MyNameIsJohnMichael Kick Off SXSW at the Mohawk

For those who couldn't get in to hear Broken Bells perform at this afternoon's at-capacity Spinner pop-up show, there are some 80-plus venues in Austin hosting music's most promising acts. For example, there's the Mohawk, which lies just a block north on the Red River parking garage. There, as part of the Austinist's BMI day party, the dreamy echoes of L.A.'s Warpaint traded off with the upbeat jams of New Orleans indie rock act MyNameIsJohnMichael on the venue's indoor/outdoor stages.

Being an indie pop-rock band from New Orleans, a city known for its jazz and funk, can be difficult -- a polished sound doesn't mean you'll breakthrough. But for MyNameIsJohnMichael, their background story might provide some more promise. Frontman and namesake John Michael Rouchell started the six-piece on a bet: Could he write one song per week for a year? He did and of those 52, MNIJM played nine tracks, among them 'Althea and the Company Store,' a twangy lady-lament that channels the big brass horns of their hometown.

But if you're just starting to cut your teeth into MNIJM, the band's back-to-back closers 'Misery Runs' and 'The One,' the latter with its percussion by way of a chain banging on a tin can, are the standouts. Galloping beats and "whoa" harmonies backup Rouchell as he sings "no, you can't paint a picture when you're all alone" on 'Misery.' Perhaps this stands true for the frontman, but he sure can pen a solid pop jam.