45 Bands You'll Know After SXSW: Part 1

South By Southwest is a yearly festival that introduces the world to new ideas and entertainment. It is held in Austin, Texas and holds panels on technology, music and film. A lot of musicians play at SXSW in hopes of showcasing their talents in front of the music industry elite. The music section of the festival started last night and runs through Friday. Bands can get a lot of buzz after putting on an entertaining show. For the next three days, I will introduce (or re-introduce) you to '45 Bands That You'll Know After SXSW.' Here's the first 15 bands that you'll hear more about in the near future.

Band - Typhoon
Song - 'The Honest Truth'
Sounds Like: The Decemberists, The Rural Alberta Advantage, & Seryn

Typhoon started in 2005 and released three albums on Gorilla Boy Records. The bands went on hiatus in 2008, but reformed in 2010 and have since released two albums. They are currently writing their third album on Tender Loving Empire Records. I think you guys will enjoy the video for 'The Honest Truth,' it's pretty funny.


Band - ANR (Awesome New Republic)
Song - 'It's A Big Problem'
Sounds Like: STRFKR, Bloc Party, & M83

ANR originated in Miami, Florida and it's a two-piece band that started in 2003. Their latest album, 'Stay Kids', garnered critical praise from 'Stereogum' and other mainstream critics. They made some headlines when their record label openly marketed a release for BitTorrent users.


Band - Motopony
Song - 'Wait For Me'
Sounds Like: Iron and Wine, Bon Iver, & Fleet Foxes

This four-piece band is lead by singer/songwriter, Daniel Blue. In their self-titled debut, Blue's songwriting is noticeably deep and their combination of synthesizer and mellow guitar rifts, is very hard to do. This band sounds a lot like the bands that are breaking out in indie music and will get some notice down at SXSW.


Band - Alabama Shakes
Song - 'Hold On'
Sounds Like: Janis Joplin, The Raconteurs, &Kings Of Leon

At first listen, I thought that the Alabama Shakes had s singer that resembled a mixture of Janis Joplin and early Robert Plant. I listened to more of their material and it only cemented what I thought at first listen. Brittany Howard has amazing vocals and the front-runner of being the breakout star of this year's festival. They have already received acclaim from their performance at last year's CMJ Festival and NPR named them one of the bands to watch.


Band - Capital Cities
Song - 'Safe And Sound'
Sounds Like: MGMT, STRFKR, & Teeth

This electro-pop band hails from Los Angeles, CA. They recordings are high-quality, yet has a vintage sounds. They use a vintage Juno-106 keyboard, which could be why it has such a nice feel of new & old. They have only released an EP so far, but with the success of that in the U.S. and even in places like Peru, an LP will be in their immediate future.


Band - Bad Rabbits
Song - 'Neverland'
Sounds Like: Chromeo, Morris Day & the Time, & Foxy Shazam

Bad Rabbits members' are comprised of first-generation Americans from India, Argentina, Ghana, & Isreal. A lot of styles go into their music, but there are a lot of funk that jumps out at you. Their style will receive attention from hipsters, old dance-funk fans, and indie music aficionados.


Band - Folk Uke
Song - 'Shit Makes The Flowers Grow'
Sounds Like: Garfunkel & Oates, The Barnkickers, & Benny Wiwi

It is hard to think of bands that really sound like Folk Uke. I don't think they make songs that are meant to be overtly comedic like Garfunkel & Oates. Their songs are edgy and harmonic, wrapped in snark. I enjoy their stuff and think that a lot of you will too.


Band - Blondfire
Song - 'Where The Kids Are'
Sounds Like: Ganglians, Foster The People, Rabbit!

The brother/sister duo were the first unsigned band to reach #1 on the iTunes Alternative chart. Their upcoming album 'Win The Game' was self-produced. I respect the DIY-driven succes and they should have a great festival.


