IPO Austin 2019
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Artists From Austin
Freddie Steady Krc – IPO is proud to present a solo performance by the main man of The Freddie Steady 5 and Steady Boy Records, long known in Austin and beyond as a tireless promoter and musician, and one helluva guy! He’s appeared as a session drummer with everyone from Carole King to Roger Waters to Ronnie Lane, and has even appeared as a drummer on film in the movie Outlaw Blues. His tunes as a solo performer and with The Freddie Steady 5 blend British Invasion and ‘60s psychedelic garage influences with country and blues into what can best be described as just feel good rollicking good time music, and whether solo or with a band, he always rocks his heart out!
The Genders – Formed by Amir Neubach and Ofer Koren in 2004 in Tel Aviv, Israel, The Genders recorded their first album, Rockin in Ramallah, (AMP Records/8th Note Records) and teamed up with drummer Or Kachlon to set out on their first US tour, in 2005. After three albums, four US tours and countless songs on movie soundtracks, The Genders have relocated to Austin, and gone back to their roots with a new album of ‘60s inspired rock n’ roll, psychedelia and garage rock. Said album, Take Me To The Freeway, will appeal to fans of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and the Nuggets box sets!
Hope Irish – Some of you may know her as the lead vocalist of GO BANG, Irish is a musician and songwriter who stumbles the jagged line between slop and pop. Her songs will appeal to fans of artists such as Jewel and Alannis Morrisette. Check out any of her Bandcamp singles or her IPO showcase to see and hear for yourself!
The Hungry Onions – Named after a once popular Southern California beatnik haunt from the mid-sixties and influenced by vintage and modern artists, the Hungry Onions hammer out a unique blend of garage pop, melodic psych, and surf rock. Their debut album, She’s a Mod, is jam-packed with jangly hooks and reverb soaked harmonies! Their sound has a vibe that is both retro and contemporary; fans of The Small Faces and The Who will dig it!
The Mooks – Keepin’ it simple, The Mooks play straight-up good ol’-fashioned rock n’ roll: two guitars, bass, and drums…and a backbeat and melody you can’t get out of your head! The songs on their self-titled EP will appeal to fans of Elvis Costello, Flamin’ Groovies, The Clash, and The Heartbreakers. We can’t wait to hear them rock these songs live at IPO!
Mount Pressmore – Fast becoming a fixture of the Austin club scene, Mount Pressmore is committed to creating great music one song, one performance, and one album at a time. Mount Pressmore makes music that crosses cultures and transcends categories. It’s Herbie Hancock meeting Peter Gabriel in a Danny Elfman film score. Check out their latest album, The Masked Battle, to hear what we mean…or better yet, come to their IPO showcase! Modern prog-pop at its finest!
Rich Restaino – Known to many as the leader of Rich Restaino & The Obits, whose combination of soulful harmonies and bubblegum playfulness has long been a favorite of the Austin pop scene, Restaino is just as entertaining as a solo artist! His latest album, Grown-Folk Music, is a collection of songs about what happens when a man’s growing comfort with aging coincides with a decided discomfort with the age in which he lives. It’s a tragic-comic musical meditation on current affairs, adulthood, and our clumsy attempts to find meaning in it all. Fans of artists from Paul Simon to Carl Perkins to John Lennon and David Byrne should check it out!
San Saba County – The band started out as a straight garage-country group, the type that could only come from Austin, Texas: equally comfortable playing the Continental Club and twenty-something house parties with angular po-mo groups with Romulan haircuts. The songs on their latest album, Fifth, are honest, witty, and well-crafted – tough as blue jeans and catchy as new slang. Fans of Wilco, R.E.M., and The Silver Jews will dig ‘em!
The SevenKims Trio – The latest creation from the mind of Kevin Sims, who played IPO Austin last year with his prog-art-pop combo, Crocodile. Sims never fails to meld a wide variety of influences to create something unique and musically adventurous. His last album with Crocodile, His Name is Stan and He’s a Bad Motherfu**er, follows in the great concept album tradition, and we can’t wait to see and hear what he’s got in store for us with his new trio!
The Soulphonics – The Soulphonics play American garage rock ‘n roll: songs full of hooks and mostly about the pain of love, life, and death…and no guitar noodling! Fans of The Seeds, Flamin’ Groovies, and AM radio circa 1966 will want to check out their latest album, Heart Full of Soulphonics! Groovy!
Wiretree – Wiretree melds hints of the Shins, Brendan Benson, Elliot Smith, Wilco and ‘70s era Nick Lowe. Their 2013 album, Get Up, “… reveals its pleasures through repeated spins, insinuating itself intellectually at first, but eventually settling permanently into the heart.” (The Austin Chronicle), and their latest album, Towards The Sky, is even better! Definitely one of my fave bands to ever grace the city of Austin. Check them out now!
U.S. Artists From Outside of Austin
Dirty Echoes – A power-pop band based out of Waco, featuring Chris Ermoian (vocals/guitar), Casey Pittman (vocals/guitar), Jeremy Gautier (vocals/drums) and Beau Green (bass). Their music is full of diverse sounds reflecting personal stories, experiences and relationships that flourishes in their skillful and dynamic live performance. These accomplished musicians have built a reputation for creating memorable songs and an energetic live show that immerses their audiences in their music.
Lannie Flowers Band – Although the band hails from Kennedale and Ft. Worth, they’ve done what no other artist in the history of the LA Music Awards has done…namely, taking home four awards in a single year in 2013! Flowers’ latest studio CD, New Songs, Old Stories, picks up where his earlier disc, Circles, left off, but rocks even harder. Badfinger-esque in-your-face guitars and vocal harmonies blend with softer shifting harmonies more reminiscent of XTC! We greatly appreciate that Flowers and his band have played the IPO festival in many cities throughout the world and continue to do so, with no sign of slowing down! Case in point: they’ve got too many great songs that they won’t all fit on the next album, Home, so Flowers is giving them away as free downloads on his Facebook up until the official album release later this spring! Pretty cool, huh?
The Pozers – The Dallas area may be best known for Cowboys and cattle, but we at IPO know it is also home to some of the finest power pop bands around (see also Lannie Flowers band, above, and Danny Wilkerson, below), and The Pozers are no exception! “…[G]reat melodies, lovely tunes, cool harmonies, psych-drenched guitars, and sweet power pop sounds to delight your ears! The Pozers are a real power pop group that sounds like a mix of Cheap Trick, Beatles, and Apples in Stereo. This formula is a winning blend…crossing the bridge between major label and indie sounds…Grade A power pop!” (Jeremy Morris, Jam Records) IPO is also honored to announce that The Pozers are using their IPO Showcase as the release party for their brand new album, Crybaby Bridge…we can hardly wait!!
Danny Wilkerson – He’s been a Mayor, a Pickle, and a Pengwin. He’s played music all over the world, sang on a Weird Al Yankovic record, and recorded at Abbey Road Studios. Danny Wilkerson has accomplished quite a bit since he first began playing music at age 13, but there’s one thing he didn’t check off his bucket list until last year. With the release of his most excellent, 10-song debut – simply titled Wilkerson – he can now cross that off his list. The album is anything but simple, as it’s filled with an abundance of intricate harmonies and lush arrangements to dazzle the senses, and is very deserving of the high ranks it received on many a “best of” list for 2018! If you don’t yet own it, you should!