Boomtown Backyard Showcase | SXSW | Artist | Part 1
As we begin to prepare for our journey to SXSW, we wanted to get you acquainted with some of the artist that will be performing at our Boomtown Backyard Showcase on March 12 and 14th.
Sarah & The Meanies
Bio:
Hands off the ground and buried in a lifetime of musical obsession, Meanies front-woman, Sarah Angela, has roots that run wide. You might reference the styles of Otis Redding, Citizen Cope, or Sia; but despite some of her influences, she's got her own unique sound. One thing's for sure, she sings bigger and louder than her five foot frame would have you assume.
Sarah Angela (better known as S.A.) is a Pacific NorthWest transplant and just as her lifestyle is that of a rolling stone, so have her songs portrayed a pattern of revolving relationships & independent journeys. Angela spent the beginning of the 2000's honing in her sound across the country. Having spent time in Seattle, Portland, the Dirty South, and now Colorado, S.A.'s unique music has become a melting pot of the sounds across America. Life, love, anger, and desire are all themes described in her honest lyrics, as experienced through moving from city to city. Her style has matured thus so into an urban, slightly southern, and painfully earnest soulful sound. She is, in fact, a song bird who never wants to be caged, and never wants to be classified.
2013 has brought the formation of 'Sarah & The Meanies", which kicked off the year with a feature at Austin's South by Southwest, a headlining gig at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the release of their music video 'Slam Pam Suno' (Directed by Drai Lloyd). The video premiered on the jumbotron of 1st Bank Arena and was invited to join the "Best Music Video" category at the Starz Film Festival, in company with MGMT and Nine Inch Nails.
Onward bound, The Meanies have just wrapped a recording session at The Blasting Room. The studio is known for churning out hits from acts like Rise Against, The Gaslight Anthem, Lydia, The Flobots, Less Than Jake, + more. The new single "DOWN DEEP DOWN", produced by Jason Livermore & Bill Stevenson (Black Flag/The Descendants) is a powerhouse rock anthem that will surely leave you thirsty for more.
The Spring Standards
Bio:
The Spring Standards could very well be an ongoing science experiment in addition to being a band. A study in the limits of the human body - just how many things can one person do simultaneously while singing 3-part harmony?
In their case, the answer is: a lot. A band of three multi-instrumentalists and songwriters, The Spring Standards bring creativity and innovation to every aspect of their genre-defying music. Their live shows are positively electric - from small towns to big cities, they explode on stage with spirit, spontaneity, and a style all their own.
James, Heather and James first discovered their shared love of music as teenagers, singing '70s rock in the car driving around on back roads along the Delaware/Pennsylvania border. That connection has carried them through ups and downs, in and out of one another's lives over the years and miles, to their current home of Brooklyn, NY.
The Spring Standards have been winning over audiences nationwide since their debut EP in 2008, a collaboration with Old '97s frontman Rhett Miller. Three fan-funded independent releases later they are going stronger than ever, attracting attention from NPR, Spin, Paste, New York Magazine and an ever-growing fanbase all over the world. Following their 2012 release, yellow//gold, they had the privilege of performing on Conan O'Brien, a feat nearly unheard of for an unsigned band. Appropriately, they were also named one of Pure Volume's 10 Best Unsigned Artists of 2012.
In May 2013 The Spring Standards released Live From Delaware, their first live album. They are currently working on an accompanying DVD which is due out in early 2014.
Daniel Ellworth & The Great Lakes
Bio:
They never look the same at the end of their set; a pair of hip horn-rimmed glasses breaks in half, buttons become undone, and their once slicked-back hair is simply not anymore. But they wouldn’t be themselves if it were any other way; they thrive when they render themselves void of energy, and humbly hope it rubs off on the kids in the crowd, too.
They are Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes. To see them live is to experience the crux of who they are: A high-energy indie rock band dead set on producing the best live sound they know how. And boy, do they know how.
After well-deserved accolades from music blog ‘Consequence of Sound’ for their 2012 CMJ showcases, DE&TGL are gaining momentum as a band you should go to bat for. “Even at two in the morning, on guitarist Timon Lance’s birthday, during their fifth CMJ showcase [in three days], they played their hearts out in pure joy,” says Ben Kaye of Consequence of Sound.
From the source, their songs are: “rock songs, heavy and dark, light-hearted and danceable, observational and introspective,” says guitarist Timon Lance. “We thrive on our songs sounding like DE&TGL,” says bassist Marshall Skinner. And just so you get how much emotional, mental and physical energy spent in one set, drummer Joel Wren points out, “There's a point in the middle of every show when one of us turns to someone else and says, ‘I think I might die’,” and there you have it.
Formed in 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee, the group released their first full-length studio album, Civilized Man, in 2011. Recorded and co-produced with Mark Nevers (Andrew Bird, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Lambchop), Civilized Man was listed in the top 100 albums of 2011 by Amazon, with the pop-rock single “Shoe Fits” debuting at number seven on Amazon’s top 100 songs of 2011.
“Apparently nobody told Daniel Ellsworth that when you drop your first full-length, it’s not supposed to be a greatest hits record... this sounds like a cross between Jack White and M. Ward, and those guys are about three sips of absinthe away from total wizardry. Seriously, this will be my highest rated review. Go. Buy. The. Record.” says Wells Adams of Brite Revolution.
