"Not to sound arrogant, but I'm pretty sure we have a good record," says Jean Paul Pitts, 23-year-old frontman of fresh-faced indie-rockers Surfer Blood. And, well, he has a point. The Floridian outfit's debut disc, Astro Coast, is a killer collection of amp-rattling anthems; old-school indie-rock heavily influenced by The Pixies.
Surfer Blood are about to undertake a serious haul of tour-dates in support of Astro Coast, playing from sea to shining sea. In fact, their North American slate is so thorough they've lined up dates in places you may never have heard of, from Geneseo, NY, to Visalia, CA.
In mid-March, Surfer Blood'll be stopping in Austin, and, well, they're not the only ones. Thousands upon thousands of bands, band-lovers, and music-industry minions will endeavor to keep Austin weird when SXSW returns for another year of musical overload.
With the lineup close to completely cemented, I thought it due time that I put my neck on the line and recommended 10 Bands to Watch at SXSW 2010; a formguide not just for those four days in Texas, but for the rest of 2010. Read away!
Surfer Blood Cross Meridians:
February 3: London, England - Hoxton Bar and Kitchen
February 4: Kingston upon Thames, England - Hippodrome
February 5: London, England - KOKO
February 9: London, England - Scala
February 16: Orlando, FL - Backbooth
February 17: Deland, FL - DaVinci
February 18: Tallahassee, FL - Engine Room
February 19: Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
February 20: Nashville, TN - The End
February 22: Charlotte, NC - Snug Harbor
February 23: Morgantown, WV -123 Pleasant Street
February 24: Washington, DC - Dc 9
February 26: Hanover, NH - Dartmouth College
March 1: Philadelphia, PA - The Barbary
March 2: Allston, MA - Great Scott
March 3: Providence, RI - AS220
March 5: Montreal, QC - Il Motore
March 6: Toronto, ON - Sneaky Dees
March 7: Geneseo, NY - SUNY Geneseo College
March 8: Meadville, PA - Allegheny
March 9: Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
March 11: Bloomington, IN - the Bishop
March 12: Columbia, MO - Mojos
March 13: Lawrence, KS - Replay Lounge
March 14: Oklahoma City, OK - The Conservatory
March 17-20: Austin, TX - SXSW
March 24: Phoenix, AZ - Trunk Space
March 25: Claremont, CA - Pitzer College
March 26: San Diego, CA - Bar Pink Elephant
March 27: Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
March 28: Las Vegas, NV - The Beauty Bar
March 29: Isla Vista, CA - Biko Garage
March 30: Visalia, CA - Howie and Sons
April 1: Santa Cruz, CA - Metamusic
April 2: San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
April 2: Portland, OR - Doug Fir
April 4: Seattle, WA - Vera Project
April 5: Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret
April 6: Missoula, MT - The Palace
April 8: Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
April 9: Madison, WI - Der Rathskeller
April 11: Columbus, OH - The Summit
April 12: Ithaca, NY - The Shop
April 13: Buffalo, NY - Big Orbit Soundlab
April 15: Princeton, NJ - Terrace Club
Photo © Ian Witlen
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