I Am Stereo

MP3: I Am Stereo — Chewin’ on a Battery

All the members of I Am Stereo have done their time toiling in local bands — but now they are the ones throwing the rock ‘n’ roll parties.

Drummer Steve Copeletti, guitarist/vocalist Adam Rosenberg, guitarist/synth Jon Wilkins and bassist Brian Hill are all South Florida pros. Copeletti and Wilkins are aka DJ Sloan and DJ Grand Theft Auto in their spare time, spinning at indie rock parties like PopScene at Dada. They have all known each other for a while, but just six months ago came together to form I Am Stereo.

Their sound is ’60s psychedelic mixed with today’s indie pop.

“Like Velvet Underground and Syd Barrett meets the New Pornographers,” Copeletti said.

I Am Stereo is focusing on recording right now, with one EP in the works.

“We’re playing mostly at shows that we put on, to keep up our chops. Hopefully we’ll have two EPs out before the end of the year,” Copeletti said.

Find them at myspace.com/wearestereo or iamstereo.com.

– Liza Hearon

Popularity: 64% [?]

Sayonara Tokyo

For Sayonara Tokyo, good things come in fours: four band members, four retro hip blazers and four songs racking up hits on MySpace.

The band is relatively new to the local scene. Self-described as “country punk dancehall rock,” their songs channel the indie rock stylings of the Strokes, with moments of Fugazi-like chaos. Their song Indian Companion brings in the lonely-cowboy “country” aspect of their accurately dubbed genre description.

The well-dressed, Miami-based quartet of vocalist JD (no last name — Madonna style), guitarist Danny Aranow, drummer Nicholas Ellis and bassist Jon Benson has released an EP and is focused on booking shows and getting the good word out.

Find them at myspace.com/sayonaratokyo or thevolumeonline.com/sayonaratokyo.

–Liza Hearon

Popularity: 63% [?]

The Deffects

Grunge is alive and well in South Florida, thanks to newcomers the Deffects.

Vocalist and guitarist Ralph Aboy, guitarist Kevin Gonzolez, bassist Mike Casaña and drummer Steven Caw have been jamming for four months. The guys manage to practice several times a week, even though they are still in high school.

Influenced by the Meat Puppets, Nirvana and the Test Icicles, the Deffects are reviving grunge and adding their own punk rock twist to it.

Their last show brought in 75 people, through heavy promotion on MySpace, and the band’s “street team.”

“It’s really just one guy named Dan who hands out fliers — Street Team Dan,” Kevin said.

The Deffects are trying to play as many clubs as possible and get their name out.

“We’d like to record a demo if we ever get the money,” Kevin said.

Find them at myspace.com/thedeffects.

– Liza Hearon

Popularity: 64% [?]

Friendly Fire

MP3: Friendly Fire — Liar Liar

Friendly Fire is bringing rock ‘n’ roll back to its roots: sex and booze … plus the mod addition of podcasts.

The glam-tastic trio of singer/bassist Kristal Van Hart, drummer Dave-O Brian and guitarist Stunner, take their larger-than-life personalities both on stage and online.

Their music is raw, all-out rock ‘n’ roll, Cheap Trick with a punk edge and a fetish for dressing up. They also don’t shy away from politics, sporting the American flag and lyrics about Big Brother, drugs and social “insecurity.”

With a debut CD, Left Right Uppercut, and an exhaustive South Florida touring schedule in the next few months, it’s a wonder that Friendly Fire finds the time to create a jam-packed Web site.

But there are radio shows, packed with talent from local bands around the world, also available in podcasts. Van Hart answers fan’s love life dilemmas, and the rest of the site is well-stocked with downloads, photos and lyrics.

Find them at myspace.com/friendlyfiremusic or friendlyfirenetwork.com.

–Liza Hearon

Popularity: 32% [?]

Karmakaze

Punk rock only takes three chords and a lot of attitude.

However, technical metal requires all of that in-your-face attitude, plus full knowledge of pentatonic and Dorian, major and minor, scales and arpeggios — all played really fast.

The guys of Karmakaze are up to the task, dishing out technical, avant-garde metal that is more than just head banging.

Guitarist Rick Horton, bassist Ryan Melanson and drummer Luis Rodriguez blend fast, high-pitched solos with laid-back, jazzy backgrounds, still retaining their toughness.

The new trio has already won most technical band and most inspirational band awards at Murphy’s Law at Seminole Hard Rock.

