The Shins

The Shins are an American alternative rock band. They comprise of James Mercer (Guitarist and Vocals), Dave Hernandez (Bassist/Guitarist), Ron Lewis (Guitarist), Joe Plummer (Drums) and as of 2007, Eric Johnson (Keyboard/Vocals). The Shins are and Indie band because the type of label they are on is Independent.

The 5 piece band have travelled all over the world playing tracks from their albums When You Land Here, It Is Time To Return (1997), Oh, Inverted World (2001), Chutes Too Narrow (2003) and Wincing The Night Away (2007). The Shins have also released 8 singles and 3 EP's.

Originating from Albuquerque, New Mexico and The United States The Shins have produced some great material and are continuing to produce excellent Indie rock.

You can check them out at www.myspace.com/theshins, http://www.theshins.com/ or at www.last.fm/music/The+Shins. They also have a page on their recording labels site at www.subpop.com/bands/shins.

Little Red

With their Strats, harmonies and recycled suits, Little Red are possibly Melbourne's grooviest (if not only) Beach Boys. In typical Beach Boys fashion, their 1st track on their album, Listen To Little Red, sounds exactly like a beach type groove song. In an article on Triple J Unearthed it state 'if the kids can dance to it, then Little Red will play it.'

The 5 piece band have released an EP, Get Ready, and an album, Listen To Little Red. The albums track listing consist of a variety of styles. The first track is very Beach Boys like and then the second more Rock'N'Roll style. Proceeding down to track 5 and it becomes a sort of song which you put on your leather jacket and get down to the Drive-In.

Two bands were combined, one heavily inspired by Radiohead and the other Nick Cave. They combined the two styles to form a sort of 60's rock. Some heavy influences of their's are: The Beatles, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke. Consisting of Adrian Beltrame - Guitar and Backing Vocals; Dominic Byrne - Guitar and Backing Vocals; Quang Dinh - Bass and Backing Vocals; Tom Hartney - Lead Vocals; Taka Honda - Drums.
For a 5 piece band they produce an amazing sound using two Fender Stratocasters, one bass guitar, one drum kit and an amazing range of vocal harmony between them.

Personally I haven't seen Little Red but my brother has seen them twice, once at The Big Day Out and the other time at The Hi-Fi bar and both times he said they were the highlight of the gigs. From photos and videos I have seen they bring excellent energy to the stage. Little Red are actually Indie because they are on and independent labels, Hooch Hound Records and Shock Records. As well as being on an independent label they are "Typical Indie" wearing the Ray Ban sunglasses, the skin tight jeans, the very old style dress shirts occassionally with ties (as shown in the picture above).

If you like the sound of them check them out at; http://www.myspace.com/littleredmusic or on http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?artistid=7075.
You can also check them out on YouTube, this is also my personal favourite video; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuERkDZXrxE.

British India

The small 4 piece band all the way from St Bede's College in Mentone have come along way since Declan Melia (Rhythm Guitar and Lead Vocals) and Nic Wilson (Lead Guitar and backing Vocals) asked Will Drummond (Bass Guitar) and Matt O'Gorman (Lead Drums) to join their two man band.

While the band took a while to come into being, once formed British India hit the ground running, gaining managers from their first-ever gig who then booked them in to support the Hoodoo Gurus at their second. Personally I have seen British India twice, both times I have loved them. The first time i saw them, after being introduced to them by my brother was at The Evelyn Hotel in Brunswick, in which the room was the size of a small kitchen. I had also found out about the band that supported them, Neon Love (as mentioned in previous posts).

In 2004, the band took out that year's grand final at prominent band competition Future Rock. Their debut release, the single 'Outside 109', was played on Triple J within an hour of them receiving it. The band's debut EP We Are the Counter Culture was recorded and produced by former Easybeat Harry Vanda.

The young foursome - the youngest of which is 22 - have released;

Albums

• Guillotine - June 30, 2007
• Thieves - July 19, 2008
  

EPs

• Counter Culture - November 21, 2005

Singles

• "Outside 109 / Automatic Blitzkrieg" (2005)
• "Black and White Radio" (2006)
• "Tie Up My Hands" (2007)
• "Run the Red Light" (2007)
  
• "I Said I'm Sorry" (2008)
• "God Is Dead, Meet the Kids" (2009)

Compilation appearances

• Discoveries (2007) – "Black & White Radio"
• Triple J Hottest 100 Vol.15 (2007) - "Tie Up My Hands"
• Triple J's Like A Version 4 (2008) - "And I Was a Boy From School"

British India are Indie because they are on an independent label, once again. The labels they are with are Flashpoint Records and Shock Records. They are an Australian Alternative/Garage Rock band. Their style is unique from the way they dress to the message their lyrics portray.

