BandSoup Bands at SXSW 2012

 There are quite a few BandSoup bands that are making numerous appearances at official SXSW showcases and unofficial freebie events around the Austin area. If you are in town for SXSW 2012, here is our quick guide to find shows featuring those artists.

Read More to get dates, times, and event locations. Show your support!  

Soup of the Week: Max and the Moon- Out of My Head (Free Download)

Chino Hills, California based trio Max and the Moon are set to release their second EP entitled The Way I See on March 27th. Their highly anticipated sophomore effort is said to show the band's maturation into a songwriting entity and a collective that has learned to turn their large musical appetite into genre-bending feast for their audience. The Way I See features a bouquet of influences that include classical, jazz, pop, modern rock, and soul that has garnered them comparisons to early Coldplay and the beat-driven compositions of Passion Pit.

Listen to Max and the Moon on BandSoup

These boasts are immediately understood in the infectious, piano-driven pop parade of"Out of My Head", where Max and the Moon's forte of catchy harmonies and quirky beat propelled arrangements galvanize the rest of their arsenal. Max and the Moon were kind enough to release this Soup of the Week as a free download exclusively for the BandSoup audience, which you can download below and sit with before the release of their EP and accompanying series of videos. Stay tuned because beginning on March 27th the band will begin to release a series of short films/music videos, live performance videos, and an interactive web experience for their single "Lighthouse", which will be featured on the blog as they are released.

Click Here to Download "Out of My Head" 

Max and the Moon on Facebook

The Ghost Wolves- Curl Up & Dye (Video)

Turn the White Stripes inside out and you have The Ghost Wolves-- Carley "Carazy" Wolf on the mic and guitar and Jonathan "Little Hammer" Wolf on the drums and backing vocals. This new Texas based duo blend gritty backwoods blues with hints of Pyschobilly and folk that are conjuring up garage ghosts from the 60's and demons from the Delta. Known around the city for their energetic live show and infectious on-stage chemistry, The Ghost Wolves have been relentlessly touring their debut album, In Ya Neck!, bringing the raw and rabid rock and roll sound from their digitally unscathed record to dive bars across the plains.

Listen to The Ghost Wolves on BandSoup

Download Gonna Live Here

With songs like Curl Up & Dye (above video), Gonna Live, and The Snake and Jake Shake, The Ghost Wolves prove they are separate commodities not to be lumped in with The White Stripes, The Dead Weather, and other known blues rock hybrids. Carley and Jon are in their own swamp-world building their own boussilage of organic punk-blues blight. Now all that's left for us to do is get drunk, dirty, and dance.

The limited edition white vinyl of In Ya Neck! will be available on March 21st. You can pre-order it here (or grab the digital copy).

Green River Ordinance- Under Fire (New Album)

Listen to Green River Ordinance on BandSoup 

Forth Worth, Texas' Green River Ordinance recently chopped their major label chains and decided to do it themselves. The success of their new album, Under Fire, is a testament to the band's talent, dexterity, and durability, as they climbed to the top ten of the iTunes album charts on release day and remain steady today at #27.

On the new record, GRO continues to flex their strong foundation of beautiful vocal harmonies, infectious instrumental arrangements, and sincere lyrics, but with an expanded repertoire of instruments including the banjo, mandolin, accordion, lap steel and upright bass. These instruments add a dash of folk and alternative country to their pop rock stew, giving the band more depth of flavor. 

Many comparisons are made with Green River Ordinance and other popular radio friendly bands like Train, Matchbox 20, and The Fray, but GRO's genre-morphing abilities give them an edge on the aforementioned. Your ears are now under fire.

Purchase Under Fire on iTunes

Over the decade-long journey from their first incarnation as kids in Fort Worth, Texas to the upcoming release of their latest album, Under Fire, Green River Ordinance has evolved steadily. The powerful five-piece’s message on their upcoming release evokes the challenges and triumphs of its members as they continue to grow personally and artistically. In 2007, GRO’s intensity and strong fan connection prompted EMI to sign them to Capitol Records. In 2009, Out of Our Hands, the band’s debut album shot to No. 10 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart and catapulted two singles, “Come On” and “On Your Own,” into the Top 40. GRO shared stages with Bon Jovi, Train, Counting Crows, Gavin DeGraw and other headliners; earned press coverage from CNN, Billboard and Alternative Press and got their music played on 56 network and cable shows along with three films.

And then, in July 2010, they walked away to start anew.

Working with producers Jordan Critz, Chad Copelin and Jarod Evans, GRO recorded Under Fire at studios in Texas and Oklahoma. For this album, the band wrote all songs built on a foundation of strong, solid, high-impact music – walls of guitar, hushed and intimate acoustic moments and rousing harmonized vocals. Their search to find and communicate answers will guide GRO through years to come, beginning with their Under Fire North American Tour beginning Feb. 29 in Houston. But wherever their explorations take them, Under Fire may be the star that charts their course.

