In our never-ending quest to dig up some great bands that cost less than a corned beef sandwich at Katz’s Deli, we bring you another round of Blips. Blips highlights some great bands that are largely still in their larvae stage, but will soon morph into their beautiful butterfly. In this edition, we have some really cool new music, so take a sec, poke around their various websites, and see what you think.

Boombox

Website / MySpace

Last week I headed down to the Knitting Factory’s Tap Bar to check out Boombox, a band fronted by guitarist Zion Rock Godchaux. Yes, he’s Keith and Donna’s son; but don’t go in expecting to hear Dead tunes. A Boombox concert is a nonstop dance party filled to the brim with lush soundscapes, groovy beats and Godchaux’s smooth lyrics and fretwork. Here’s how the duo’s music works: Producer/DJ Russ Randolph lays down the basic structure of a song for his partner to solo and sing over. The end result kept everyone at the bar on their feet from the moment Boombox took the stage until they finished 90 minutes later.

Read on for more about Boombox and Austin’s White Denim…

Zion Godchaux oozes stage presence, a characteristic that works well in a duo. Russ Randolph, on the other hand, was content to sit back and let his sequencer do the talking. Overall, I had a blast seeing these guys play a style of jamtronica that never got boring. It also didn’t hurt that Boombox’s audience at the Tap Room was 75% female. You don’t see that at many jam band shows. Boombox returns to NYC on June 6 for their first Rocks Off cruise. – Scott Bernstein



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White Denim

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Website / MySpace

You know those bands that open for others band? The ones you generally end up missing to grab a few more drinks at the bar or because you’ve never heard of the band and don’t want to be bothered? Well White Denim is currently one of those bands. The Austin trio will spend the next month or so on the road holding down the opening slot for Tapes ‘N Tapes, but believe me it’s worth going in a little earlier to check these guys out. The band combines the angular jams of Television, with raw visceral punk vocals and a dash of psychedelic blues rock to produce a sound that packs quite a punch – and is currently impressing the shit out of me. These guys only have an EP to their name at the moment, but a full length is on its way this June. In a few short months when everyone is talking about White Denim you can say you saw them when. – Jeffrey Greenblatt