van Deusen, and guitarist Tony Ruland, right before they were opening for Minus The Bear.

Our FFF coverage continues. Thanks to Twitter, we knew that television star Blake Anderson would be attending the fest in Austin. We originally thought he would only be present Sunday to see Slayer until we spotted him walking around Friday. Comedy Central’s hit show Workalcoholics‘ has been a trendsetter, and we are big fans. I knew that a couple members of Odd Future Wolfgang had guest appearances in one episode. And obviously he was at this event, so had a hunch that the rising star was also a music lover. We got to chat about how the show got started, their previous jobs, his wide palette of musical tastes, and of course we had to find out his smoking preference. This was one of the few, maybe only, interviews that Uncle Blazer gave during the weekend.

As a music critic, I take pride in being ahead of the curve when it comes to early adoption. I will let you in on a little secret that I have that most bloggers won’t admit. Sometimes the way that I learn of new bands worth checking out is by keeping my eyes and ears open to who will be opening for bands that I already want to see. Months ago when I realized that The Naked And Famous were passing through town, I was excited to know that The Chain Gang Of 1974 was the opening support slot. That’s when I originally discovered there was another band on the line up, White Arrows. Looking forward to this show for a long time, here is my review along with an interview with both White Arrows and The Chain Gang Of 1974 (TCGO1974).

White Arrows, who we first premiered on a podcast a few months ago, are a 5 piece self-described psycho tropic band from the city of Angels. They refuse to be referred to as hipster core, so maybe a fitting description would be shamanistic pop. Ok, that’s kinda a joke, but I’m not kidding about how rad this new band is! You may not have heard of them yet, despite their already having played Sasquatch music festival. They have also toured this year with Cults, White Denim, and now currently with The Naked and Famous. They have a remarkable and unique back story you may already know. They started as the brain child project of singer and guitar player Mickey Schiff. Born blind, he spent his childhood sharpening his auditory senses and teaching himself music. Suddenly, at age 11, he amazingly gained sight, and his world came alive. He then studied ritualistic shamanism at NYU before returning to L.A. to start White Arrows with his brother and friends, releasing their first self-titled EP last year.

This may just be eclectic electro-psych rock at it’s best. Their set included most, if not all, songs from their EP, including covers of both Bruce Springstein’s “I’m On Fire” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Save Me A Place”. One article I read said they have the “swagger of a pscyhed-out Stooges or a junk-less Lou Reed”. Their stage setup and presence is minimalist yet unmistakable. Personally, their rendition of my favorite tracks “City Boy” and “Coming Or Going” were highlights for me. I have a feeling this is a band who many will be raving about in the year to come.

I was so excited to finally watch TCGO1974 live! I was turned onto the one piece from Spin’s 35 Must-Hear Acts at SXSW list. We chose TCGO1974 to be on our Top 10 Indie Picks for Lollapalooza 2011. If Kamtin Mohager hadn’t lived in the 1980’s, you get the feeling that he would somehow still love the decade’s sounds. Like Nine Inch Nails and Dashboard Confessional, the shape-shifting singer/multi-instrumentalist is the only member of the increasingly popular outfit, who of course recruits a band while out touring. If you haven’t listened to the Wayward Fire record yet, I’m positive you will be familiar with it soon. It sounds more 80’s than 80’s music does!

Just a few days before this show, Katmin departed ways with Jeff Apruzzese, bass player for indie fave Passion Pit. He would later tell us during our interview that he met Jeff through his roommate, who plays keyboards for Foster The People. The 4 piece were subdued but powerful. The set list began with “Devil Is A Lady“, then one of my favorites, “Matter Of Time“. Before ending their short performance, they also played their popular “Hold On“. While the album is difficult to stop listening to, the live act was a bit lackluster. It seems they perhaps are just going through growing pains, and still trying to work out all of the kinks. Katmin also mentioned in the interview encountering some technical difficulties on previous stops of this tour. Nevertheless, they still sounded good and were entertaining to watch. Once Katmin goes solo or settles on a permanent lineup, he will take his art to the next level.

It was finally time for the main act, and it was obvious who everyone came to see. The Naked And Famous, as noted everywhere already, are a 5 piece from Auckland, New Zealand. I knew they were immensely popular, which is why the event had sold out quite a long time ago. What I wasn’t sure of was how their live sound would come across. My friend once saw them in New York City start a set at midnight, with absolutely no lights in the entire venue, only music playing. They began with “The Ends”, then continued with “A Wolf In Geek’s Clothing”, “Punching In A Dream”, “Speak”, “Bells”, “Frayed” and more. I don’t think anyone would disagree with how stellar of a show they put on. And just to prove how great of a band they are, they waited until the last song of their encore before finally playing their hit single “Young Blood.”: You are probably already familiar with this song from the radio, and even more recently from it being played on MTV and the World Series.

All in all, this is a great bill that made for a great night. I felt fortunate to get a chance to see each of these three groups before they become even more well known than they already are. Members of the audience danced during each performance, and kept dancing more as the night went on. I don’t think any of these great indie bands have even scratched the surface of their potential, we should have plenty of incredible music to look forward to from them.

Battles is comprised of drummer John Stanier of Helmet and Tomahawk, guitarist/keyboardist Ian Williams of Don Caballero and Storm & Stress, guitarist David Konopka of Lynx. All members bring their honed-in musical skills of past glory into this new dynamic. They had two EPs both released in June 2004 on Cold Sweat and Monitor respectively. The B EP followed on Dim Mak in September 2004. The Atlas EP followed in early 2007, followed in turn by the band’s proper full-length debut, Mirrored, in May 2007. This under rated mostly instrumental trio are now getting some much deserved attention, including playing Pitchfork Festival this past summer. I was lucky enough to buy Ian a cup of coffee and chat recently about touring behind their latest effort, Gloss Drop. The interview is below, live show review coming soon.

White Arrows are a 5 piece self-described psycho tropic band from Los Angeles.   Ok, that’s kinda a joke, but I’m not kidding about how rad this new band is!  You may not have heard of them yet, despite their already having played Sasquatch music festival. They have also toured this year with Cults, White Denim, and currently with The Naked and Famous. If you have heard of them before, then you may already know they started as the brain child project of singer and guitar player Mickey Schiff. Born blind, he spent his childhood sharpening his auditory senses and teaching himself music. Suddenly, at age 11, he amazingly gained sight, and his world came alive. He then studied ritualistic shamanism at NYU before returning to L.A. to start White Arrows with his brother and friends, releasing their first self-titled EP last year.

I caught up with them before The Naked and Famous show, and we discussed their music, their journey, and their philosophy. We talk sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, burning man fest, and even get to play a quick round of Urban Dictionary quiz.

Insert obligatory parental advisory warning: this is a Rated R interview below, enjoy!