Growing
up in Boca Raton, there isn’t a very large music scene or a local popular music newspaper that indicates where to go to watch local bands. Fortunately in my college years, I’ve been able to discover
a couple places outside of Boca that I could go to in order to watch shows,
such as Propaganda in Lake Worth, Vintage Tap in Delray, and O’Malley’s in
Margate. As I expanded my horizons, I
also found some musical talent from the 561 that I believe could really make a
name for themselves. While these bands don’t fit the typical mainstream sound
that people listen to on Y100, they are alternative prodigies and deserve a
shot on the charts.
1.
Smith Sundy
Pictured
left to right: Rawlin Zybach, Ryan McCauley, & Mike Basso
Smith Sundy is really one of a kind. The name is
derived from the street in Delray Beach that their first practice warehouse was
located. Consisting of an organ, guitar, drums and a bit of vocals, this
progressive-experimental rock band will take you to another world while
performing. They get their influences
from classic rock bands such as, Pink Floyd, Santana, Led Zeppelin, to more modern stuff like
The Mars Volta, This Town Needs Guns, and Explosions in the Sky. Their style is
very experimental and it may not be the most popular genre but it sets them
apart and makes them happy. They bring math rock to the local music scene
through hard work and being passionate. They use direct marketing through
social media and by telling people in person and through texts and phone calls
to try and keep things less impersonal. After a couple of years in the making,
Smith Sundy is in the final recording stages of their first EP and will be
setting a release date soon. Listen to them here: Soundcloud.com/smithsundy and check them out on February 4,
2016 at Bar Stache 1920’s Drinking Den in Fort Lauderdale.
2.
Tame the Lyons
Pictured
left to right: Brent Rothenberg, Devin Schaller, Damian Tully & Travis Kirk
Tame the Lyons, whose name originates from the
infamous Lyons Road that runs through Boca Raton, is a bluesy funk band that
has elements of jazz, reggae, and rock.
This band is influenced by Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Sublime, Grateful
Dead, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Cream, John Mayer, Nile Rodgers, The Beatles, and
anyone that’s made a living playing music. Facebook plays a big part in their promotion
process as it does for most bands. They also sometimes go out and promote as a
“street team” to influence people in the area to come to shows. Another means
of promotion comes through word-of-mouth. They rely heavily as well on friends
and fans bringing others along to their shows and compounding the attendance. They have plenty of their own original songs
as well as lots of cover songs that they perform brilliantly such as “I Shot
the Sheriff” by Eric Clapton and “P.I.M.P.” by 50 Cent. They attribute all of their success to their
fans. The energy they bring to shows is something Tame the Lyons really thrives
off of and gives them great musical inspiration. They bring a style of music that isn’t
represented in the local music scene and blend multiple music genres that
appeal to a wide range of people. They have a live CD that’s comprised of at-home
jams and recorded shows that they’ve played over the years, but nothing
that could be considered an “album” yet. They are in the process of compiling and
working on songs to be recorded at Infinite Channel Studios in Pompano that
will hopefully be released this summer! Do yourself a favor and listen to songs
found on this link: soundcloud.com/tame-the-lyons and come watch them perform
at the Dubliner in Mizner on February 27, 2016.
3. Chilean Slang
Pictured
left to right: Dave
Barnard & Ronit Golan
Ever heard of Beach House, Blonde
Redhead, or, Mazzy Star? Neither have I. Chilean Slang has a very unique sound
that mimics these bands. Their genre isn’t something that can be classified;
it’s a mixture of droning experimental, gothic, dreamy, pop music. The duo mostly promotes their new band through
social media. Founding member, lead singer and keyboardist, Ronit Golan, believes
they stand out because they are “weird and different”. As mentioned before,
they have their own sound and it’s difficult to find a dream pop band around
this area; let alone a good one. They’re shooting for an EP by June. If you
want to listen to them, here’s a link: soundcloud.com/chileanslang and you can catch them performing at Vintage Tap in Delray
Beach on February 19th, 2016.
