Trotting with wolves

For one western band, inspiration comes from across the
ocean.

Voxtrot, hailing from Austin, Texas, will bring its catchy brand
of smooth, jangly indie pop to a Campus Events concert at The
Cooperage on March 13.

The band, a youthful quintet headed by Ramesh Srivastava, plays
the type of music that is impossible to dislike: quick ditties
about love and longing against driving guitar rhythms, easy to
listen to and even easier to dance to. Due to Srivastava’s
eerily un-Texan, almost British vocals, the band could easily be
compared to Scotland’s Belle and Sebastian, but having lots
more fun.

“Just being an indie kid in the states, listening to what
we listen to, I guess it happens with a lot of people. (That style)
works for us,” Srivastava said. But the fact that he spent
four years in Glasgow, Scotland, and only moved back to the United
States last June, could contribute to the vocal affectations that
make Voxtrot so endearing.

Srivastava’s move to Glasgow prompted him to begin the
project that would eventually morph into Voxtrot.

“Right before I went, I wanted to record these songs that
I had written to take with me, so I put up posters all over town,
but it didn’t actually work,” said Srivastava, who
ended up using friends to fill out his sound.

One year short of earning his bachelor’s degree in English
literature, Srivastava moved back to his hometown.

“Every time I’d come back we would record and play
in people’s houses. It was a really casual thing,” he
said. But by June of 2005 the project was enough to get Srivastava
to focus solely on music.

While in Glasgow, Srivastava expanded his palette, discovering a
love for electronic music.

“You don’t really get great night clubs in the
states,” Srivastava said. “Really great dance clubs
exist in Europe. The vibe is kind of equivalent to the free love
era, mid-’60s, psychedelic time period. Young people want to
participate in this thing. Techno and dance music bring that
feeling out the way that music did in the ’60s.”

The ’60s are Srivastava’s first love, although the
infectious choruses on the group’s first EP, “Raised By
Wolves,” channel The Smiths more than anything else. Voxtrot,
however, is a model modern band, taking full advantage of the
promotional potential of the Internet. While featured as SPIN
magazine’s online band of the day, the group has also found
exposure through MySpace and supportive MP3 blogs such as Gorilla
vs. Bear.

“For us, (the Internet) has been invaluable. Blogs are run
by people who are really into music who happen to be computer
savvy,” Srivastava said. “It’s a much less
corrupt world than mainstream music journals.”

The band’s latest EP, “Mothers, Sisters, Daughters,
and Wives” is due in April. According to Srivastava, the new
recording is more complex and orchestrated. Also, the songs on the
new EP were all recorded within a couple months of each other,
something Voxtrot was unable to do while Srivastava was in
Scotland.

“I write the skeleton of the songs, the chords and lyrics,
and then bring it in and we all work on it together. Now that I
live in the states (the band comes) into the process earlier than
it used to,” he said.

To release its music, Voxtrot has founded a label named Cult
Hero.

“We didn’t want to wait for others to put out our
record. I’m really happy with the way things are going, even
though right now we don’t have a big label,” Srivastava
said.

The way Voxtrot is doing things means touring constantly. Before
heading out to the SXSW festival, the band is coming to Los Angeles
the second week of March, likely a welcome change from the flat
lands of the Midwest the group has been playing during this leg of
its tour.

“On our last tour the van broke down and we had to cancel
half the dates. We spent four days stuck in Worcester,
Massachusetts,” Srivastava said.

Known for its onstage exuberance, Voxtrot puts on quite a show.
Although the band’s nationwide fame is increasing, it still
draws the biggest crowds at home.

“Last time we played L.A., there was no crowd because we
hadn’t really made a name for ourselves,” he said.
“In New York we always have a lot of people show up. There
and Austin is where we do the best.”