The Heavycoats

Sun Reporter

June 22, 2006

The Heavycoats ()

Hometown: Baltimore

Current members: Nate Lyttle, guitars; Jesse Lyell, vocals and guitar; Paul Gier, bass and vocals; Jeff Martin, drums

Founded in: 2004

Style: energetic indie/new wave/pop

Influenced by: Gwen Stefani, the Birthday Party, Depeche Mode, Echo and the Bunnymen

Notable: Martin, an Iceland lover, convinced his bandmates to fly to the country with him and play two short tours in the past year or so. While there, they landed a gig at the 2005 Iceland Airwaves Festival. After their performance, London indie label Outafocus asked for a single, which will be released in Britain this fall.

Quotable: "It was totally surreal," Lyell said. "Every time we go there, it's just this bizarre Elf-land experience. It's just crazy."

For more information about the band, go to myspace.com/theheavycoats

[Sam Sessa]

sam.sessa@baltsun.com