Showcase Showdown: Billboard At SXSW March 19, 2009
- Indies
By Kier Bristol and Lara Marsman
Howlies Web site: howlies.com Label: OverUnder Records Latest release: "Trippin' With Howlies" Management: OverUnder Management
Atlanta's Howlies got off to an inauspicious start: The band joined forces in 2007 after a camping trip where all four members were attacked by wolves. Recording solely in their basement, Howlies' Justin Brooke and Brandon Morrison (guitar), Aaron Wood (drums) and Matt Foresee (bass) caught the attention of legendary producer Kim Fowley (Modern Lovers, the Germs), and in less than three days, Fowley helped produce most of their debut album, "Trippin' With Howlies." Tracks like "Sea Level" and "Angeline" have a vintage surf-rock vibe and flirt with violence on "Aluminum Baseball Bat." What else would you expect from a band that lists as influences Satan and its hometown of Atlanta?
Rising from the ashes of other Knoxville, Tenn., bands, Superdrag signed to Elektra Records in 1995, surprising those who had labeled it an "indie band." Dubbed a one-hit wonder after its singular radio-friendly hit "Sucked Out," Superdrag released several albums and EPs. But the band is planning to return from a self-imposed six-year hiatus with its new album, "Industry Giants." Recorded and mixed in Nashville, Knoxville and Los Angeles, "Giants" defies expectations by turning down the bitterness and turning up the fun. Tracks like "5 Minutes Ahead of the Chaos," "Aspartame" and "Cheap Poltergeists" will pump up punk fans and "Ready to Go" and "Filthy & Afraid" will transport listeners back to 1997.
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