Two years ago, Stephanie Min and Jerome Watson formed The History of Apple Pie as a modest bedroom project. Little did they know how fast things would move: A warm reception to a few songs they posted online caused them to cobble together a live band; in the months that followed, the pair used the classified ads to connect with James Thomas, met Aslam Ghauri through Thomas and found Kelly Owens through their pals the… more »
PAWS released an EP early last year that was mastered by Shellac's Bob Weston, and their scrappily melodic, garage-rock approach wouldn't have sounded out of place on a vintage episode of MTV's 120 Minutes. But drummer Josh Swinney quickly rejects the idea the Scottish trio is part of any kind of '90s revival. "It's just music that young people are making that's evolving," he says. When you consider that similar comparisons have been leveled at… more »
Now well into its second decade, the days during which South By Southwest - and the bands it attracts - could count novelty as a chief draw are long over. And with blogs and social media sites having likewise moved from fad to institution, the odds that anyone would be hearing a band for the first time in Austin is also significantly reduced. And so the thousands of bands looking to make an impression at… more »
File Under: From raw, gutbucket blues to soul, rock and pop with a similar unspoiled spirit
Flagship Acts: R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Solomon Burke, the Black Keys, Andrew Bird, Band of Horses, Dinosaur Jr., Wavves, the Walkmen, Smith Westerns, Yuck, Tennis
Based In: Oxford, Mississippi
Like the Delta bluesmen whose records he started Fat Possum to release, Matthew Johnson is part of a dying breed. Rock owes much of its early legacy to eccentric, mostly European-descended label owners… more »