John Cade

Yes folks, you have read my headline correctly - today’s New Music Monday feature introduces you to Enjoy the Zoo, one of the newest and most fun bands in Nashville.  A friend of mine informed me about ETZ several months ago, but I never took the time to give them a listen.  However, this Saturday I was browsing through the music listings in All the Rage and came across their listing for at show a 12th and Porter that night.  Like any responsible local music fan would do, I quickly pointed my browser to their myspace page.

If you don’t like their music, you can at least appreciate their brilliant, bright-colored marketing scheme. They use this same scheme when dressing for their shows, which is a fun way to keep the crowd engaged visually.  However, it’s not as if they rely on this gimmick to keep your attention - they have the charisma any signed band should, and they can only get better. In the words of one of their fans, “Once the songs are as good as their charisma, they will have IT.”  IT is not something you come across on a daily basis.  With a few tweaks, they clearly have a shot at taking it to the next level.

Below you can listen to my favorite hip-pop-flavored tune of theirs, appropriately titled “Teenage Girl Killer”.

Sean McConnell is creating a buzz in Nashville with the release of his newest EP, Tell The Truth. His live show is extremely professional, featuring some of the best local players I have seen supporting a local songwriter in several years. The lyrics are incredibly honest and the music, which is a mixture of pop and folk rock, is polished and extremely well produced. Below you can listen to music from Tell the Truth and Cold Black Sky.

Billy from Soddy Daisy

Say, Say, Say

Lie, Baby, Lie

Sean McConnell on Myspace

Sean McConnell on iTunes
(requires iTunes application)

Nashville has an extremely high density of talented musicians, and believe it or not, they don’t all play country music. Since my move to Tennessee 5 1/2 years ago, I have been to countless pop and rock concerts, and witnessed some very impressive musicianship. I have chosen to dedicate my post each Monday to introducing the world (and more importantly, my friends and family outside of the Nashville area) to new (and hopefully well received) music from Nashville and other thriving local music scenes. My goal is not to review these artists, but rather introduce you to them.

Week of January 21st

AutoVaughn, one of the flagship local rock bands in Nashville, released Space in March of 2006, a 10-song album featuring catchy, Killers-like songs including One More Time, On The Radio, and Rock Your Body. Six-hundred people attended their sell-out CD release show at Mercy Lounge, one of the the premier local venues in Nashville. AV followed up this release with relentless touring across the country, putting them on the map nationally, earning them college radio airplay, shows with national artists including Rooney, and ultimately a major-label record deal with Epic Records late in 2007.

Press play to hear One More Time, On The Radio, and Rock Your Body

AutoVaughn on MySpace