Artist: New Artist

Usually if you're waiting on a band and you see a group of dudes walking down the street holding instruments it's safe to assume they're the ones you're looking for. In Austin during sxsw that's so not the case. As The Frail walked towards the KKS sessions headquarters I kind of just stood awkwardly in the street until they were about two feet away and clearly looking for a street address. The band kicked off day three of sessions with some sweet cajon/electric guitar action. If I do say so myself, I think our session was the perfect [...]

Family of the Year is busy! They're on tour with belle brigade and good old war (five weeks to go), recently released their EP st croix and have another EP and full length on deck. With so many plans and items on the agenda we were able to help them multitask by putting together a music video concept while prepping for their kks photo sesh. We're thinking puppies and kitties. Tons of them. Maybe a panda. We can dream, right? Keep an eye out as we'll soon be releasing their Kick Kick Snare "In Session" acoustic performance and [...]

Honestly, there's nothing cooler than a band that rolls up in a mini van with two car seats. No, seriously. How badass is Big Harp ? Not only is the band running around SXSW, touring, and heading towards Omaha to record their next album, but they do it with two babies on board. You can have it and do it all. Keep an eye out as we'll soon be releasing their Kick Kick Snare "In Session" acoustic performance and downloadable MP3 presented by Aloft Hotels! [...]

The quote of the day might be "don't forget the lasers!" CHAPPO came through decked out in fancy feathers and carrying confetti sticks and lasers. I think one of our cameramen got a face full of rainbow colored confetti while filming. So much party times all before noon! Also I think Wes is going to be picking up confetti papers until SXSW 2013. MP3: Bodies Coasting by CHAPPO CHAPPO Official CHAPPO Facebook CHAPPO Twitter [...]

• Bodies Coasting » Bodies-Coasting.mp3

Apparently if musicians weren't so distracted by beer and watching each other play music we would have new albums every year! (But really who can blame them?) Thankfully for us We Are Serenades not only have been forging a great friendship, drinking a lot of beer and seeing even more shows, they have been hard at work creating an incredible album. An album they are very excited to be able to share with us very soon. Keep an eye out as we'll soon be releasing their Kick Kick Snare "In Session" acoustic performance and downloadable MP3 presented [...]

SXSW can be about comradery but it can also be a band eat band world! Crystal Fighters were not about to be a causality in the war over Showcase instrument placement. We were there to help, we got the guys, and very lovely lady set up in our "In Session" room and in no time we had them set and taking us to the sunny shores of the Mediterranean. After conquering the somewhat wordy official title of our "In Session" events they were quickly off and on to supremacy over The Temper Trap for showcase top billing bumping. [...]

Today ZZ Ward took Bahamas crown for biggest entourage. Her sprinter van was pretty neat too, across from the shiny black Mercedes sprinter of St. Lucia. It was a sprinter vs. sprinter showdown on 5th street. And yes, by showdown I mean two vans parked across the street from one another with their hazard lights on. It was crazy. And the performance? ZZ killed it as usual. Keep an eye out as we'll soon be releasing her Kick Kick Snare "In Session" acoustic performance presented by Aloft Hotels! [...]

St. Lucia know how to make an entrance! They rolled up in the very pinnacle of style, their very own Jag and equipment brought in a shiny black Mercedes sprinter van. But don't let the luxury rides fool you, St Lucia came to have a good time! They performed 'Closer Than This', fresh off the coveted top spot on Hype Machine. We all got cozy in our "In Session" room, and with 3 camerapeople, 1 soundperson, Wes, 5 band members, a keyboard, 2 guitars and a snare drum, you couldn't really get much closer or have much more fun [...]

Josh and Mer arrived looking fresh-faced with cameras and guitars in hand. It was totally fitting for the Portand-based duo that met on a video shoot set. Upon their arrival Brent pulled me aside to take a peak at their brand new music video. There are goats and creepy masks and a cult leader involved so I was completely sold! Also once Brent was out of earshot I told J&M that he listened to their song 100 times over two days. That's a fact! The handsome pair performed their song "There's a Sadness" from their upcoming acoustic [...]

" Zak Waters ' music makes me uncomfortable" - Eavie "What's wrong with you? Why??" - Brent "It's just so sexual. It makes me blush and want to dance at the same time" -Eavie That's a true story. And a real life conversation that happened while Zak Waters was singing his sassy jam "TNT" for his session. It's just so funky naughty dirty bird. Zak brought the sexual latte bright and early. He prepped for his session by singing vocal warm-ups in the parking lot across the street. You're welcome parking lot attendant and random police [...]

