Mahteo

Although Mahteo in its present form has only been around since 2003, brothers Raul Espinosa and Rene Espinosa are no strangers to the music business and scene. They were the key members in mid-90s rock band Swivel, which had a relatively successful run opening for bands such as Fugazi, Alkaline Trio, The Dismemberment Plan, Bowling For Soup, and several other notable acts at the time. The band members went their separate ways just after beginning talks with some indie labels such as Touch And Go Records.

After Swivel split, the Espinosa brothers began a small independent record label called 111 Records that began putting out some releases by artists they had come to admire and wanted to support. One of those artists featured former members of Touch And Go Records' Bedhead and Tripping Daisy, as well as present members of the band The Secret Machines (now on Reprise Records). It was a project called When Babies Eat Pennies, regarded as one of the best bands you'll probably never hear by Andrew Womack of The Morning News Online magazine. Unfortunately, the project dissolved shortly after the release.

This leads us to Mahteo, which mixes together the brothers' Spanish influences with textural keyboards and noisy but lush guitar work. The band ventured to Jacketweather Studios in Austin, TX where they recorded with acclaimed producer Dave Dreesen. The result was a five song demo recorded entirely live that captures the atmosphere and emotions of Mahteo that set the band apart from standard indie rock fare.

Information from the band's site

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  Rene Espinoza: guitar, vocals
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  Raul Espinoza: guitar, vocals
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  Mike Cardenas: bass, vocals
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  Nathan Monteleone: keyboards, samples
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  Rafa Badillo: drums

Joy Division, The Mars Volta, At The Drive-In, Braid, Zoe, U2, Fugazi

Imagine a tamer Mars Volta and HIM mixed with The Killers after listening to a lot of Muse, Eurythmics, and Joy Division albums

Related Links

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  MySpace
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  Interview with Pegasus News