PardiGras

Following up was Pardi Gras, an electro pop band which also formed in Fall 2009. This seven member band filled the stage and drew in a crowd with a mix of both original songs and covers such as Ke$ha's Tick Tock, a real crowd pleaser. Attempting to get the audience moving, lead singer Dillon Mealey and keytar player Seth Crane brought great energy to the stage, jumping around and clapping. At the start of their last song, Mealey announced, "This song is called Lose It, so let's all just lose it!"

-By Maggie Oliver - The Leader

Mardi Gras: A time representative of partying.

Pardigras: A band representative of...well, we'll let you take an educated guess.

"We knew when we played our first few shows," says Dillon the band's lead vocalist "that everyone would dance their butts off, so we wanted a name with party vibes. Chris looked at all of us and was like ‘how about Pardigras' I was like ‘what dude?' and he goes...'It's like Mardi Gras, with more Party!' We all laughed, but it stuck."

And stick it did...in the heads of droves and droves of devoted Pardigras fans addicted to their danceable brand of electro pop tunes (head to their Myspace and listen to "perfect 10" to know what we're talking about!). Speaking of addiction, PG fans aren't the only one's who believe this band is on to something. Pardigras is already generating tons of industry buzz and have turned down several label deals in order to maintain control over their product (and more importantly enable us to feature them on Unsigned Finds!). Without any label support the boys have already had their tunes spun on major stations such as KISS FM and have developed a strong fan base overseas in Japan. They've shared the stage with mega band Brand New and indie fan favorite band Rookie of the Year.

Though they're billed as a party band, for these boys, song inspiration comes from a place deeper than your average Saturday night out. "Most of our songs are inspired by personal experiences with relationships we had, long time girlfriends, hot flings and new acquaintances." Delving even deeper into the emotional side of these self-proclaimed party boys, they even describe, "Some of the songs are about where we aspire to be in the future and about our dreams."

Though it might be easy to assume that these Pardigras "dreams' are laden with fantasies of stardom and celebrity, these dudes have more pressing items on their agenda...like putting on a killer live show for their fans. Ask any female Pardigras groupie and they'll tell you that you'll never leave a PG show with your hair in tact or your makeup still perfectly applied. The band admits it too -- "be prepared to sweat when you come to our shows," says Chris "because you can't help but dance to our music. I don't know that I've ever been to a show quite like ours. Every time we play somewhere different, in a different city, different crowd it inevitably transforms into a giant dance party."

So, next time you're looking to go out and strut your best dance moves, skip the club and head to Pardigras gig instead.

Be sure to listen to Pardigras' music on MySpace or click here for a free download. And, of course you can check them out on Facebook. Like what you hear? Tell us why in the comments section below!

-Jenna Hally Rubenstein - Seventeen Magazine