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THE GAINESVILLE SUN

Sound Check Ska-punk and Surf Rock

The first time I saw Ten 13 Concept, the group was on a bill with my band at Durty Nelly's. I had never heard of them. I think I asked somebody what they were about and was told they were a ska-punk band. I remember thinking, "Oh, another one."

When they took the stage, I realized they were the same dudes who had been sitting right up front cheering (along with their beautiful girlfriends) when my band was playing earlier that night.

So, I got a fresh beer, sat down and gave them a good listen.

Right away, I detected obvious influences - Less Than Jake, Madness and 311, to name a few. But there was something more to it. Through Ten 13 Concept definitely fits under the ska-core umbrella, there's a strong surf-rock element to the sound. It's a nice touch, one that separates the group from all the LTJ clones.

And the thing is, they really have a lot of fun up there. They're all great players, too, who - like all fun-loving groups - each have catchy band nicknames.

There's Collin "Coach" Austin on trumpet, Jon "Super Jew" Epstein on bass, Matt "Kopi" on drums and back-up vocals, Joe "Joe Lo" Loffredo on guitar and lead vocals, and Mike "Meags" Loffredo on trumpet, trombone and back-up vocals.

You can catch Ten 13 Concept tonight at Eddie C's.

The group formed in the summer of 2002 and takes its name from an apartment some of its members had in Orlando - apartment No. 1013.

The band actually has two bases of operations: Gainesville and Orlando. Austin and Mike Loffredo are University of Florida seniors, while Epstein, Koechlin and Joe Loffredo are seniors at the University of Central Florida.

Austin said the band is always setting new goals for itself and the notion of doing this for a living gelled during a memorable gig in Ocala this year.

"We won Battle of the Bands and played for a packed house with Unsung Zeros and Hey Nice Guy," Austin said. "This was the moment when we realized we wanted to make this our career. It was a great night for us. We sold out of merchandise and signed T-shirts and demo CDs all night. That was pretty much the turning point for the band.

And having at least one foot in Gainesville has many advantages, Austin said.

"The music scene here is the best we've heard of and the best we have played in," he said. "We've been to some awesome shows as fans, and this music scene has the best talent by far coming out of it; just look at gainesvillebands.com. The variety of music here is all-encompassing, and you can catch any type of act, depending on your tastes in music."

The band's enthusiam is evident on stage. Since that first night at Nelly's, I've seen Ten 13 Concept a few times, and I really dig them.

Also on this bill is Milka, which is also quite a good band. Eddie C's is at 1315 S. Main St. See you there.

Well, I'm outta space, outta time. See you next week. Oh, and rock on!

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