The New Limb 's van rolled up to Kick Kick Snare bright and early Friday morning. Between the band and the KKS crew I think we downed three gallons of coffee before 10am. They played an amazing stripped down version of the song "Refugees" which will be on their forthcoming album. I think The New Limb wins the award for perfectly packed van. The back looked like a real life game of Tetris. They were literally so good the fire alarm went off. Keep an eye out as we'll soon be releasing the band's Kick Kick Snare [...]

WOW we are one lucky bunch of music fans! We got an EXCLUSIVE performance of ANR 's new track 'What Does It Take?'. Not only is it the first it me you will hear the track outside of live performance, but how many of you can make beautiful music with a spoons and a drumpad??! Make sure to keep checking back for the EXCLUSIVE first listen of ANR's new track 'What Does It Take?', this is going to be the only place to hear it until the end of 2012. [...]

At SXSW Blondfire has learned firsthand all about it's craziness and comradery. The night before coming to see us they were playing at the Wharehouse Showcase where they had to work with their fellow bands to borrow an amp and then had another band struck by equipment gremlins, which left them unplugged and playing acoustic. Thankfully everything went smoothly at their visit with us. Erica was the first to break out the in house KKS acoustic guitar and with Bruce they sang us a beautiful, soft and completely unplugged version of 'Walking With Giants' that really [...]

Bahamas wins the award for biggest entourage. So many friendly sweet faces walked through our doors, but just Afie and two backup singers made their way onto the KKS session couch. Bahamas has had a busy day. They already played two showcases before 3:00pm, including a 7am show! Their harmonies and tones are ridiculous. They're seamless and full and exactly the way you wish every singer would sound in the flesh. Plus they wear semi-matching outfits! Bonus. Keep an eye out as we'll soon be releasing Afie's acoustic performance of "Lost in the Light" at Kick Kick Snare [...]

"I expect the couch to be shimmering with gold glitter after your session" Brent encouraged Ara of The Two who arrived for their session sporting a forehead adorned with golden flecks. She had no intention otherwise. Ara and David aka The Two were such a delight and professional beyond their years and we sent them from an acoustic performance, to firing off interview questions, to snapping some press shots in front of the good ol' Kick Kick Snare and Aloft Hotels step and repeat. They performed an acoustic rendition of the song "Everyday" off their self titled [...]

How many Canadians can you fit in the Kick Kick Snare studio for a session? The answer is 6. So far at least. Royal Canoe might be our new obsession. The song they performed called "Bathtubs," from their brand new EP called Extended Play, is such a jam. The guys have been on the road touring from Winnipeg, down the west coast up through Texas and will continue up and around to the East and back to Winnipeg again. Interestingly enough, the guys said they got stopped more at the Texas border than they did at the US/Canada [...]

Polarsets marks our second Brit band of the day and our first electric geetar. Watching them strum away I felt like a moth attracted to a light bulb. The guitar was so hollow-bodied and shiny white with gold accents. Boss! We also shared our stash of organic gummy bears with the team. The consensus? Organic gummy bears are the business. And so are the Polarsets. Keep an eye out for the video and a downloadable live MP3 coming up soon! You [...]

Youngblood Hawke has left the KKS building! What a handsome, sweet group of people. The band, which trekked here from Los Angeles, talked a bit about their forthcoming full-length album during their Kick Kick Snare "In Session" presented by Aloft Hotels. No title at this point, but they're finishing off the recording process in Simon's home studio. We packed 5 people onto a love seat and a few amps. We almost felt bad about it until Simon told us our studio space is about the same size as what they're working with, minus the 12 cameras and boom mics. [...]

Graffiti6 graced Kick Kick Snare "In Session" presented by Aloft Hotels with an amazing acoustic performance at the most ungodly of hours... 10 am! 10 o'clock in the morning during SXSW is basically the equivalent of a 5am show anywhere else. To find any artist awake, sober, and sounding glorious is like winning the MegaMillions jackpot. And we did it! This was the first of many stops for G6. He's playing 5 more shows in Austin. Check out his schedule here . You won't be sorry. Stay tuned for the video and downloadable live version of Graffiti62s [...]

Fresh off a month-long residency at The Bootleg Theater in Echo Park, CA, Incan Abraham has descended upon Austin. From the looks of it, they're going to be busy as hell. I see their name smiling down at me on various fliers from the Pandora Discovery Den to The Hype Machine Hype Hotel. So much alliteration! Lucky for us, the guys have found time to drop by Kick Kick Snare's Aloft sessions for a quick interview and a semi-acoustic rendering of the track "In Milan" off their most recent EP Ancient Vacation. It's gonna be a psychedelic-pop party! [...]