OSO and In Droves

Led by singer/guitarist Mike Montero, OSO exhibits a great knack for spacey, jammy prog-rock reminiscent of Particle. The band's full-length LP, You Know, was released independently on its own Polyphonic Studio label last July. Like many local musicians, Montero finds the Miami rock scene a challenge, but he does detect a pulse. "I believe that a scene for live original bands does exist in Miami, but it's very underground, and the only way to get to it is with a 200-pound jackhammer," he says, noting that what's missing is a "hub" for live rock acts. "There's no single, central live music 'alley' here where one can hop from bar to bar to check out a bunch of bands all in one night. If Fort Lauderdale can do it, why can't Miami?"

Meanwhile, In Droves is perfectly fit to share the stage with OSO, its music sounding like a dreamy combination of Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, and Figurine. Cofrontman Wally Valencia agrees that local original bands face obstacles, but hastens to add that the bands are ready whenever the clubs are. "If the bars gave original bands a chance, they'd be amazed at how hard the bands would promote shows," he says. To date, Valencia and his crew have played shows at PS 14, Churchill's, and Tobacco Road, and hope to add Studio A to the list — if they can get a little advance notice. "We got asked to play there a couple of times, but they called like the day before the show. There was no time to do any promotion, so we had to turn them down, unfortunately. Hopefully soon, though."