The Strange Boys

Brainwashed by years of exposure to an American Bandstand cassette (a circa 1966 show, apparently) in their mother's car, brothers Ryan and Philip Sambol started bashing out their own take on British and psychedelic rock while still attending high school in Dallas, TX. With Ryan on guitar and vocals, and Philip on bass, the brothers honed their retro sound on their own before enlisting Matt Hammer on drums and Greg Enlow on guitar and keys, forming the group now known as the Strange Boys in 2004. The fellas quickly asserted themselves in the fertile Dallas/Austin indie scene and released their debut EP, States Newest Noise Makers, in 2004. Relocating closer to the action in Austin in late 2006, the Strange Boys sought out the Gris Gris' Greg Ashley to man the board for their first full-length release. In 2007, amid work on the aforementioned full-length, the group issued the 7" EP Nothing on Milwaukee's Dusty Medical Records. The Strange Boys moved to In the Red Records for their debut album, 2009's Strange Boys and Girls Club. For the following year's more expansive Be Brave, the band enlisted Mika Miko's Jenna Thornhill and Darker My Love's Tim Presley as collaborators. For 2011's Live Music, the band's most polished album to date, the Strange Boys recruited Spoon's Jim Eno as one of its producers. ~ J. Scott McClintock, Rovi