The finalists for the Sound and the Jury contest have been announced. Chosen from over 700 entries, six bands will compete live in Austin for a spot on the Dell stage at the 2008 Austin City Limits Festival.
Profiles courtesy of Cile Montgomery and Giant Media:
60 Tigres, Monterrey, Mexico
60 Tigres began in 2005, creating a musical hybrid of styles such as funk, rock, punk, Latin and psychedelic. With influences like The Talking Heads, The Clash, International Noise Conspiracy, The Who and Gang of Four, 60 Tigres has created their own style by mixing foreign influences with Spanish and English lyrics, always trying to reflect the social situation of the daily life in México. Band members include Roberto Polo, Chivo, Maicol Polo, Saverio Giandusa, and Efren Baron.
Good Morning Maxfield (aka Fictionist), Provo, Utah
Delighting audiences of all ages and musical interests with a “satisfying merging of folk, rock and pop with a classical twist” (Daily Universe, 4/06), Good Morning Maxfield (recently changed to Fictionist) is on the forefront of a new generation of rock and roll. Based out of Utah, Good Morning Maxfield boasts a roster of six multi-instrumentalists and produces a song-driven, organic sound, combining elements of classic rock, indie folk, jam rock and more. Band members include Stuart Maxfield, Jeremy Bowen, Jacob Jones, Robbie Connolly, Brandon Kitterman and Aaron Anderson.
The Scotland Yard Sale, Austin, Texas
The Scotland Yard Sale has played with bands like Cruiserweight, Driver F and Meriwether, and has started to get tossed around local airwaves in Austin. Their new album “Cityscapes” was released on Posters on Walls Records on May 1 and is available in many Austin record stores. Band members include Carter Francis, Bobby Martinez, Josh Thompson, Ted McLean and Rob Slater.
The Steps, Austin, Texas
Austin-based garage rockers, The Steps, invoke the spirits of 60’s Brit-rock gods The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Stooges to help break the modern rock mold. The resulting product is an energetic set of uplifting tunes that have wowed audiences from the UK to Japan and back. Band members include Will Thompson, Stephen Ross, Z Lynch and Sam Thompson.
T-Bird & the Breaks, Austin, Texas
Newcomers T-Bird & the Breaks are old souls bringing serious R&B heat. The 10-piece band indulges the requisite Wilson Pickett and Sly & the Family Stone covers but is at its best pounding out originals by dynamic front man Tim Crane, a slick-haired, gravel-voiced shouter in the mold of blue-eyed Texas soul sensation Roy Head. T-Bird and the Breaks was voted one of Austin’s best new bands at the Austin Music Awards during SXSW 2008. The debut album by band members Tim Crane, Stephanie Hunt, Sasha Ortiz, John Allison, Sam Patlove, Cody Furr, Damien Llanes, Matt Price, Stephen Beasley, Houston Rawls, and Will Ivey is due out this summer.
Quiet Company, Austin, Texas
This will be the second year in the Dell Lounge Sound & the Jury competition finals for Austin band Quiet Company. Band members include Taylor Muse, Tommy Blank, and Trevor Wiggins. Quiet Company has been praised for playing “tight short sets of passionate music that build and flourish and make you happy to be hearing living music.” - LAist.com. CreativeLoafing.com even goes so far as to say, “The Austin trio plays the kind of piano-driven rock that never goes out of style. Vocals float over big hooks that would make Paul McCartney proud.”
The grand finale of our contest - a live battle of the bands - takes place Sept. 24 at Antone’s in Austin. Interested in attending? Here are the details:
Sound and the Jury Showcase
Where: Antone’s - 213 W. 5th Street - Austin, TX 78701
When: Sept. 24, 2008
Time: Doors at 6:30 p.m.
Cost: Free!
Antone’s will be jumping, so make sure you get there early! I’ll be in the house as well, tweeting live throughout the evening and providing updates until the winning band has been chosen.
If you would like to receive updates, make sure to follow me on Twitter @ChrisBatDell !