Artist of the day: Bet Me I'm Lying

There are a lot of local teenage and prepubescent bands out there, but not many embrace an overtly throwback sound.

Bet Me I'm Lying -- guitarist Kirk Adikes, 13; bassist Jamie Craske, 12; vocalist CJ Harris, 14; drummer Brendan Marquardt, 11; and guitarist Jackson Marquardt, 12 -- play a blend of alternative pop that blends the mod-tinged pop of the Hollies and Jefferson Airplane with R.E.M.'s western-tinged tracks from the early '90s.

Like indie-kid-rockers Smoosh, the raw sound and childlike vocals add to the appeal of the band, whose members all live in Largo's Harbor Bluffs neighborhood. They recently recorded a homemade, self-titled CD, and now that summer's here, they've been playing more gigs around town.

"When they play live, they're almost like a jam band," said Matt Marquardt, dad to Jackson and Brendan and the band's de facto manager.

Bet Me I'm Lying will play Friday at the Witch's Brew, 1219 Florida Avenue, Palm Harbor; and Sunday at the Pegasus Lounge, 10008 N 30th St., Tampa.

Click here to listen to their track Slowly Fading.

-- Jay Cridlin, tbt*

Comments

[jackson from the band]

thanks for the review. glad you like our sound.

[Cj and kirk from the band]

that is a good review, but, not entirely true... Some of us, like me and kirk are already in puberty, and our newer songs are more modern but still have that 90's feel. Thanks so much for having us as band of the week