Find them at myspace.com/karmakazemusic.

–Liza Hearon

Popularity: 24% [?]

Baby Calendar

MP3: Baby Calendar — Within Cell Walls

Forget the beat-up van full of beat-up old amps. This summer, Miami natives Baby Calendar will pack up a Honda Element and hit the road, hauling their quirky, jangling indie pop everywhere from Houston to Kalamazoo.

Singer-keyboardist Jackie Biver, singer-guitarist Tom Gorrio and drummer Arik Dayan have only been together for about a year and a half, but already they have two albums out and one more coming out in May.

Your Move is an acoustic EP from Biver and Gorrio, then Dayan joined in on drums on full-length Fifteen Year Old Sneakers.

Gingerbread Dog will be released by Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records. Its 11 tracks are full of clever, catchy indie pop that fits right in with the Athens, Ga.-based label.

Relentless touring and a DIY aesthetic (the band has booked the entire summerlong national tour themselves) have made Baby Calendar local heroes, who are now poised to take on the national scene.

Find them at myspace.com/babycalendar or babycalendarmusic.com.

–Liza Hearon

Popularity: 21% [?]

Hep Cat Boo Daddies

MP3: Hep Cat Boo Daddies — 6 Feet

The Hep Cat Boo Daddies singer and guitarist Joel DaSilva may channel Elvis Presley’s coif and Johnny Cash’s stage presence, but the Boo Dads, as fans call them, are not a one-off revival act, looking to the past.

The Boo Dads crash together rockabilly, surf, Chicago blues and punk rock to produce their wild, awe-inducing sound — and they have been doing it for more than 10 years. They have opened for Jimmie Vaughan, the Reverend Horton Heat, B.B. King and other international superstars.

Their first album, Long Time Comin’ came out in 2002, and the Boo Dads are in the process of releasing another. Their DVD, Invasion of the Hep Cat Boo Daddies, also recently came out.

DaSilva, along with bassist Sean “Evil” Gerovitz and drummer Randy Blitz, came together post-Underbellys, a South Florida psychobilly band. After winning awards and accolades from the South Florida community, they have their sights set on winning over the international audience.

Find them at myspace.com/hepcatboodaddies or hepcatboodaddies.net.

–Liza Hearon

Popularity: 13% [?]

Dead Hookers’ Bridge Club

The three University of Miami music students who make up the Dead Hookers’ Bridge Club definitely know how to rock.

With old-school rock influences like Chuck Berry, and loud, fast and crazy influences like Turbonegro, Motorhead and Nashville Pussy, the trio embraces rock ‘n’ roll’s dirty, debaucherous roots.

“Expect good ol’ rock and roll, as loudly and drunkenly as we are capable,” drummer Dr. Johnny Thunder said.

Thunder, aka Patrick Hart, bassist Jack Switchblade (Devin Smith) and guitarist/vocalist Ace Roller (Richard Haig) already have one album released on South Florida label Atomisk records, Fast Cars, Stiff Drinks, Loose Women.

A new 7-inch called The Hoo Dee Hoo is slated for release on New Art School Records in the next few weeks, and surely more destruction and mayhem will follow them on a national tour this summer.

Find them at myspace.com/thedeadhookersbridgeclub or deadhookersbridgeclub.com.

–Liza Hearon

Popularity: 10% [?]

Set Fire to Failure

Clothing sponsors, slick Web sites, legions of adoring fans and other trappings of success usually take years to come to bands.

Set Fire to Failure hasn’t even graduated from high school yet, and they’ve scored it all in only eight months.

Guitarists Zack Schwartz, 16, and Antonio Siquiera, 17, bassist JP Casanova, 16, and drummer Andres Ortiz, 15, all share vocal duties, along with a seemingly endless supply of energy.

Their music is most closely associated with screamo, heavy hard-core guitars and screaming, angry vocals alternated with more pop-punk influences, like blink 182 or NOFX. Some of their favorite bands include ska band Big D and the Kids Table, Alexisonfire, Every Time I Die and punk rockers Green Day and Anti-Flag.

In Retrospect clothing, a friend of the band, sponsors them. In exchange for sporting the logo at shows, the company is helping the band set up a tour.

Set Fire to Failure has had thousands of plays of its songs on MySpace. The demo includes Livejournal Ruined Me and Rhetoric Won’t Save.

Find the band at myspace.com/setfiretofailure.

– Liza Hearon

Popularity: 10% [?]