Oh No! and the Local Band!!!



Today's band has quite possibly one of the best names I have seen in a long time. Oh No! and the Tiger Pit will be playing Thursday, Sept. 28, at The Shamrock. The show is at 10 p.m. and admission is $5.

They have a "rough-around-the-edges" high-energy indie rock feel to them. Guitars thick with distortion and shouted vocals bring an almost old-school punk feel to their sound. They made a name for themselves locally by covering obscure songs from various different genres that one would not expect them, or any other band for that matter, to cover. Oh no! And The Tiger Pit are on a Gainesville independent label, Orange Records.



What I believe will make them a staple of local acts in Gainesville, however, is their original material. They recorded a six-track EP at the Morningbell studios with Orange Records in late July. It's expected release is sometime this fall, but you can take a listen to some of their tracks on their myspace page.

Home Is Where The Heartbreaker Lives...


Gainesville's original hometown heroes, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, played a fantastic, extra-long set last night, Sept 21, at the Steven C. O'Connell center. Sarah L. Stewart and Alice Wallace wrote a worthy review for The Gainesville Sun.

This week, several people have asked where to find local bands other than myspace. My answer was, as always, to go to any show anywhere any day of the week.

Of course, never satisfied, they wanted more. GainesvilleBands.com has an extensive list of current and past bands. Browsing those lists might inspire you to check out some of those bands, but it's always important to try to see them perform. That's where local musicians need the most support.

Speaking of support, today's band is Soulphonics (formerly the Elements). They are a 10-piece soul, funk and groove band making their debut performance at Sidebar tonight, Sept 22, at 10 p.m. Since they are currently working on their new album, this will be Gainesville's first opportunity to see them, hear them and check them out.

Getting Ahead of Myself...

It struck me this weekend that I had failed to pay proper homage to the any of the artists who made Gainesville, Fla., one of Esquire Magazine's "Top Ten Cities That Rock."

For shame. How dare I?

Although they are not the forefathers of Gainesville music, Less Than Jake are playing at Common Grounds tonight, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. Back when ska was trendy, Less Than Jake brought Gainesville's college-town drama to almost every alternative middle and high school student. Thank you, Less Than Jake.

Now, it's time I get to the man whom many people credit with starting it all, Tom Petty. Thursday, Sept. 21, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers will be performing at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center at the University of Florida. Tickets went on sale July 22 and have long since sold out. Hopefully you have yours, or at least a very generous friend with extra tickets.

Many years after the Heartbreakers first formed, there was a band by the name of Sister Hazel who are going to be releasing their new album, titled "Absolutely," on Oct. 10. They are a softer Gainesville band close in style to most mainstream rock.

The most recent and certainly most unique-sounding band to achieve success from Gainesville's stages is Against Me!. They have been nominated for an mtvU Woodie Award. They are up for Best Animated Video of the Year award for their video for "From Her Lips to God's Ears (The Energizer)," off of their album "Searching for a Former Clarity."
They are delicious blend of punk rock, indie, folk, country and hardcore. It is almost as if every band that ever played in Gainesville combined their powers and formed Against Me!.

Composed Chaos...

Few bands in any city have ever truly stunned me with their live performance. At the top of that short list are G. Love and Special Sauce, Atom and his Package and, surprisingly, Weezer. Last April I had the good fortune to hear Umoja Orchestra and witness their beautifully chaotic, yet carefuly orchestrated jams. It was a benefit concert for the University of Florida Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association at 1982.

As the eight-plus member band took the stage I was anxious that they might have a "too many cooks in the kitchen" complex. Within a few bars it was clear that there would be no such problem. With their variety of instruments and the mixture of funk, jazz, salsa and high-energy dancing, they have one of the most unique sounds in Gainesville. Tonight, Friday Sept. 15, Umoja Orchestra will be playing at 8 p.m. at 1982.

On Sept. 17 they will be playing at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg, Fla. as part of Musica Fresca, a national tour promoting similar Latin fusion bands.

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.