Joey Cape might be among Punk’s busiest purveyors, but his longest standing and best-known band is obviously Lagwagon, one of the original Punk/Pop groups that emerged from the early ’90s California scene.   

Mixtapes guitarist/vocalist Ryan Rockwell and his bandmates developed an interesting songwriting regimen after the release of their first recording. Whenever Rockwell and Maura Weaver, Mixtapes’ guitarist/vocalist and Rockwell’s songwriting partner, would hit on a particularly resonant tune, they would relegate it to a slush pile of material for an album they intended to serve as their full-length debut. Mixtapes’ song bank proved to be an effective strategy.   

In July 2011, Esquire writer Andy Langer argued that Little Dragon's sound bears great resemblance to Prince's.But even with those similarities, Little Dragon is far too capable and confident to ape another artist without showing its own personality. They are careful both when they go fiery and when they chill out, and with an extra dash of the right je nais se quoi, their sound has legit potential to be big on the right radio stations.   

 Australian Pop/Rock band Men At Work hit me — and many other music fans around the world — at just the right time. I was 12 when the single “Who Can It Be Now?” exploded onto the charts. I was intrigued by the group’s quirkiness, but it was singer/guitarist Colin Hay’s voice that initially drew me in.  

 Rebelution’s infectious blend of Reggae and Pop underscores their socially conscious lyrics, creating a positive vibration that has proven to be engaging and wildly popular.   

In an interview last year, frontman Andrew McMahon of Pop Rock band Jack’s Mannequin said the band’s mission was simply to get “people fired up for some new music.” That new music arrived in early October with People and Things, the third album from the group led by the piano-playing vocalist McMahon.   

If you were to place a bet as to what local band will be the next to follow the likes of Bad Veins, Pomegranates and Daniel Martin Moore into the ranks of “nationally acclaimed” Cincinnati area artists, putting your money on Electro/Indie foursome Eat Sugar is a pretty safe wager. One listen to the band’s excellent new EP, It’s Not Our Responsibility!, and you couldn’t be blamed for betting your life savings.   

With an idea to do something distinctly different, A Day to Remember assembled six years ago from the ashes of a variety of other bands in the flourishing Metal/Punk scene around Ocala, Fla.  

Wake the Bear — a.k.a. one-man-band Scott Cunningham — celebrates the release of his third album, Player Piano, this Saturday at the Northside Tavern. Dan Mecher of Turnbull ACs opens the free show, Cunningham plays in the middle (with his unique loop-and-sample-centric set-up) and new pop rockers The Mighty close the night.