Artist: Crystal Antlers

Hails From: Long Beach, CA

Musical Style: Psychadelic, Rock, Experimental

For Fans of: Comets on Fire, Mars Volta, The Doors

Why you should check them out:

The best way to think of Crystal Antlers is not by their countless infulences or their blending of those inspirations. They are not a band looking to create something already in existence.  The best way to see them is as a rather razor-sharp band playing wildly raucous anti-pop songs with fluctuating personality at various times. Whether it’s in the lo-fi exuberance and intensity, or the impulsive and unrestrained shows, Crystal Antlers are the band that everyone is trying to pin down, and no one can quite figure out how.

Background Check:

Long Beach has always carried with it a certain charm. Musically, the town and county of Long Beach is synonomous with names like Sublime and Snoop Dog, performers in the early 90’s who defined genres and conquered thw world in a characteristically smooth and hip style.  Yet sometimes a scene can grow old and become a bit empty, and that’s when you need a band like Crystal Antlers to arrive and make you forget about the gin and juice days now long gone.

The five man chaos machine began attracting attention in 2008 with unpredictable live shows and the noise of several instruments being used for purposes other than they were intended. Complete with drums and percussion, along with organs and a bass that sounds like a six string axe, Crystal Antlers take the psych rock of today and add that sought-after space to it. Never has so much room been made in a 25 minute record.

After touring over summer ‘08 in a vegitable oil powered school bus, Crystal Antlers finally found a label in Touch and Go, who re-released the Antlers easiest-title-to-remember, “EP”. With an extensive tour to kick off ‘09 and a full-length album in the works, these mischief makers are only going to expand on their already elaborate sound.

Where you can find them in cyberspace:

MySpace

Touch and Go website

On tour:

JamBase
 

Artist: Jukebox the Ghost

Hails From: D.C./Philadelphia

Musical Style: Indie Pop, Rock

For Fans of: Bens Fold Five, Vampire Weekend, They Might be Giants

Why you should check them out:

Hey kids, remember the 90’s? Remember when pop radio had a bunch of syrupy, sugary pop songs intended to sound like 1960’s pop?  Remember when everyone got sick of flannel and just wanted to have a good time with some ultra cathy tunes that sounded effortlessly blissful? Well, Jukebox the Ghost certainly do and they’ve made it their mission to brighten the currently distorted trends in indie rock with quirky, piano driven, cuter-then-hell pop.

Background Check:

The three irreverently cheerful members of Jukebox the Ghost have been playing music together since meeting at George Washington University.  Ben Thornewill on pianos, Tommy Siegel on guitars and drummer Jesse Kristen formed a band called The Sunday Mail before disbanding that moniker.  Fortunatly for peppy piano fans everywhere, the three continued collaborating and formed Jukebox the Ghost in 2003.

Combining Nabokov and Captain Beefheart lyrics to come up with the quizzical title, JTG only revently released their first full-length, Let Live and Let Ghosts, in 2008.  With songs like, “Good Day”, and adorable little ghost drawings (awe, so cute) JTG prove that optimistic happy songs can still creep under your skin and follow you for days on end.

One part Freddy Mercury, one part Bens Fold, Thornewill is certainly the centerpiece of this trio. His characteristically jovial approach to songwriting rejuvinated a D.C. scene more used to hardcore and handguns then cuddly hooks and bubbly baloons. Now that JTG has relocated to an equally grey Philly, the band are responsible for more than a few whistling patrons leaving venues before grabbing a late night cheesesteak.  Maybe this infectious pop can turn a few smiles on while turning heads.

Where you can find them in cyberspace:

Jukebox the Ghost website

MySpace

Widipedia

On Tour:

JamBase
 

Artist: Mocean Worker

Hails From: New York, NY

Musical Style: Electronica, Jazz, Drum and Bass

For Fans of: Miles Davis, Amon Tobin, Everything but the Girl

Why you should check him out:

You may not know it but you’ve probably already heard Mocean Worker’s jazz and electronica infused mash-ups.  Contributing to such movies as The Bourne Supremacy and shows like The O.C. and the “All Things Considered” segments of NPR, Mowo (his own abbreviation) is the guy that everyone subconsciously loves, we just don’t know it yet.

Background Check:

Producer/Muscian Adam Dorn know’s what he’s talking about. The son of producer Joel Dorn, famous for working with the likes of John Coltrane and Charles Mingus, Adam grew up haning around with Miles Davis and and learning the trade alongside his prominent father.  Now, under the moniker Mocean Worker, (and yes that’s pronounced motion, incase you were wondering) Adam Dorn has secured his own place in jazz and electronic circles with several well received albums and a ton of collaborations.

His career began in the late 90’s after several semi-serious recordings became became the debut LP Home Movies from the Brain Forest.  Mocean Worker became a sought after name in the underground Drum and Bass circles. Soon after Dorn, a bassist at heart, found a dark jazz edge that only increased with time. Now Mocean Worker is making music his grandfather potentially listened to. Heavily influenced by big band and swing music, Mocean Workers latest album, Cinco de Mowo, sounds like jazz of the 30’s merged with varying degrees of Latin and funk melodies.

Ever moving away from the mainstream electronic music he began with, Mocean Worker still surprises, as with his recent single, “That One”, a send up of the 2008 presidential election focusing on Obama and McCain’s often ridiculous debate diatribes. Unlike his recent jazz subtelties, “That One”, proves that Mocean Worker is still about experimentation and whimsical ambitions.

Where you can find him in cyberspace:

MySpace

Mocean Worker Website

Wikipedia

Where you can find him on tour:

JamBase