Given the average indie trios and quartets that come out…this band is quite big.  Literally.  There are six of them, all hailing from New York.  And they all bunk together in a loft in Bushwick!

There are drummers – yes more than one -  a percussionist, guitarists and a bassist.  There’s a piano thumping vocalist who tosses his head in the air and wails with the same earnestness that reminds us of his more familiar, more famous counterpart in England.

It may be an unfair assumption, but it’s unavoidable.  There is now a quickly assumed, if not recognized, Chris Martin in every piano playing alt rock singer.  Stephen Patterson is the piano playing vocalist in this band but Alexander Even and Gregory Roberts also literally pitch in on the vocals.

The winning thrill in this band is the way it combines an infectious earnestness in the energy of its music style with the nonchalant swagger of a group of guys having an experimental jam session, in its musical arrangements.  And they could very easily be the next Death Cab for Cutie meets Arctic Monkeys.  They’ve aped the punk rock adrenaline of Monkey madness dotted with firework beats with South American/African/Carribean flavors.  But also include the melodic artistry that’s too close for Cutie and too spontaneous to not be inspired by the origins of creative electronic music – the 70s, just ask Jefferson Airplane whose song White Rabbit must have had more than a coincidental influence on the band’s name.

The band released their debut studio album, titled Fort Nightly in May a few years ago, which they dubbed as ‘honky-tonk calypso’ music.  The album was followed by 2009’s sophomore smash, It’s Frightening, which was produced by the frontman of Spoon, Britt Daniel.

The band is famed for their refreshing covers –particularly Bob Dylan’s Maggie’s Farm.  And also for their stage tricks, which include frequently switching instruments among the six of them.

In TNL’s new favorite, ‘Percussion Gun’, taken off the album It’s Frightening, the three-chord scale of the guitar riff has a melody similar to Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars and a machine gun drum routine which pumps the energy of the White Stripes.

Band Members

Alexander Even – guitar, vocal
Brian Betancourt - bass
Matthew Clark – drums, additional percussion
Jamie Levinson – drums
Gregory Roberts – vocals, guitar
Stephen Patterson – vocals, piano

Percussion Gun
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The Plot
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Kid on my shoulders
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Rudie Fails
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Navy Wives
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While we go dancing
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Midnight and I
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Lionesse
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For more on the White Rabbits check out http://www.myspace.com/whiterabbits

What’s a hero to do in a world of one hit indie rockers and pretty pop cross-overs?  The shelf life of a song is about as lasting as a look that the performer is sporting.  A real hero has to brave through the swarming numbers of people who want to call themselves musicians – because they think it’s cool, because they think they are – and brandish an exciting cape, super power or at least a dazzling smile, long enough to stave off the inevitable reality of being replaced, substituted and forgotten.  

Singer Bryan Hopkins and bassist Dan Fine, who were later joined by guitarist Chris Latham, have braved through an entire city of has-beens and never-beens, to forge their name in the music industry.  The band have surged forward to perform to sold out gigs, opening for the Alaska Ultimate Fighting Championship, and guest performing for Alice Cooper.  Not even near death experiences can stop them from getting to fans.

On one occasion the band’s tour bus overturned on the ice in Oregon, but the band, hauled their New York sense of resilience (the kind that Jay-Z and Alicia Keys made proud) out of the wreckage and on to a stage.

The drummer in the band, was a noted local session drummer, who was hired purely for completing the band’s demo recordings.  But after hearing the finished recordings, Pete Burke, decided to sign on full time to the band.

Hopkins’ vocals are thick with  a refreshing authenticity of rock edge, and is reminiscent of an understated version of James Hetfield. The band’s music style will not back down from an impassioned ferocity that underscores the band’s refreshing appeal.

Lullaby
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Call Out
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Band Members:

Vocalist – Bryan Hopkins
Guitarist: Chris Latham
Bassist: Dan Fine
Drummer: Pete Burke

For more on Paperback Hero log on to

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Every time someone says New Moon, it’s like Pavlov’s bell for girls to gush at Taylor Lautner.  Who, even with his transformations, is the more sizzling choice for Bella Swan over Robert Pattinson.

It is one of the most anticipated movies and sequels of the year and that’s why it isn’t a small accomplishment to get your name on the soundtrack.

Alongside the likes of Death Cab for Cutie and The Killers, is Band of Skulls, with their song Friends.

Their music is a reminder of why we are addicted to anything Jack White creates, whether it’s Dead Weather or the Racounteurs.  Not that White created this band, but you can’t dispute that the band’s sound is reminiscent of the Stripes when we first heard those brain-scrambling riffs and arms and legs flailing rattle of drum bashing.

They need one more than White Stripes needed to offer something this good but it’s still a mighty fine combination of blues hum and groove in their garage punk banter and a whole lotta gritty dirty guitar rock and roll.  Singer-bassist Emma Richardson, who’s favorite music influence is Tom Waits, combines with singer-guitarist Russel Marsden and drummer Matt Hayward, to constitute the band.

The band’s debut album is titled Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, in the same studio Radiohead used to record in but now uses to store their awards.

“They just keep their awards and gold records there,” says Marsden. “But it was still inspiring for us to be around the stuff of our favorite band from Britain.”

I Know What I Am
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Monsoon
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As Time Breaks Off
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Los Muertos
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The Wishbones
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Friends
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This Indie quartet are quickly earning a reputation for jawdroppingly amazing melodies.  Though they were formed late last year their success has been spiraling since the beginning of this year to the extent that they are more widely recognized as one of the best new bands of 2009.

Their music has been described as ‘surrealist neo-classical avant-pop for the digital age.’ Decked in chiming guitars and frenetic energy, this is pop that gets you lyrically outsmarted and progressive rock that gets you rhythmically out-danced.  The structures of their songs challenge the usual simple structure of catchy-melody good-beat pop tricks that artists like Lady Gaga thrive on.  This UK quartet adds inventive and refreshing complexities to the structure and content of a pop song.

The name of the band must have some kind of derivative from the eclectic range of influences that has inspired its creation  – influences that include everything from R. Kelly to Michael Jackson to The Smiths to even Destiny’s Child – and the eclectic constitution of its music – their songs famously sounding like multiple melodies overlapping one another.

Influences: Ezra Pound, Steve Reich, The Smiths, The Beatles, Michael Jackson (among others)

My Keys, Your Boyfriend
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Suffragette Suffragette
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