The Offbeats is an American musical band based in the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

city of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

with a

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

sound. Their music has been compared to

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio More ...

and

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

and the group has been getting positive critical attention by

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s writing in San Antonio media. Music critic Jeremy Martin described their overall sound as "early ’60s garage rock through a post-post-punk filter." They recorded several albums, and their recent CD ''Lights Out in the City'' was notable for its musical quality as well as its newspaper-themed cover art.

Beginnings

The band started as a collaboration in 2001 between Bryan Foster and Eric Romasanta who were finishing

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in San Antonio. They played various clubs in San Antonio, with musicians entering and leaving during these early years, and finally settling on a five-piece band. From 2002 to 2008, they played regularly at local clubs and honed their music. They released several EPs but the recorded sessions felt short of the group's expectations, according to

lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Bryan Foster, who said after making recordings that "it was never what we felt like it was when we had that live vibe." In 2008, their full-length debut CD entitled ''Standards'' was released, which reworked many of their previous tunes. It was described by music critic Jeremy Martin as "impressively professional and mature" despite being self-recorded and self-produced. What helped, according to then-lead guitarist Eric Romasanta, was rehearsing in their own space, which gave the group an "unlimited amount of time to spend on the album" including scrapping and reworking arrangements as necessary. He said: The group improved technically. They continued to play regularly at clubs, including doing

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

s with other bands. Songwriter Bryan Foster improved during these years, according to critic Jeremy Martin. He wrote:

Personnel problems

After releasing ''The Standards'', the group suffered a major personnel problem when their drummer, Mike Griffin, departed without warning. Singer Bryan Foster said "our first instinct was to regroup." They decided not to replace Griffin with another drummer but instead slimmed to only four members, and the musicians switched instruments (see table.) The changes were described as "drastic" by critic Enrique Lopetegui. In 2009, during this transition, there were some dubious performances when the group did not have its act together. Critic Jeremy Martin, hearing one of their performances live, gave them a mixed review, and described the somewhat middle-aged audience as nonplussed with the group's loudness, and criticized the band's

sound mixing Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic, ...

as well.

Renewal

By 2011, the Offbeats recorded ''Lights Out In The City''. Their songs described fictional but plausible "blackout stories" with thought-provoking lyrics, according to music critic Jim Beal Jr. ''

San Antonio Current The San Antonio ''Current'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. The ''Current'' focuses on investigative journalism, political analysis, and critical coverage of local music and culture. It also contains extensive and u ...

'' music critic Enrique Lopetegui described Bryan Foster as being similar to

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Julian Casablancas Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American singer, musician and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of Rock music, rock band The Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since the ...

. He described the ''Lights Out in the City'' album as "catchy" and wrote that it was "one of the best local albums of the year." Music critic Jim Beal Jr. wrote that the album was "smart, clever and catchy." Lopetegui agreed, and elaborated: In 2011, the band plays venues around San Antonio, and has four musicians, including three brothers: Bryan, Colin and Sean Foster, along with guitarist Eric Romasanta.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Offbeats page on Myspace
2001 establishments in Texas Garage rock groups from Texas Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups from San Antonio