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February 06, 2002

Last year, I somehow stumbled

Last year, I somehow stumbled upon Chris' site, looking for cutting edge, simple CSS design. Eventually, I clicked around and saw he was in a band, and I downloaded a couple songs and was impressed.

I've been meaning to buy their CD for months now, and early this week I finally did. I popped TV highway to the stars in and was amazed to hear an indie pop disc that was fantastic from start to finish. They've got a good range, some things sound like japanese synth pop, others college rock, some emo stuff that borderlines on ballads. Their variety reminds me a lot of Sloan's stuff, and their straight ahead indie rock sounds a lot like Athens, GA bands like Kincaid.

What's impressive to me is they're really the archetype of musicians using the web. They've got a weblog to talk about the band's latest news, a message board to talk to fans directly, they write reviews of stuff they like, they have full mp3 versions of many of their songs, they run a do-it-yourself record company, pressing and distributing themselves and handling payment via paypal. It's hard to imagine a band using the web in more or better ways, and I bet their dirt cheap $10 CDs make them more money than if they were on a major label selling $15 discs.

I'm finally going to see them perform next month, no matter what it takes. They've got a big gig coming up at Noisepop (SF music fest), opening for Guided By Voices (a longtime favorite), but it appears to be sold out. Even if I have to grab a bandana and a pack of Mentos™, I'm figuring out a way to get into that show.

Posted at February 6, 2002 08:30 AM