"If #sxsw is where the world meets the future, then we'd like to introduce the future to Nicos Gun." - Spinner

"With oodles of talent, an incredible live show and a super-sized love for Prince many things rhythmic, Nicos Gun brings together elements of New Wave with electronic dance music. File under: not afraid to entertain." - Paste Magazine

"If you could distill the feverish intensity of an all-night rager and alchemize it into a musical form, then you'd get a sense of what to expect from Philly-based foursome Nicos Gun...Fusing punk rock energy with a genre-jumping eclectic mix of psych-pop, funk and glam rock, Nicos Gun wants their fans to have fun enjoying their sound." - Relix

"Nicos Gun mine the musical territory of electronic dance rock. Though the sound of the band recalls elements of the past, they are a band of the moment. The full-force funk of songs like "Dirty Girl," and "Soldier" bring to mind the R&B music of Prince, with its funky rhythmic bottom and slinky, chicken-scratch guitar riffs. On songs like "Control," the sinewy synthesizer lines drive the beat bring to mind the lock-step electronic grooves of LCD Soundsystem." - WXPN


"Nicos Gun got the crowd energized with their own bounce and raucousness. More streamlined then their tour mates, the Philadelphia based band seesawed between electro-tinged dance floor anthems and Velvet-Underground inspired hazy rockers.... The polish of the dance numbers were dirtied up with a surprisingly non plagiarized rock attitude and the guitar freak outs of lead singer/guitarist Barney Cortez........" - Brooklyn Vegan

"Nicos Gun didn't start out as a band at all. Producer Harry Zelnick, Barney Cortez (singer/guitar player), and Nick Bockrath (guitarist/keyboardist) initially met to produce "a track that Lil Wayne would want to use". Having won a Grammy for work that he did with Ludacris when he was just 17 ("War With God"), Zelnick has worked with everyone from Kelly Clarkson to 50 Cent. "Harry is trained to just crank beats out. We started to write fast and combine every type of music we like from the Velvet Underground to Lil B. Next thing we know we had over 40 songs."

Cortez has cut guitar tracks for The Roots before, Bockrath has done time with American Babies and Elevator Fight (with Zoe Kravitz), and the two previously performed together as Philly Indie darlings Cortez, Cortez. But when they combined forces with Zelnick, the pieces started falling into place and they realized they didn't have a group -- they had a gang.

With a laptop studio set up in the loft apartment they all share -- and a permanent practice space they frequent daily -- Nicos Gun doesn't take a day off. When they're not recording a new song, they're making a video for the new song they recorded yesterday. "I want people to know that we're experimenting and doing a lot of work," says Cortez. "We're just trying to do something new and cool everyday, whether it fits into this box or that box."

"A big part of it, too, is that we want to bring people into our world," says Nicos Gun. "We want to show people how we live in Philly. Making a video is as fun as making a new song. And especially just to be able to write a song, make a video, put it on the net, and have people respond to it is awesome. Friends will tell friends who will tell friends and you can gain a fan one at a time. We like writing songs, we like getting them to people, and we like playing live. It's a pretty simplistic idea."
-- Benjy Eisen (AOL Music / Spinner); San Francisco

Manicanparty is an alternative pop group comprised of singer/songwriter Jessica Corazza and producer Patrick Morrissey. Growing up in Minnesota they each found their own path to the arts. Pat did theater work and played in a number of indie bands, while Jess pursued songwriting and the guitar. In 2007 Patrick moved east attending the Hartt School where he studied acting. Jess hung back in Minnesota attending University of Minnesota and writing songs in her spare time but quickly joined Pat in Connecticut. There they began to compose music together creating a new and dynamic partnership. After Pat graduated they moved to Brooklyn, NY finding a home with Treehouse Recording Studios-AtWork Management where they perfected their distinct and fresh sound. Released under RPM MSC/ATWORK their debut single, "Rebels in the Light", caught the attention of both critics and listeners alike with its heavy use of tribal drums and chants, accentuated by Jessica's unique vocal tone. "Rebels in the Light" is the first single off the upcoming Manicanparty EP set to release late this summer.

The Vallarelli Brothers formed their band Phone Home in April of 2010. The native New York instrumental pop-duo creates rhythmically driving, atmospheric soundscapes with Michael on keys and John on drums. Inspired by all genres of music, Phone Home's lyric-less music echoes feelings that we are not alone in this universe, hence the loving nod to E.T. with the band's name.

They released their debut, self-titled E.P in September 2010 on their Bandcamp site http://phonehome.bandcamp.com/ with a pay what you'd like option. Various blogs have made comparisons to krautrock, The Album Leaf and Brian Eno among others.