You can check their stuff out at http://www.myspace.com/britishindia or you can watch my personal favourite video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrPjdpxmlM0.

And as you can quite clearly see in the photo at the top, Declan Melia is clearly not Beck.

Neon Love

Neon Love are a small, 5 piece band. Consisting of; Tyson Powell - Drums, Michael Bell - Synth/Guitar, Jack Craven - Vocals/Guitar, Bryce Forrester - Bass and Nipuna Jayasekera - Vocals/Guitar. Once again Neon Love are an Indie band because they are on an independent label, with Polyester Records.

Neon Love have an EP out at the moment called Keep Us In The Dark featuring songs such as Disco Me, War, Holiday, People Talk and Skin. The small band from Ballarat have supported bands like;
- Girl Talk
- British India
- Dukes of Windsor
- The Mess Hall
- Talent Squad
- Yacht Club
- Dallas Crane
- Wolf & Cub
- Wolfmother
- and Van She.


I first saw Neon Love when they supported British India at The Evelyn. I was amazed by the energy the lead guitarist, Nipuna, brought to the stage. Neon Love played before British India and at the end of their last song they thought it may be a good idea to trash the drum kit and wreck everything on stage.

The band use everything from a synthesizer to a cowbell. Their most unique feature to me is the way they dance on stage and also they way that they use extended chorus' in their songs. The lyricism is very good and they melody of their music is great. I have seen Neon Love 3 times and they cease to amaze me. Their EP is one of my most listened to albums on iTunes.Neon Love are typically Indie to the eye, but they do things their own way and break the rules.

If you'd like to check their tracks out head to their MySpace; http://www.myspace.com/theneonlove or you can head to their Triple J Unearthed; http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?artistid=9608.

Mirror House Antics

These guys are a small band from Frankston. They are an Indie band because they are on an independent label. The band formerly known as 'For Love or Money' have shared the stage with the likes of; The Galvatrons, The Scientists of Modern Music, British India, Flamingo Crash and Neon Love.

The 4 piece group are soon to have their second single out, The Lost Boy, and already have their debut single, Into The Dark, and their debut EP, Days of Joy, released. They have a recording deal with ZatZit Records, an independent recording label who also record with bands such as The Devil Rock Four and Mosaik.

I have seen Mirror House Antics 3 times. Each and everytime I have seen them they amaze me. The energy they bring is exuberating, but because they are a small band they don't play for very large crowds. Although I'm sure the small crowds they play for are impressed.

They are releasing their new single, The Lost Boy, this Tuesday, June 3rd at the Cherry Rock Bar in AC/DC lane in the city. Try and get down to experience real Indie.


Check them out at; http://www.myspace.com/mirrorhouseantics

or

http://ozradio.com.au/members/48/info.php

Define Indie

For many years 'Indie' has been defined as a a style of music. I believe that as well as Indie is a style it is more to do with the type of record deal a band has. Indie means "a pop group not affiliated with a major record company".

Many have judged Indie by the style of music. Really, Indie rock is a genre of Alternative Rock that primarily exists in the independent underground music scene. It has also been described as a style of dress and behaviour. it has been judged as big black, usually Ray Ban, sunglasses, skin tight jeans, cowboy boots and over sized white shirts or shirt and tie combination(see above).

Indie is also meaning independent, referring to the record label. To me Indie is about being yourself and not becoming a conformist and following everyone else.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_rock

Typical Indie

MIRROR HOUSE ANTICS

In recent years the term ‘Indie’ has been applied to bands that have an alternative rock sound but are on a major record label. Bands like Coldplay, The Killers and Razorlight are not classified as being true ‘Indie’ because of this. On the other hand, bands such as Radiohead (who are no longer on a major record label), Pavement, My Bloody Valentine and Joy Division can be classed as indie using the old meaning.

People tag everything from Katy Perry to Meat Puppets as being ‘Indie’. You may even find some of your black metal bands appearing with an indie tag. As long as they aren’t on a major record label.
http://www.last.fm/tag/indie/wiki

Bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs, The Fratellis, The Wombats and Hard-Fi have been classified and judged by people as 'Indie' when really they are not because they have major recording deals. As of late they have become alternative rock due to people becoming more and mroe aware of the true meaning of 'Indie'.