Neon Trees on BYUtv July 3

What makes an Indie band tick? The general consensus among the subjects featured in Audio-Files – a new BYUtv television series of half-hour documentaries about the Indie music scene’s most outstanding ascending artists – is that they’re compelled to make music by some kind of irrefutable inner force.



The trendsetting series explores what drives these folks to become musicians, to lead a life full of unknowns, big risks and possible great rewards. According to Dan Reynolds, lead singer and songwriter for Imagine Dragons, who were featured in the series’ debut, music is undoubtedly a risky career, but he feels the need to pursue it nonetheless. “It’s the only way I know how to communicate with people … and I haven’t done anything else since I was 14.” In the Paper Route episode, Chad Howat (bass, piano), had a similar comment. “Somebody gave me advice that if you could do anything else besides music, you should. So that’s been my driving force. I can’t see myself doing anything else. I won’t be able to sleep at night if I don’t give music a shot.” In the upcoming Neon Trees episode, lead guitarist Chris Allen, explains that music is just an intrinsic part of who he is. “It’s what I need to do to feel normal.”



Audio-Files is shot in High Definition cinéma vérité style using handheld cameras, giving the pieces a gritty, soul-searching Super 8 tone. Through candid conversations with the artists, never-before-seen unplugged performances and concert footage, the series offers an audio-visual experience that is unique, original and powerful, and creates a genuine relationship between the musicians and the audience. Audio-Files provides a subtext to the music, allows viewers to take an unfiltered peek inside the heads and hearts of the performers and illustrates how an Indie rock band makes its way in the competitive music scene.



In addition to Imagine Dragons, and Paper Route, the first season of the series has featured Mason Jennings, Joshua James and Low. The next episode, about Mercury Records’ Provo, Utah-based band Neon Trees, airs on Tuesday, July 3 at 6:30pm MT/8:30pm ET (replays on July 4 at 12:30am MT/2:30am ET). Coming in future weeks are Trampled by Turtles, Ramona Falls, Damien Jurado and The Head and The Heart. (See links to band websites below.)



Audio-Files is part of BYUtv’s on-going commitment to bring unique musical content to television, and one of two original new music programs to air this season - the other is The Song That Changed My Life (http://bit.ly/IyoeoD). A ground-breaking High Definition non-commercial network dedicated to "seeing the good in the world," BYUtv’s reach is unprecedented at any university in the world. They produce approximately 1,000 hours of original programming a year, which is available in 50 million households across the country, on roughly 800 cable and satellite providers, including Comcast, DirecTV, Dish Network, AT&T U-Verse, and streaming on-demand at www.byutv.org.