Flip Cassidy & The Junkyard Gospel- Lord, I Seen Evil (Video)

How do you describe Flip Cassidy and his band of junkyard gospelites?

Rustic folk-rock. Gypsy blues-punk. A torrential sound created by musicians of wildly different backgrounds. Music from the rusty junkyards, from mystical sand dunes, from dirty streets and no cleaner conscience. From train tracks and hours on the road. From long drives through the desert where men face their demons and fears. From thin lines walked with confident swagger, and for those who drink whiskey in church. From a love of the old, oft forgotten, the obscure and magical. From a desire to revel in places and people, dented and rusty, dripping stories from the pores.

Listen to Flip Cassidy & The Junkyard Gospel on BandSoup

This Week on BandSoup (2/27-3/5)

Another week in the books and yet another week of great uploads here on BandSoup! Here are a few of the bands that you must hear according to an unanimous vote from the BandSoup blog team. Remember, new bands pop up on the site 1-5 times per day, so check back in with us. You might be missing out on your new favorite band!

* Click the band's name to hear their music.

Films of Colour (Indie Rock)--  Films of Colour are Andy Clutterbuck (vocals), James Hatcher (guitar), Jack Allinson (bass/synths) and James Rees-Flynn(drums) who together create a sound of remarkable density that incorporates layers of synths and emotive guitars that draw comparisions with the likes of Foals, Arcade Fire vs early Bloc Party, Radiohead, aswell as shades of Miike Snow and Muse.

Ben Rector (Pop Rock)--  Ben Rector is an American musician based in Nashville, Tennessee. His most recent record, Something Like This was released in September 2011. Through word of mouth the record charted at #1 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart, and climbed above Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV to the #4 spot on iTunes,albums overall, bested only by Lady Antebellum’s same day release, Coldplay, and Adele. Rector’s songs have been featured on One Tree Hill, Drop Dead Diva, Pretty Little Liars, Teen Mom, ESPN SportsCenter, and ABC’s Modern Family fall promo.

Green River Ordinance (Alternative Pop)--  This fall season marks the 10th Anniversary of Green River Ordinance as a band. In 2009 and 2010, GRO saw tastes of much sought after success: 2 Top 40 radio singles, songs on over 20 TV shows ("So You Think You Can Dance", "The Hills", "The Young & Restless"), 2 music videos on MTV and VH1, tours with American Idol winners David Cook & Kris Allen, Goo Goo Dolls, Collective Soul, Train, Lifehouse, and many others. GRO's Original Song “Rise Up” was featured on the AT&T Team USA 2010 Winter Olympics Soundtrack alongside Mariah Carey, 3 Doors Down, Train, Rascal Flatts.

Midway Still (Alternative Rock)-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midway_Still

Run on the Sun (Indie Rock)-- After performing alongside megastars Bruno Mars, The Black Keys, Cee Lo Green and Mayday Parade, appearing on Howard Stern, and playing festivals such as The Bamboozle and Virgin Mobile FreeFest, Run On The Sun has proven themselves to be a band that’s worth hearing.

Shady Maples (Folk)-- Bay Area singer, songwriter and guitarist Owen Roberts and San Diego's beer brewing lap steel wizard Greg Peters formed Shady Maples in 2010 after touring California as a duo. The band's dynamic sound is soulful and gritty with hard hits and bone shivering melodies. Influenced by artists from Iron and Wine to Radiohead, Ben Harper, Fabrizio De Andre and Sam Cooke, their music does not sit comfortably in any one genre but bends between rock, americana, folk and latin.

Kid Jerusalem (Alternative Rock)-- Alternative quintet from Carmel, NY.

Wiretap Crash (Alternative Rock)--  Long Island, NY post-hardcore rockers.

How To Operate Your Brain (Alternative Rock)-- We saw stars. We saw spaceships. We heard songs of the ages and saw lights in the eyes of our enemies. Now we see nothing. We sit in a cave in the dark and revel at the sound of dust settling. 

Opaque Nature (Folk)--  Opaque Nature are a Midlands (Leamington/ Coventry) based band. We play our own brand of new folk/ alternative music, full of energy and hope as well as some more mellowed out intimate music. It has been described by Pete Donaldson as "blissed out folky loveliness, like Kirsty Maccoll and Jeff Buckley all rolled into one."

Georgiana Acchione (Classical)-- A beautiful rendition of Domenico Scarlatti - Sonata in D major L46.

Dikembe (Alternative Rock)-- Gainesville rawk.

Flip Cassidy & The Junkyard Gospel (Folk)-- The Reverend Flip Cassidy is a rusty man who plays rusty songs on rusty guitars. The Junkyard Gospel is a howling, raging acoustic sound bellowed forth with a voice like a rusty saw blade. His solo performances are known to be highly energetic and infectious, surprisingly loud, and have even caused rippling, whiskey-induced fervors in audiences, fellow performers and bartenders alike.

