Iconic, underground rock groups such as Velvet Underground and the Pixies have influenced the Walkmen’s music. Their own sound, although comparable to these bands, includes an extra trademark of vintage instruments combined with a mixture of indie and garage rock.

Their well-received debut album, ‘Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone’, was released by record label Startime in 2002. The Walkmen’s follow-up record ‘Bows + Arrows’, featuring their big hit ‘The Rat’, was met to critical acclaim. Many critics even listed the album as one of that year’s best.
   

In the summer of 2008 their forth album ‘You & Me’ was released. The album topped several Internet music charts for a number of weeks.

www.fabchannel.com/the_walkmen
www.thewalkmen.com
www.myspace.com/the_walkmen
   

Elbow is a Manchester based indie pop/rock band. Its music can be placed somewhere between Radiohead and Coldplay. Over the years Elbow’s innovative sound and candid and evocative lyrics have been praised by the likes of Blur, R.E.M, U2 and John Cale.

Lead singer Guy Garvey met guitarist Mark Potter at college in 1990, who was in a band with drummer Richard Jupp and bassist Pete Turner. Guy joined the band, and so did Mark’s brother Craig. At first they called themselves Mr. Soft, which was later changed to Soft and finally into Elbow.

Elbow’s first three EP’s were given extensive airplay on BBC Radio 1. In 2001 their debut album ‘Asleep In The Back’ was released on V2 and gained them several award nominations (a.o. for the NME and Brit Awards). ‘Cast of Thousands’ (2003) and ‘Leaders Of The Free World’ (2005) followed.

The fourth Elbow record ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’ was issued in March 2008. The British quintet recorded this record without any help from outside the band.

www.fabchannel.com/elbow
   

www.b-52s.com

www.myspace.com/theb52s

www.emigroup.com

After a drunken night at a Chinese restaurant, Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson and her brother Ricky founded the new wave pop band the B-52’s in 1976. The band’s name alludes to the beehive hairdo wigs that singers Cindy and Kate were often wearing.

The Athens (U.S.) based band had little or even no experience in playing music and performed their first shows with percussion and guitar recordings on tape. After playing several shows at music club CBGB in New York, the B-52’s drew the attention of the New York press.

The B-52’s released their self-titled debut album in 1979, followed up by ‘Wild Planet’ in 1980, which reached the top 20 in the U.S. charts. After releasing ‘Mesopotamia’ in 1982 and ‘Whammy!’ in 1983, the five-piece returned to the studio to record 1986’s ‘Bouncing Off the Satellites’. During the recording of this album, Ricky Wilson died from an AIDS related illness. After his death the other band members found it impossible to promote the album.

1989’s ‘Cosmic Thing’ was the most successful recording till this date, including hit singles ‘Love Shack’, ‘Roam’ and ‘Deadbeat Club’. After releasing ‘Good Stuff’ in 1992, the B-52’s finally returned with new material in 2008 with the release of ‘Funplex’. 

Our friends at Universal Music brought this young, curly haired singer, under our attention. We were happily surprised by his fresh sounding piano pop and are more than willing to record his Paradiso show.

Have a little warm-up fun with this video we found of Jack live at a Dutch national radio station 3FM:

In April 2008 Jack released the single ‘Bang On The Piano’ and his debut album ‘Either Side Of Midnight’, an amenable record, stuffed with infectious piano-driven pop songs. Beside the piano, Jack McManus also plays trumpet and drums.

Jack McManus’ father introduced him to the world of rock’n roll at a young age. He was responsible for the pyrotechnics at shows of a.o. Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Ozzy Osbourne and Bon Jovi. He made Jack listen to Elton John and Billy Joel who later became a great inspiration to Jack’s music.

www.fabchannel.com/jack_mcmanus
www.jackmcmanus.co.uk
www.myspace.com/jackmcmanus
   

The guys are singing about love, life, joy, energy and freedom. Their message is to live life to the fullest. The alternative rock music of Friska Viljor is cheerful and not too complicated.

On stage Daniel and Joakim are joined by Maria Lindèn, Mattias Areskog, Markus Bergqvist and Ludvig Rylander.

Friska Viljor released their debut album ‘Bravo’ in 2006, followed by ‘Tour de Hearts’ in 2008.

www.fabchannel.com/friska_viljor
www.friskaviljor.net
www.myspace.com/friskaviljor
   

This is already the fifth Spanish recording on Fabchannel, and more to come!
   

Lori Meyers publish their first album, ‘Viaje de Estudios’, in 2004. One year after the second album ‘Hostal Pimodan’ the third, called ‘Cronolánea’ (2008), put Lori Mayers on top of the national charts.

At the moment, Lori Meyers is one of the most popular Spanish indie bands. The band is formed by Antonio López (lead singer and guitar), Julián Méndez (bass guitar and keyboard), Alejandro Méndez (guitar) and Alfredo Núñez (drums).

Lori Meyers’ music is strongly influenced by 60’s pop-rock and beat music. Their clean sound without any guitar distortion places their music in line of American melodic rock. A few bands of reference are: The Beach Boys, Pixies, Los Brincos and Los Planetas.

For the ones who read this blog and aren’t yet familiar with this Swedish duo. We’ve written a short bio for you to read and found a nice video to watch. It isn’t the most steady camera work, but will surely give you a good impression. 

Friska Viljor Biography   

Daniel Johansson and Joakim Sveningsson formed Friska Viljor in 2005, right after they both had ended their relationships. These events led the two Swedish friends to the rehearsal studios. All the energy they had previously invested into their relationships would now be focused on music.

The guys are singing about love, life, joy, energy and freedom. Their message is to live life to the fullest. The alternative rock music of Friska Viljor is cheerful and not too complicated.

www.friskaviljor.net
www.myspace.com/friskaviljor
www.fabchannel.com/frisky_viljor_concert

As singer of K’s Choice, Sarah Bettens had great success. She wrote number one hits, sold millions of records and toured around the world. After 10 years of K’s Choice, the Belgian songwriter went solo and released her solo debut album ‘Scream’ in 2005, followed by 2007’s ‘Shine’.
This show was part of Sarah Bettens’ acoustic ‘From Scream to Whisper’ tour. Together with keyboard player Tom Kestens, Sarah Bettens plays hit singles and less known songs, but all in a totally new and intimate arrangement.

www.sarahbettens.com
www.myspace.com/sarahbettens
www.fabchannel.com/sarah_bettens

Eagle*Seagull are five guys and a girl from Lincoln, NE. The band was formed in 2004. At the end of that year they started to record a demo which eventually became their self-titled debut album. ‘Eagle*Seagull’ was released in 2005. Their second album, ‘The Year Of How-To Book’, was produced by Ryan Hadlock (Blonde Redhead, The Gossip, Steven Malkmus).
The music of Eagle*Seagull is a combination of cheerful indie pop and new wave, inspired by bands like The Arcade Fire and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

You can watch the show at 22:30 CET (for your local time, check Fabchannel.com). After a few days the concert will be included to our archive. So should you miss the show, you can watch it later on.
   

www.eagleseagull.com
www.myspace.com/eagleseagull
www.fabchannel.com/eagle_seagull