Rotary Downs

With their fuzzy, hooky, experimental pop, Rotary Downs has emerged as a leader in New Orleans' underground rock scene. Singer and guitar player James Marler and steel guitar player Chris Colombo started the band in New Orleans in 1999, and self-released their proper debut, Long After the Thrill, two years later. Though a number of personnel changes ensued, the band followed it in 2003 with the six-song Quitters EP, and solidified a line-up with drummer Zack Smith, multi-instrumentalist Matt Aguilez, and bassist Jason Rhein. That lineup set to work on Chained to the Chariot in 2004, a project that was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and eventually finished under the care of vet Cajun music producer Ivan Klisanin.