When I saw DJ Z-Trip last August, he performed with a drummer I had to meet, if only because he was wearing a Public Enemy T-shirt.

Turns out that drummer, Pete McNeal, has played not only with Z-Trip but with Mike Doughty and the Breakestra, a couple acts that get a lot of rotation around here. He also spent time with Cake.

Now, McNeal is part of a four-piece called the Panderers, who are recording on Doughty’s Snack Bar microlabel. (The group’s bass player, Andrew “Scrap” Livingston, also performs with Doughty.) Not surprisingly, the Panderers are on tour with Doughty through April (no Arizona dates).

I just picked up the Panderers’ five-song EP, Hotshot’s Boy, on eMusic, and I defy anyone to not groove – you have to at least bob your head – to the soul-meets-blues hooks and rhythm.

• The Panderers | Come On

Here’s one version of the video for Come On. There are a couple others – a bonus cut version and short version – at the Panderers’ YouTube page.

MySpace, a social networking site you might have heard about, has started a studio-session feature called Transmissions. It looks fairly new as Nada Surf and (gulp) James Blunt appear to be the only artists in the archives thus far.

The Nada Surf session is, well, good … but also kind of awkward. A few strange camera angles seem to catch singer Matthew Caws staring off into the nether. I suppose that’s natural when you’re playing in front of an audience of cameramen. I’m just happy to see the band dig back a little bit for some older tunes.

Here’s a couple of the videos. Go here for more music and interviews. You can also buy the performance on iTunes (duh).

See These Bones:

Blizzard of ’77:

Is it just me or does Dan Auerbach look a little like Snow Job from G.I. Joe in this video?

Remember: The Black Keys and Jay Reatard come to Marquee Theatre on March 28. Tickets ($18 advance, $20 day of) on sale here.

Only in the fleeting and fickle world of blogs and indie-rock fans can you debut a video and expect comments like this: “but yeah stop making videos a (sic) record something new.”

So bossy.

I’d say Silversun Pickups probably deserve some time off after a pretty successful past couple years, which included the release of their full-length debut Carnavas and seemingly non-stop touring.

But they went and made a video anyway, the third from the album. Joaquin Phoenix directed this video for Little Lover’s So Polite.

Swing away, Merrill, swing away.

I woke up today with Can’t Say No, a track off the new Helio Sequence record, stuck in my head.

That means I listened to the record on the way to work. It also means I scoped out the new video for the title track, Keep Your Eyes Ahead. (You may remember them performing this on Jimmy Kimmel.)

This video is directed by Whitey McConnaughy.

Reminder: The Helio Sequence and Grand Archives at Rhythm Room on March 18.

For some reason or another, I missed the Cave Singers’ last trip through Phoenix (with Black Mountain, I think), so I’m happy to see they are returning for a May 17 date at Modified in Phoenix. No opening act has been announced yet. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 day of show.

The band’s on the road in support of 2007’s Invitation Songs (Matador). You can visit their MySpace page to stream a new, untitled demo.

• The Cave Singers | Seeds of Night

Video for Dancing on Our Graves:

I really love this title track from the Helio Sequence’s new album Keep Your Eyes Ahead. It feels a little thin here, but I suppose there’s only so much two guys can accomplish. I think this song has grand potential if, say, a full band were to play it.

Remember: The Helio Sequence with Grand Archives on March 18 at Rhythm Room. Get tickets ($10) here.