The Flairz

Sorry for the little vacation, was busy doing stuff like jetting off to Chicago to see the Fig Dish reunion show and Austin for SXSW 2006.

One of my favorite events at SXSW every year is the Australian BBQ which features tasty Australian food and the wonderful beverage Cooper's Ale. In 2004, I discoverd this awesome band called Ground Components that sounded like a mix of everything that has come out of Detroit over the past 30 or so years.

This year, the "stars" of the Australian BBQ were The Flairz, a trio whose average age is 12! I wouldn't have even thought to check them out had they not left a stack of fliers in the lobby of our hotel in Austin (we later discovered that they were staying at the same hotel we were). The kids are wise beyond their years, channeling the likes of the early Rolling Stones, The Who, and The White Stripes. If that's not a good combination (and done remarkably well), then I don't know what is.

Check out the song that Little Steven has been spinning like mad on his Undergroud Garage radio show.

MP3: Rock and Roll Ain't Evil

Dear Leader

Aaron Perrino is my go-to guy. I interviewed him when he was in The Sheila Divine. And when I re-launched Swizzle-Stick a few years back (new look, new feel), the first person I thought to contact to do an interview with was Perrino who had moved on to fronting a new band, Dear Leader (who have put out, by my count, 2 full lengths and an EP as well as an "instant live" CD).

I was digging through some CDs the other night and I came across my Tugboat Annie collection (don't worry, there will be a whole other post about them with MP3s coming up in the very near future) and remembered that Jon Sulkow (TA's bassist) is now in Dear Leader.

Check out a few brand new Dear Leader songs as well as a track from 2005's All I Ever Wanted Was Tonight. Rumor has it that another CD is already in the works.

MP3: A Nation Once Again (unreleased)
MP3: Nightmare Alleys (2006 demo)
MP3: Radar (2006 demo)
MP3: Raging Red (from All I Ever Wanted Was Tonight)