Cokie the Clown, the alter ego of NOFX frontman Fat Mike, made his stage debut at a NOFX show in Chicago in 2009 and will be resurrected for an appearance at the Fat Wreck Chords showcase at this year's SXSW. Originally conceived as a Halloween costume, Cokie the Clown was the inspiration for NOFX's 'Cokie the Clown' EP, which was released in ...

On the heels of their debut album, 'The Big Black & the Blue,' which is out in May, Swedish sister duo Klara and Johanna Soderberg are getting ready to bring their folksy harmonies to America for the first time. Though only 17 and 19 respectively, Klara and Johanna have already attracted the attention of their compatriots the Knife, who ...

Hip-hop trio First Class Fresh, who hail from Round Rock, Texas, have been friends and amateur rappers since their early teens. But it wasn't until 2008 that they decided to pursue a professional rap career. They released their first mixtape 'Bags & Receipts,' in July 2009 and followed that up with 'First Class Flight' in January 2010. Spinner ...

Dallas rapper Fat Pimp [born Christopher Mudaughon] has built his career as an underground rapper by distributing mixtapes of original material. His songs have appeared both on club playlists and in the Billboard Top 100 chart and his latest mix, "Badd As I Wanna Be," received more than 7,000 downloads in its first week through Twitter alone. With ...

Fashawn, the underground hip-hop artist who hails from Fresno, CA, has been rapping since the age of 12. He made a name for himself through mixtapes long before his debut album, 'Boy Meets World,' was released last year. Channeling a difficult childhood in foster care into his lyrics, he's toured around the United States and Europe, sharing the ...

New York quintet Fang Island released their self-titled debut in February and have already attracted attention from the indie rock blogosphere. Originally formed at the Rhode Island School of Design, the members all recently reconvened in Brooklyn to record and promote the record. Undeterred by the fact that their tour van was stolen just days ...

Los Angeles sextet Family of the Year only released its debut full-length, 'Songbook,' last November, but quickly followed it up with an additional EP, 'Through the Trees,' in March. Even prior to 'Songbook,' their music attracted the attention of Ben Folds and Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, who hand-picked the group to play with the Pops at ...