With performances at CMJ Music Fest, Daytrotter, Audiotree Live, OurVinyl, and just being named Deli Magazine's Top Emerging Band In Nashville - DE&TGL are spreading their brand of genre-spanning rock with love and care, and a cannonball of sound… all resulting in broken eyeglasses, unkempt hair, and a damn good time.
Rob Drabkin
Bio:
Blending elements of rock, improvisation and folk, Rob Drabkin's new album "Little Steps," has exceeded all expectations. Channeling the some of the best artists of Triple A Radio, this Denver, CO native has become a powerful mainstay alongside his formidable band in the live music scene. Together, they’ve succeeded in national appearances supporting Trevor Hall, G- Love & Special Sauce, The Wood Brothers, and Big Head Todd and The Monsters.
Rob has made impressive creative strides in the past few years, and the new nine-track album shows just how far he's come. With earnestness and originality, Drabkin thrives within stylistic excursions that range from driving folk rock to understated experiments with classical musicians. His powerful vocals and syncopated guitar drive the soaring opener, "For You I Would Die" and his strumming complements top-notch keyboard and percussion work. “Little Steps,” the title track, takes the listener from zero to 60 on the first downbeat as a lively horn section heralds a sophisticated, feel good rock song that would make rob a natural to join Dave Matthews or Paul Simon on stage in the drop of hat.
In 2012 Rob released one of the most unique live albums to come out of Colorado, “Live At The Bluebird Theater 1.19.12” On this particular night, the band released a brand new set of original material as well as a cover of the legendary Paul Simon album, “Graceland” in it’s entirety. The sold-out show generated so much buzz world-renowned Boulder Theater and clubs around the country immediately solicited Rob to headline. Theaters, festivals and Triple A radio stations around the country have caught onto Rob making him a staple in the national scene. Yes his ’70’s style fro might be unavoidable as his ubiquitous grin. But it’s his music that got Drabkin on national tours, landed him the opening slot at sold out Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and charted his first album to #12 on CMJ charts. His presence in Triple A Radio is remarkable. He has received multiple invitations to perform live in KBCO Studio C along with serious airplay on KINK, KCSN and Sirius XM.
Rob’s life was not always that of a full time touring and recording musician. He attended Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas where he studied Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Spanish in hopes of achieving an MD/PhD. Music had officially been sidelined until he took a life-changing trip to New York with his family. "My Dad played Jazz for over 30 years before he got into medicine. We re-connected with his old Berklee Music of School friends in New York and it was inspiring to see these musicians playing their hearts out and who have dedicated their whole lives to music. I decided that night to drop science and find my own voice in music and become a singer. I never sang a note till later that night (22 years old). I moved in with my parents and spent every working hour practicing singing and honing all songwriting skills I could.”
After writing enough songs for an open mic set, Rob stormed onto Denver’s music scene, frequenting jams wherever possible and setting his career into full motion. He assembled quite possibly a dream powerhouse band; featuring Brian McRae on drums, Bijoux Barbosa on bass, Eric Moon on keys and Dave Preston on electric guitar. His full band shows are high-energy blending improvisation and rock while still retaining an earnest singer/songwriter background. Rob Drabkin’s career is in full motion as his latest release prepares him for his next national tour.
Baskery
Bio:
No matter where they go in the world, people tell the sisters that they've never heard or seen anything like it, that they have a completely unique sound and perform with what seems to be an inexhaustible energy. That's Baskery's aim, to never stop surprising. Baskery is a band built on what three people can do together. The music is not to be confused with country or bluegrass just because the instrumentation involves a double bass, a six string banjo and acoustic guitar.
The trio is not bound to any genre and this is what makes Baskery a little hard to figure out just by listening to their albums. It's all there in the live act, cause it is real. The three sisters can't recall when or why they started playing, the music’s always just been there. "Performing live has become the most natural thing to us". That’s where the high energy level on stage hails from, a pure and reckless love to the art of performing music.
In their late teens the sisters joined forces with their dad, who had been a one man band as long as the girls can recall it, playing old blues and country tunes for a living. They got introduced to the music business in a quite unglamorous way: "We played cover songs in pubs and bars, still we never played songs we didn't like just to please the crowd". This foundation of classic "roots music and Americana" settled in their hearts, but also awoke the urge of breaking the rules of traditional music.
Baskery is all about turning the music on its head, blending the straightforwardness of punk with the subtlety of singer/songwriting. Baskery has successfully toured all over the world, performing at festivals such as Glastonbury (UK), Woodford (AUS), SXSW (US), Portland Waterfront Blues Festival (US), Calgary Folk (CAN), California World Fest (US), Lowlands (NL), Azkena Rock (ES), Storsjöyran (SWE), Bergen Fest (NOR), Toender (DK) Shrewsbury Folk Festival (UK), Four Corners Folk Festival, (US), Sisters Folk Festival, (US) and many more.
The Epilogues
Bio:
The Epilogues are a commanding indie/synth/rock outfit hailing from Denver, Colorado. Combining pristine melodies, meaningful lyrics, and dynamic keyboards, the band delivers polished and danceworthy tunes that carry a kick. After their hit single “Hunting Season" became a staple on the radio in Denver, The Epilogues gained explosive momentum with dazzling live shows, popular headlining tours, and enchanting music videos. From SXSW in Austin to The Sunset Strip Music Festival in Los Angeles, and CMJ in New York City the band has played with a plethora of incredible acts and taken the stage at some of the most exciting events across the country. The passionate urgency with which they play each show leaves fans both elated and yearning for more.