Band - Callaghan
Song - 'Best Year'
Sounds Like: Regina Spektor, Amanda Palmer, & Joanna Newsom

Independent singer-songwriter Callaghan moved from London to America in summer 2010. Her debut album, Life in Full Colour, produced by Shawn Mullins, is set to released. Her song,'Best Year,' celebrates her first year in the USA and taking a chance to follow your dreams.


Band - Bloody Beach
Song - 'Quembo Que'
Sounds Like: Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferndinand, Kaiser Chiefs

The music of Bloody Beach is a conglomerate of musical styles from around the world. Everyone from Turkish DJs to Scandinavian indie kids has been blown away by their live performances. Danceable songs fronted by a great front man, which have the power to turn any audience into a smiling, dancing crowd. This is one of the reasons why the crowd at SXSW will love them.


Band - Dan Andriano In The Emergency Room
Song - 'Denver and Me'
Sounds Like: Nikola Sarcevic, City & The Color, Greg Graffin

If Dan Andriano sounds familiar, he's the bassist and co-singer for Alkaline Trio. This side-project is stripped-down and has more of a folk music influence. If you're a fan of Alkaline Trio, you'll love it. His debut album, 'Hurricane Season,' was released in late 2011 on Asian Man Records.


Band - A Great Big Pile Of Leaves
Song - 'We Don't Need Our Heads'
Sounds Like: Look Mexico, Weatherbox, & The Appleseed Cast

This Brooklyn-based band have released a nice set of EP's and a full-length album 'Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex.' They have a nice following and are due to release a new EP on Motion City Soundtrack's record label, The Boombox Generation. They are expected to release another full-length album in 2012.


Band - Doctor P
Song - 'Big Boss'
Sounds Like: Slum Dogz, Flux Pavillion, & instrumental Skrillex

Doctor P is the stage name of the English Dubstep record producer, Shaun Brockhurst. He hasn't broken out in the U.S. yet, but with Dubstep catching on over here, he's due to make waves. If you like 'Big Boss' and are a fan of old-school Nintendo, you'll love this Dubstep remix of the 'Tetris theme song.


Band - David Ramirez
Song - 'Shoeboxes'
Sounds Like: Cory Branan, Lucero, & Ben Nichols

Ramirez describes himself as "a wandering man, got no money in the bank, got no wife at home watching children.” He has been writing and performing for over 10 years and describes his genre as "Folk-brewed Pop." His songwriting is honest, unfiltered and true, which strikes a chord with crowds that stumbled upon his show.


Band - Hope Atlantic
Song - 'Lost At Sea'
Sounds Like: Augustana, The Fray, & The Rocket Summer

Hope Atlantic are small town boys taking a grassroots approach to modern pop rock. They have supported bands such as Tokyo Police Club and Coheed & Cambria in their hometown and named 'Hometown Heroes' by Alternative Press. They conquered Winnipeg, now it is time that they conquer Austin, Texas.

CHECK OUT THE NEXT 15 BANDS IN PART 2
CHECK OUT THE FINAL 15 BANDS IN PART 3



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It's Been Awhile - Part 5

Hey guys, have you noticed that I've started writing again? I started this blog 4 years ago this month and I have taken five extended breaks from writing. Every time I take a hiatus, I feel the need to tell people why I decided to take a break. Here it goes...

I've always been "too honest" on this site and I can tell you guys that my passion for writing...it faded. I had a day job, a girlfriend, a busy social life, yet I kept writing here and for a few other sites. Over the last year and a half, I've had a few losses in my life and it increased my "fuck it" impulse. It's not that I didn't want to write, I couldn't. The picture above is a photo of me that a friend shot in Vegas. It exemplifies how I felt about writing. I would sit at my laptop and my mind would be blank.


It's not like I completely quit writing, I tried. I have been working on a short story for a few years now. I would have days where I would write, but they were few and far between. I've had a few freelance gigs and helped start a local nightlife site, but I didn't get any joy from it. I know that this needed to change and I tried everything to try to re-boot my system, I even became a vegetarian for two months. I didn't want my passion to die, so I kept trying new things and it slowly came back.

