Band of the Week: Voxtrot

Hometown: Austin, Texas
Members [l-r]: Matt Simon, Mitch Calvert, Jason Chronis, Jared Van Fleet, and Ramesh Srivastava
For Fans Of: The Smiths, Belle and Sebastian

Like many colleges across the country, the University of Texas in Austin is gracious enough to provide a number of piano practice rooms for its music majors looking to put a little extra time into their required learning.

For the past several weeks Ramesh Srivastava, frontman of indie-pop band Voxtrot, has been using of these facilities to work on new material for his band’s full-length debut due early next year¬¬—despite the small technicality that he’s not, and never has been a student of the university.

“I never went there” laughs Srivastava a few days after playing a Fourth of July rooftop gig in New York City. “I just happen to live right by it. My dad used to be a professor there. I know the whole campus, [the rooms] I can use for free if you just sneak in.” Although he enjoys the freedom of moving around undetected, Srivastava is quick to explain how he hopes it will be something short-lived—at least for his band.

Joining the ranks of fellow indie bands such as Tapes ’n Tapes and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, Voxtrot recently blipped itself on the nation’s radar with the release of two EPs, Voxtrot and Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives, works Srivastava says are meant “to service a room full of people for the sake of dancing. It’s all about the crowd.”

With the buzz surrounding their songs, it didn’t take long before the band was approached by labels looking to sign them. Eventually the decision was made to sign with Playlouder, an imprint of the Beggars Group.

“A couple of major labels did approach us with offers, and admittedly they were for more money—a lot more money—but we said we like Playlouder because it’s part of the Beggars Group,” says Srivastava. “They have this amazing indie ethic, and everything they do, they really do it because they love music.”

With a number of new songs and a few re-recorded EP tracks expected to make their way onto the band’s official welcome record, Srivastava continues to make the most of his time writing—that is, until campus police find him.