The Zico Chain
Hometown: Brighton UK
http://www.TheZicoChain.com
Wednesday, March 15 2006
Flamingo Cantina (Austin, Texas)

I caught the last four songs of The Zico Chain's set, which included "Rohypnol" and "Social Suicide," and these guys really made the place throb. This must be what it was like to watch Nirvana before "Nevermind" and "Teen Spirit." These guys are raw, loud, unpolished, and, of the 40+ showcases I checked out, by far the best.

They claim to be heavily influenced by Motörhead and the great god Lemmy does seem to have graced their songs with a frantic pacing. Don't expect to slow dance to these guys, and I don't see many acoustic guitar solos in their near future.

This has to be one of SXSW 2006's breakout bands and if they don't get signed to a major U.S. label soon, I would be surprised. I would also be happy. Much as I would like to see them become successful, I must admit that a greedy part of myself would like to see them stay small and unpolished, because I fear that the music industry would just smooth out all the rough edges, make them corporate, and I like them just the way the are, thank you.