I can say that, as of today, my passion bucket is once again full. My mind is full of ideas and I'm ready to start making the magic happen again. I have agreed to write for a few other sites, as well as rejuvenating my own. I started this blog because of the NCAA Tournament and the phenomenon that happens every year. One unathletic whiteboy becomes the nation's underdog...America's White Boy. I started it with the idea of being the underdog. This site went from an idea to getting over 50k uniques a month. I hope to start that process again today.

Now that I've said all of that, this is the portion of this post where I list all of the things that I've learned since I've been gone.

- I've realized that the Cubs will never win the World Series

- Soccer moms listen to Bon Iver while they do "hot yoga"

- I've spent a lot of time drinking craft beer...a lot of time.

- I really love "Jungleland" by Bruce Springsteen, here's a live version from 1975.

- My attempt at being a hardcore soccer fan, it never really happened. I don't wake up early enough on the weekends.

- I finally watched "The Silence Of The Lambs", so I now get a lot of old jokes & parodies of Buffalo Bill.

- I hate accounting. I really hate accounting.

- I've watched a lot of TV. I really like "Community", "Parks & Recreation", "Always Sunny In Philadelphia", "New Girl", & "The Big Bang Theory"

- You should "Like" me on Facebook.

- I hope to join together with some friends and start a podcast soon.

- Ryan Braun probably got away with taking steroids.

- 2011 was a pretty shitty year.

- I watch a lot of Josh Krajcik videos on YouTube.

- Grantland.com should be so much better than it is. I love long-form sports journalism & Chuck Klosterman. The site shouldn't be named after Grantland Rice, it should be named after Will Leitch.

- I'm still addicted to Twitter @ Sweetbob.

- I think I personally know at least 100 "social media experts", yet many lack any real-life social skills.

- I'm signed up for Google+, but I rarely use it. The only people who add me are from Sri Lanka or a country in the Orient.

- This past football season, I got over 100,000 uniques from Google from people searching for the terms "Tim Tebow Virgin" & "Tim Tebow Naked/Nude". I used to just get a lot of hits from the term "shirtless" followed by popular baseball players' names.

- I hate that a lot of sites are starting to use the "Bleacher Report" model of using "Top 10" lists or using slideshows to increase traffic.

- I'm no longer jaded by the music industry. I've realized that "the machine" is dying and independent artists are gaining more control of their lives.

- I really want to watch Wrestlemania this year.

- If you love drinking beer, you should be on Untappd.

- I think A&W Root Beer is the best root beer. I will fight anyone to the death if they tell me otherwise.

- I have been writing jokes for a stand-up routine. I have a lot of material...I just need to try it out on people.

- Twitter has ruined my grammar. I kind of have a hardcore "passive voice" problem. (English nerds will get that joke)

- Christina Aguilera is slowly turning into Snooki.

- I read something by Mark Twain, every day.

- If you play Christmas songs on a jukebox in February, everyone at that bar will hate you.

- I'm a huge fan of mash-ups, but I have a hatred for dub-step.

- My next phone will be an iPhone, I've grown tired of my Android...also, I would like to have Instagram.

- I like The Format more than the band, Fun.

- I've watched 95% of the Indiana Pacers games this year, watch out for them in the playoffs.

- Anthony Davis's unibrow will get drafted #2, after Anthony Davis himself.

- Last week, I successfully groomed Nugget, my shih tzu.

- I have the best friends that a guy could have. I haven't been around them that much in the last year, but I hope that will change soon. I think about you guys everyday.

Finally, I've always ended these posts with a picture of a hot girl. I did it just to make my girlfriend mad, since I'm single, I don't feel the need to do it. Instead, here are some photos that crack me up and/or I want to put on the back of my business card.

Thanks for hanging in there with me!






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