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 Zola Jesus |
 Dum Dum Girls |
 J Mascis |
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Story by Tony Bonyata In the past the Music Marathon has helped springboard the careers of new acts that would become huge in their own rights (including the likes ofArcade Fire, The White Stripes and Nirvana) and with a schedule jam-packed with fresh faces and sounds, 2011 looks like it'll be another one for the books. While this year's fest features a handful of better known acts, such as J. Mascis (from Dinosaur Jr.), Portugal. The Man, Brazilian new-wave ravers CSS, and the Japanese all girl pop-punk trio Shonen Knife, there are literary hundreds and hundreds of other new bands that, in all probability, you've never heard (of course, most of these newcomers are hoping this will soon change). A few of the buzz acts that shouldn't have any trouble filling their respective rooms this week are the L.A. indie band Dum Dum Girls  (who are currently topping the CMJ College Radio music chart), icy goth princess Zola Jesus, indie synth-poppers Neon Indian, garage rockers Pujol & Davila 666 [a personal fav], noise-rock singer EMA, Sub Pop Records dream-pop act Memoryhouse and Austin's Guy Clark Jr., who effortlessly mixes soul, blues and rock together while injecting some deliciously wicked guitar leads guaranteed to leave even Buddy Guy with a shit-eating grin. Along with trying to suss out the 'next big thing,' the many music panels featured as part of the Marathon are also a big draw for industry professionals and artists alike. This year's panels include topics such as "How to Launch a Music Start-Up," "Producing Killer Videos on a YouTube Budget," "There's a Shark in the Pool: Who's Surviving in the Music Industry" and "Connecting Bands with Fans: Mobile Social Discovery," as well as many others. For a full list of this year's CMJ music industry panels click here www.cmj.com/marathon/conference/panels. Me, I'll be hitting a number of the panels and God-only-knows how many shows while in town for this great new music convergence. I already have a number of hotly-tipped acts I've got my sights on, such as Pittsburgh's indie duo 1,2,3, Nashville garage rockers Turbo Fruits, NYC's own glammy pop cock-rockers Mother Feather - led by the commanding presence of Ann Courtney, power-pop extraordinaire Kurt Baker, the spacious and woodsy indie-folk of Mercies, Idiot Glee, Yelllow Ostrich, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Kevin Devine and The Goddamn Band, not to mention those elusive new bands I'm hoping to just stumble on. It's guaranteed be another great one this yearÉ hope to see you there. To purchase Badges and Passes to this year's CMJ Music Marathon click here www.ticketweb.com. For a full list of this years' artists performing at the CMJ Music Marathon click here schedule.cmj.com. |
 Idiot Glee |
 Mother Feather |
 Shonen Knife |