L.A.X

Think ahead to Sunday at The Austin City Limits Music Festival. You are probably worn out from two epic days of live music, and you want a Sunday morning revival. Worse, you are one of the poor souls who could only score a one day ticket, and you need to get caught up with the rest of us. The cure for either is the healing power of some Dancin’ with the hybrid house-electro-dance-R&B tunes of local Austinites L.A.X.

L.A.X began in 2005 as a duo, Andrew Collins and Erin "Dancin" Jantzen. Over the past couple of years they have added the talents of Yadira Brown, Jon Oswald, Chris D’Annunzio and Rory Phillips. To get a feel for the organic nature of their performances, check out this video for Dire Fire.

And this band really is “local.” Collins is an Austin High grad (It’s the school that looks like a penitentiary taking up prime real estate right across the lake from ACL. I can say that only because I am also a proud Maroon.) Zilker Park, therefore, could be considered their home turf.

But given that ACL is an outdoor festival, L.A.X could also be a fish out of Town Lake (I mean Lady Bird Lake.). As Collins explains, in the beginning they avoided larger venues for the most part opting instead to do house shows, “where the energy and vibe was guaranteed to be popping, moving through the people, hot and sweaty.” Thankfully, they are playing on the Austin Ventures stage, one of the more intimate stages at ACL and, coincidently, the same stage where another Austin High grad Ian Moore performed at ACL in 2003.

L.A.X will bring the popping music – Pump to The Beat, Come and Get Me, Wall that Divides. But we have to bring the hot and sweaty. Do you have what it takes to come early and stay late on Sunday? If you think you can handle it, attend the church of L.A.X with me on Sunday, October 4 at 11:20 on the Austin Ventures Stage and be saved from Saturday’s hangover. - examiner.com - Bruce Butler

Thursday night at Mohawk, one of Austin's most entertaining live bands will be bringing their heavy dance beats, and high-energy stage presence back to their hometown crowd. L.A.X. puts on a show that seems like a constant sprint filled with adrenaline that doesn't let up until the final note of the last song. I have already seen them live twice, and after seeing them it's no surprise why they are one of the few local electronic acts that has been invited to play this year's mega-packed lineup of the ACL Fest. Expect to see big things in store for the local band after their festival debut performance is complete. Andrew Collins, Erin Jantzen, and Yadira Brown will be accompanied by a full band (drums: Jon Oswald, bass: Chris DeNunzio, and guitar: Rory Phillips), and will be headlining the "Ladies Night" themed event.

www.101x.com/chillville/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10044048 - Monty from 101X

A cursory glance at Andrew Collins, all flowing locks, bristly mustache and prominently displayed chest piece tattoo, would offer little indication that he fronts one of Austin’s most winning dance acts. The grungy appearance would sooner suggest Collins, 25, spends his nights screaming in a metal band — which he has, with hardcore outfit At All Cost, which plays its final two shows in December.

But it’s L.A.X., which singer and keyboardist Collins formed as a side project in 2005 alongside vocalist Erin Jantzen, 26, that occupies his musical energies these days. The house, R&B and pop-blending group, born as a duo and grown into a sextet, started captivating Austin in a series of house parties but graduates to the big leagues with the 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival, which will be their first proper festival performance.

“I think the band right now is actually in a really good place to start playing festivals. There’s more members than there used to be, there’s a lot more going on. Sometimes the stages are a little bit too small at the clubs we play right now,” Collins says. “It’s going to be really awesome to get out on something big and have a really good sound.”

Collins, long an aficionado of pop music and electronica — he today cites Daft Punk as a major influence — started L.A.X. to indulge all the inspirations he wasn’t incorporating into At All Cost. He sought out Jantzen, who had sung background vocals for the metal band and whose musical experience was largely limited to family karaoke sessions. They played a succession of house parties and small shows whenever both were in Austin, with little but a drum machine between them.

“I had never been in a band or even thought about being in a band so for me it was fun. He’d be gone a lot of the time, and when he came back we’d play a crazy party and get drunk and have fun and make people want to dance,” Jantzen says. “Truthfully, Andrew and I were I think less motivated with less people. But now that we’ve got everybody playing together, it’s just completely taken over.”

The duo started with a quickly recorded four-song demo in 2005, which was followed by the 10-track ‘L’ EP in 2007 (two planned follow-ups will, of course, by titled ‘A’ and ‘X’). The band added another four members — singer and writer Yadira Brown, drummer Jon Oswald, guitarist Rory Phillips and bassist Chris D’Annunzio. The completed lineup played unofficial parties during the South By Southwest Music Festival.

And while L.A.X. — with Jantzen’s and Brown’s smoothly seductive vocals, a driving pop sensibility and levels of auto-tune that could compete with ‘808s & Heartbreak’-era Kanye West — might seem like a curious development from a metal fan, Collins says it’s simply a reflection of the hook-filled music he’s always loved.

“I listen to more pop and electronic music than I ever did with metal. A good melody and a hook is just something I love. Like, in a Mariah Carey song, there’s always a hook that just sticks with you. And that’s something I try to put into every song,” Collins says. “I think of something in my head, and if I can remember it at the end of the day that means it’s a winner.”

L.A.X. plays from 11:20 a.m. to noon Sun. Oct. 4 on the Austin Ventures stage. - Austin360.com

There's a little electro-pop unit in Austin called L.A.X., and they've been getting the party started throughout this awesome city for a long time coming. This year at ACL they broke through to an even bigger audience by serving up a good dose of their moving sound. Full of good spirits after taking stage at ACL, they stopped by the media tent to say hi. Meet and greet, the lovely L.A.X. (aka Erin "Dancin" Jantzen, Andrew "Kiddy Fish" Collins, and Yadira "Cutie" Brown). “We party hard and play songs. Why else would you be in a dance band?”

Check out the interview:
www.spinearth.tv/report/acl-2009-you-have-to-meet-l-a-x - SpinEarth.tv

L.A.X.: Austin Ventures Stage, 11:20am
Austin’s L.A.X. is at a slight disadvantage playing this pre-noon slot on the third day, when most people are fighting the urge to sleep in and crawling their way back to Zilker. But for those who make the effort, there’s no better way to wake up: The group whips Auto-Tuned R&B, chopped-and-screwed hip-hop, ’80s new wave, and house-music abandon into such a club-ready frenzy that it can’t help but stir the inner hedonist, no matter the time of day. Here’s your dance-rock hair of the dog.

- A.V. Club Austin