Before They Were Famous: Fatback Circus

Before They Were Famous exposes Austin musicians playing under the radar. You haven't heard of them ... unless your brother is in the band.

Even if your brother isn't in this band, rest assured that someone's brother is. Nathan and Aaron Campbell, twins and rock cohorts, along with Dalton Chamblee and Garrett Ross, are Fatback Circus. Still spitting fire from winning a spot on the Vans Warped Tour, the group is achingly close to being picked up by a major record label. The four-piece menagerie of rock, jazz, funk and spunk was born in the sleepy town of Stillwater, Oklahoma, but Austin is now their home.

Their sound could be lumped into many genres, but we like to call them avant-garde bluegrass. Fatback Circus' stage personality is even kookier than their sound, as they stray against writing songs that are "normal." Fatback's earlier work is full of bouncy love songs that layer jazzy "mmm-tah" bass lines with Nathan's soaring vocals, but the band's latest album, Dark World, is dark and redeeming. They tend to group a cornucopia of varying songs onto one disc, much like a Ween album. Other major influences include Primus, Tom Waits, Smashing Pumpkins and Elliott Smith.

Why they do it:

Fatback believes music can't be explained through science and technical terms. "[Music] may come from a long line of genetic mating calls, like birds. We practice our instruments and write our own songs because music is the purest form of truth and feelings," Aaron said. Harping on originality, they have true potential to grasp a different kind of audience—one that craves intimacy, vulnerability and sincerity. "Experimenting is the only way to truly find something new. Expressing your feelings through music, even if no one else gets it. A good rule to live by when writing a song is to satisfy yourself. If you can completely satisfy yourself and complete a vision, other people will see that. They will hear the truthfulness of the music."