Bringin' It From The Ville

Many of us in the city of Gainesville, Fla., don't know how good we have it. At least as far as local music is concerned. We're all well aware that the likes of Tom Petty, Less Than Jake, Sister Hazel and Against Me! all share roots in this ville of ours. Certainly not every band will become the Heartbreakers, but it is my belief that every band deserves a listen. That is why in bi-weekly posts I'll be featuring local bands that catch my ear, and hopefully some of them will catch yours.

Before I begin on today's band, Along The Sidelines, I'd like to offer up two suggestions. First, if you are ever in search of new music almost every band nowadays has a myspace page. By cruising myspace's musicsearch you can discover bands within a mile of your home zipcode. You can even search by the artists' influences. My second bit of advice, and perhaps most important, is that the best way to find great local music is to go to a show of bands you've never heard of. Yes, it will be hit or miss. But the hits will be worth it. Click over to gainesvillebands.com, a great resource for almost every live act playing in and around town.

Friday, Sept. 8, I was handed a flier by the cashier behind the counter at the gas station near my house. He told me his band, Along The Sidelines, would be playing on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 1982 on University Ave. It was this perfect example of a typical happen-stance encounter with Gainesville local music that led me to select Along The Sidelines for my first spotlight.

Although I was unable to attend the show on the 10th, I look forward to their upcoming show on Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. at 1982. They are playing with Borealis, A Death Card Dealt, Battle!, The Up's and Dedalus. Their myspace page has the entire list of their upcoming shows. Their next announced performance is Sept. 23 in Orange Park, Fla.

Along The Sidelines began as the solo project of guitarist and vocalist Josh Mccabe, It began to grow about five songs into Mccabe's six song demo when Demetrius, otherwise known as "Dmo," moved up to Gainesville from South Florida. After hitting it off, They later added Luke Thatcher on drums to complete their sound. They describe themself as an indie, acoustic and alternative band.

They have the fresh sound of bands making the move away from emo but without cutting themselves off from the emotion. Their song, North Star is available for download from their myspace page. Three more songs, Laughter, Keep Em Going and A Reason To Fight Demo, are available for listening only on their myspace page. None of their recordings feature their new percussion addition, so I look forward to experiencing their change in sound live on Sept. 30.

If you like the Goo Goo Dolls, Incubus, Taking Back Sunday or Third Eye Blind then definitely check out Along The Sidelines. They rightly describe themselves as a mixture of their above listed influences, and you can hear it clearly in their music.