Mancino

Proud (if adopted) sons of New York's Gowanus Canal, Mancino are an indie rock trio whose quirky wit and enthusiastic embrace of a broad range of pop styles have won them a devoted East Coast following. Mancino were founded by guitarist, bassist, and singer Mike Grimes and keyboard player, bassist, and singer Nadim Issa in 2003, while the two were students at Brown University. Grimes and Issa began writing songs together, and before long they began playing in local clubs under the name Mancino, taken from a backwards coded style of writing devised by Leonardo da Vinci. Grimes and Issa pulled up stakes for Brooklyn, NY, and once settled the duo met Jonathan Mason, originally from France, and found a musical kindred spirit; before long Mason was filling out the lineup on drums, percussion, various toys, and vocals. In 2005, Mancino released their first EP, Dear International, which earned significant college radio airplay and was the second most added title of the week in its first appearance on the College Music Journal charts. The band became a fixture on the New York club scene and toured regularly on the East Coast, occasionally venturing further west. In early 2007, Mancino released their first full-length album, Manners Matter, which featured the tune "Hetchie Hutchie Footchie," supposedly inspired by an Australian dance craze of the '50s and supported by a witty found-footage music video; like Dear International, it was released through the group's own label, and earned notable college and community radio airplay as well as respectable sales through digital services.