Giraffage (Electronic/Instrumental)--  "...A blissful blend of dreamy and ethereal fluttering sounds sprinkled with glitchy effects, quirky drums, and beautiful vocal samples. This is definitely some of the flyest damn music around. Listening to the album is akin to dancing on a cloud while drinking the magic fermented nectar of wood sprites."

2 Free EPs from The Foot.

I guess once you are hailed as one of Denver's top rock acts and one of URB's "15 acts you wish you saw at CMJ 2010" you can toss a period next to your band's name. The Foot., an absolute fucking nightmare for bloggers with severe punctuation OCD, is an emerging west coast band with a spirited live show and genre bending sound that has been captivating audience's since their unveiling in 2010. The lifelong musicians are old schoolmates, brought together at university from all corners of the country. They immediately took their shared love of 60s and 70s classic rock, early 90s alternative rock, modern pop and r&b and began rehearsing earnestly in a basement that seemed to flood on a weekly basis. The results of these aquatic sessions were what would ultimately become their critically acclaimed debut release, 2010's Primary Colors.

Last week the band continued their onslaught with the release of TWO free EPs, The Crowd Control and The Cloud Control, each spotlighting a different vibe and expertise from the foursome. The Crowd Control EP features more of an accessible alternative rock ethos in the first two tracks-- The Day We Danced Around is a sultry and soulful alt-pop nod while Dark Dark Ways contains a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque 90s radio rock influences-- but quickly takes a turn into the modern folk realm with the sleepy yet endearing mood of A Parting Lesson. 

The Cloud Control EP continues the schizophrenic trek through rock and roll and features The Foot. messing with funky acapellas in Ignorance; a more modern take on alternative/indie rock with the Black Keys-like Daisy Baby; and ends comes full circle into another infectious alt-pop cut like the opening track of The Crowd Control EP in The Huntress.

Listen to The Foot. on BandSoup

Judging by these two EPs, Jeff McCollister, Phil Barrett, Noah Shomberg, & Drew Sowell are obviously onto a something. By providing a masterful blend of the past, the future and everything in between, The Foot. has forgone the mess and confusion of genre and scene and has instead focused on fun and connecting with their audience. That's why these guys are worth a listen. Period.

Download 2 FREE EPs from The Foot. Here

The Foot. on Facebook

Quiet Hounds

Masked in plastic hound faces and a fog of mystery, Atlanta's Quiet Hounds stirred up quite a noise locally with their endearing ethos and ingenious outlook on self promotion and DIY work ethic. All band members have been apart of successful bands from the southeast and wanted this project to be heard with an open mind and absolutely no bias. To execute this response, the Hounds' sniffed out their own anti-traditionalist route by releasing everything via the internet, hiding their identities, and throwing their own events to create intimate experiences for an audience instead of playing bars and clubs. I recently e-mailed Quiet Hounds to get more information about their recent live event/unveiling and the reasons behind the masks:


"The masks are all about imagery and mystique. Up until this past Saturday we had only ever shared or released anything through internet sources so we had been pretty much a mystery. We hosted an event here in Atlanta at a very cool cultural arts center called the Goat Farm. We used a secret room where no one had ever performed, built our own stage, did our own lighting and sound and Packed out 400 people with only internet promotions. It was a very rewarding experience."

In an over-saturated industry where the biggest challenge is separating yourself from the crowd, the Quiet Hounds have set the precedent for outside the box promotions and innovative ideas to gain interest and engage an audience. On top of their forward thinking philosophies on marketing and performances, the band understands the value in releasing their music for free on the web. "Moving forward we will always be releasing the music for free and remaining anonymous other than "Quiet Hounds", a member of the band said. "Our Album was released August 19th 2011 and it's all available for free on quiethounds.com. Another release is coming very soon." The free download allowed the mystery and music to unravel and settle within their local community and the internet before their unveiling last week. This risk had a huge reward and turned into a perfectly organized execution of internet buzz and new age innovations that undoubtedly cultivated 400+ die hard lifers.

Their business creativity and deep understanding of audience experience isn't the only thing that is inspiring. The Quite Hounds' self titled release cannot be found behind bars of a certain genre or sound; instead, it's a visceral gasp of creativity and life experiences orchestrated by established artists pregnant with acute pop sensibilities and consonant charm. Despite being recorded in two weeks without any preconceived notions of what they wanted to accomplish, their debut unravels like an intensely calculated blueprint full of well designed melodies and sturdy instrumental structures. Songs like "Night Parade", "Hemlock", and "Gigantic" are both poetic and approachable and serve as great indicators of what Quiet Hounds are all about-- intelligence, honesty, and beauty, minus the pretentiousness. Listen loud.

Download Free EP: http://www.quiethounds.com/freedownload.html

Listen to Quiet Hounds on BandSoup

Quiet Hounds on Facebook