Tera Melos (USA), Counterpunch (USA), Eosin (AT)

TERA MELOS
Have Tera Melos gone… pop?Well, no….but yes. Much like the long-running Sacramento, CA trio's intricate and complex song structures, it's not quite that simple. Tera Melos' punk-jazz songs have traditionally been densely packed with so many wild shifts of time signature and chord structures that guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Nick Reinhart jokes they were sounds that, "only wizards could decipher."Tera Melos' first proper full-length, Patagonian Rats is packed with melodic hooks and jabs that on paper might seem to defy the band's experimental edge. There's even clear and distinct vocals throughout -- a first for the band, where vocals, if any, were previously awash with distortion and layered in the mix. But, particulars aside, Patagonian Rats is the type of album that sticks with you. Occasionally, "pop" music has really meant daring music. Like the Beach Boys in the late 60s, The Clash in the 70s, Devo in the 80s, Flaming Lips in the 90s -- the greatest artists have dared to make music that is hooky while also being groundbreaking. Tera Melos formed in 2004 as a quartet, releasing their first self-titled disc in 2005 (later reissued by Sargent House in 2008). The band became a trio in late 2006, releasing the Drugs to the Dear Youth EP early the following year. A split disc with By The End of Tonight (2007) on Temporary Residence and an EP of cover songs, Idioms, Vol 1 followed in 2009. In the meantime, Reinhart collaborated with prolific drummer Zach Hill under the band name bygones, releasing the by- album in 2009 and Spiritual Bankruptcy EP in 2010, both on Sargent House. Clardy has also recently spent downtime as touring drummer with guitar goddess Marnie Stern.

COUNTERPUNCH
There are many things that make up the good life, and being a finalist is definitely one of them. Chicago’s very own high-octane punk rockers Counterpunch won the right to represent our fair and blustering city in the final voting for PopChip’s Pop Up Live Contest. They swept the judges off their proverbial feet by redefining what it means to produce a pop-up show. With their Pop Up Live video for the song “We Believe” they simply out did the competition. Enough so that guest judge Tom Windish, founder and owner of the Windish Agency, was taken-a-back by their shoot location stating, “I love the idea for the venue, fantastic!” By simply transforming their tour bus into a mobile punk show they proved to the judges that they embrace and embody everything that is Chicago. With comparisons to local staples 88 Fingers Louie, Apocalypse Hoboken, and Alkaline Trio, to name a few, it is no wonder these “Punchsters” won the opportunity to make us proud. As one of the illustrious five finalists they will be competing for the opportunity to play a set at Spin Magazine’s SXSW stage this upcoming March 2012. They will be up against New York’s winner Christine Hoberg, San Francisco’s winner The Bruises, Los Angeles’ winner Starving For Gravity, and Seattle’s winner Ramona the Band. Fans are encouraged to support the city of Chicago by voting for Counterpunch to win the grand prize. What began as a contest of 250 bands from these 5 great American cities has wound down to the 5 best bands fit to represent their hometowns. So to keep our brows high, our swagger swinging, and our pride abundant let’s vote until our city’s punk rockers are in Austin showing them what Chicago is all about.

EOSIN
have made it to the final of the local heroes band competition and are well worth arriving early for .