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Blogging SXSW: RadioRadio
My favorite part of SXSW is the randomness of selecting acts to fill voids in the night. Sometimes it's the band name that gets me, other times it's the crowd reaction that draws me in.
For my first showcase of the 2008, I was drawn to this alt-pop quartet because we hail from the same Oklahoma town of Tulsa, known mostly for oil, Western swing and art-deco architecture, not so much for the small but worthwhile music scene.
RadioRadio represented, rocking out from the opening notes of the first song with electric guitar screaming and a heavy bass presence that kept lead singer Greg Hosterman's hips constantly moving. Dramatic and engaging, the focused group moved seamlessly through several tracks off their full-length debut, "Watch'em All Come Runnin'." The song that clinched it: a bass-y cover of David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans" which might just rival a true Bowie performance. Impressive. "Bed Check," one of RadioRadio's original tunes, also caught my attention, partly for the reference to pioneer Tulsa radio DJ Jan Dean--who recently lost her battle with brain cancer--and her influential nighttime show of the same name that gave many local acts their only radio play.
