Stephen Jerzak

Name: Stephen Jerzak

Location: La Crosse, WI

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/stephenjerzak

Sound: Acoustic Pop

Holy shit, since when did Ryan Sheckler start singing? 

 Lets face it, the indie pop genre can be pretty played out. Where there's a handful of genuinely good indie pop bands, there's also a handful of indie pop bands that sound generic and lame. When you throw acoustic into the mix, complete boredom is almost inevitable. Not with Stephen Jerzak. There's something surprisingly interesting about his music. Maybe it's the fact that all of his songs, even the slower ones, are rather upbeat and optimistic. Maybe it's because he has that typical indie pop voice that makes all the indie pop girls go wet (Think Alex Gaskarth). Or maybe it's because he's just a down-right cutie. Whatever it is, I like it. Even though he remains unsigned, he managed to score a touring spot with Breath Carolina (niceee) Check out his myspace for dates.

State and Madison

Name: State and Madison

Location: Chicago, IL

Myspace Page: http://www.myspace.com/stateandmadison

Sound: Melodic indie rock with a hint of pop

Before even listening to their music, I had it in my mind these guys were going to suck-BAD. Half the bands I get friend requests from on Myspace usually do. But oh, how quickly I was to judge. Turns out, two seconds into the first song, I was completely mesmerized. The shitty music I was expecting turned out to be melodic, up-beat, and amazingly catchy. And the VOCALS! One word: INFECTIOUS. My personal favorites are If This Was the Moon and By The Time You See the Sun but each song is worth listening to. Sure, they may not be the most attractive guys but hot damn, they're music makes up for it.