Friday, March 16   11:00 p.m.
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  Pompeii - Numbers
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Pompeii's music is a thing of elegance and eloquence, splendor and daring. In just over a two-year lifespan, the five members of Pompeii have managed to construct a monument of evocative emotion, ambitious sound, and infinite vision. The foundation is a solid work of desire and commitment, held cohesively by the undeniable talent and passion of Dean Stafford (vocals, guitar), Erik Johnson (guitar), Caitlin Bailey (cello), Rob Davidson (drums) and Shane Stevens (bass).

The quintet's debut album, Assembly, is the sound of music that has the gift of appeasing not only the ears, but the heart, mind and soul. Pompeii will quietly and seductively enter with a mild whisper, giving their music the chance to make the name Pompeii come to life. Distort Mag.UK states, "Pitching camp in the no-man's land between latter-day Nada Surf and Death Cab For Cutie, these Austin-based newcomers lavish us with tasteful, thoughtful, American indie of the highest order."

With the demos circulating, and a peppering of shows in 2004 and into early 2005, it was inevitable that their light vs. dark motif would draw attention and they would steadily become a local favorite in their hometown of Austin, TX. With the intellect of Stafford's lyrics, powered by a backbone of solid rhythm and melody, this otherwise ambient five-piece has a natural ability to make even the most mundane seem epic.

From depravendfangirls.org: "as I watched Pompeii I realized that for the first time, I was seeing a band who was using that ubiquitous (and utterly tiresome, usually) Radiohead influence in the right way -- chiming, lovely guitars and sweet, sad boy vocals and modestly epic and darkly uplifiting lyrics, over the driving clatter of emo drums and Peter Hook-ish melodic bass lines -- all hoisted up by the deep, raspy scraping of Caitlin's cello. I'm hesitant to know what to call Pompeii's music -- because it's not indie pop, or indie rock, or straight up goth or emo. It's all these things, and in the end, I think that's why Pompeii's music is so affecting."

The immediacy of their beauty was recognized at their SXSW showcase spot in 2005. Eyeball Records (My Chemical Romance and Thursday) owner Alex Saavedra was so impressed that he offered them a contract on the spot. With a full-length, produced by D. James Goodwin (Murder by Death, Sleep Station) and set for a October 2006 release, the members of Pompeii have managed to sustain a grounded life that is, in fact, part of their charm.