Music: Howler & hype

Jordan Gatesmith's band Howler just landed on a fall tour opening for this year's most hotly hyped U.K. rock act, the Vaccines. On Aug. 1, their little lark of a self-made EP will be issued in Europe via one of the most legendary U.K. record labels of all time, Rough Trade. But first things first -- like playing to a crowd of 30 people on a Sunday night two weeks ago at 7th Street Entry.

Standing on the small stage, Gatesmith revealed his age (19) every time he brushed his floppy hair out of his eyes. The scrawny singer/guitarist's hands bore the X-mark of an underage club patron, which he's used to wearing after two years of Entry gigs with his other band, Total Babe.

The sound Howler churned out, however, sounded older and meatier -- a reverb-heavy, choppy, mildly surf-centric rock that recalls Surfer Blood and the Strokes among modern bands, and harks back to Jonathan Richman and the Feelies among bands that date back to before these kids were born.

Howler came off even better and peppier than on their EP, "This One's Different," issued in April on the local label So-TM. Their Entry show also boasted twice as many songs as the EP. When all was said and done, though, Howler's young makers still didn't have any more minutes in them than they had fans at the show. The gig ended at the half-hour mark.

"I'm spending the whole summer locked in the basement trying to write as many songs as possible," Gatesmith said afterward. "A lot of people think I'm partying all summer because we're signed now, but I'm actually working my tail off."

The De La Salle High School graduate was just finishing up freshman year at Augsburg College when all the hoopla started. One of the first things he did after finding out Rough Trade wanted to sign Howler was to get his money back on fall tuition. "I rushed down there and said, 'Get me outta here!'" he recalled.

The label that brought the Smiths and Libertines to America and helped break the Strokes and Arcade Fire in Europe, Rough Trade got the tip-off on Howler via Twin Cities music writer Jonathan Garrett, who freelances for British music mag NME. A Rough Trade rep came to see the band in May at the Hexagon Bar, and within days the deal was on the table and the always fast-to-hype British music press was off and running. Wrote NME: "Are Howler gonna be the musical missives to put their native Minneapolis back on the rock'n'roll map?"

Howler won't head overseas until November for the U.K. tour with the Vaccines. Before that, the quintet will hit U.S. highways in the fall with hometown mentors Tapes 'N Tapes. Before any touring, though, comes all the writing and recording for a full-length record that Rough Trade wants to put out early next year. Gatesmith sounded confident he can live up to the mounting pressure.

"I feel like I have to make some sort of masterpiece now, but that's OK," he said, "I'm lucky to be in this position."

So-TM operator Chris Heidman, who has since signed on as Howler's manager, said of Gatesmith, "It's impressive how much he has grown as a songwriter and just as a person in so little time." Heidman said he is now inundated with daily e-mails from Rough Trade staffers in London. "Everyone at the label seems really excited about the band," he said.

The buzz is bound to catch up back in Howler's hometown. The band hasn't given up playing assorted, everyday gigs at clubs like the Entry or Triple Rock. These, too, are part of Gatesmith's summer homework.

"We're obviously still a pretty new band," Gatesmith said. "We need to do these shows."