So it's time to say hello to another year and also time for our first Band of the Month of the New Year. As our regular readers already know, we like to travel the world to find new talent that we think deserve that extra special praise and we think we have found a real gem to kick start 2012.

Hailing from Austin, Texas is always a good thing to have on your musical resume and with their debut EP due out on 3rd January, we could think of no one better to make Band of the Month.

Not a household name at the moment but if the music gods have any justice then expect to hear lots of good things coming from Lauren and the Black List.

Lead singer Lauren Burton kindly answers our questions:

Bio:
Well, I moved to Austin in 2008 and just started playing little shows for friends here and there (you know, talent show type stuff.) I got more serious about it after meeting Polly Mackey at South By Southwest 2009. She's a brilliant musician and because we were the same age, we sort of hung out a bit during the festival. I learned so much from her about stage presence and song writing. After SXSW I picked up my guitar, put my set together, and just began playing anywhere I could. After a few months of playing shows at really small parties and bars, I met Bryan, my guitarist. We clicked instantly and began playing as a two piece in 2010. After doing several shows as a duo, I decided that I wanted a bigger sound and in April 2011, Kyle, our drummer, and Lance, our bassist, officially joined the band. We did two shows as a full band before packing ourselves into the studio where we recorded with Roi Zerda, who is probably the most amazing engineer on the planet. He took us under his wing and taught us how to really be a band, how to think like a band, and how to succeed in the music business. If it wasn't for Roi, I certainly wouldn't be where I am today. The guy changed my life.

After a couple sessions with Roi, we began playing a few more shows at slightly larger venues. So far, we've been having an amazing time. All of us attend school, and I work part-time, so finding time to mix the EP has taken awhile. Thankfully, though, we finally finished it, and we're so stoked about it it's not even funny.

Members:
Lauren Burton - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Bryan Winslow - Lead Guitar
Lance Osborn - Bass
Kyle Vanderhoof - Drums.

Influences:
The Distillers
Sum 41
Polly Mackey and the Pleasure Principle
Kill it Kid
The Pixies
The Kills
La Dispute
At the Drive In
Garbage
The Matches

Sounds Like:
Oh Lord. This question is so hard. Maybe if The Distillers, Sum 41, and The Matches had a baby?

Current release and where it's available:
The Lauren and the Black List EP will be released on January 3rd, 2012, and will be available for download at laurenandtheblacklist.bandcamp.com

Up and coming artists you would recommend:
Oh goodness! Well, Bobby Jealousy is brilliant, they're my friend Sabrina's band and her voice is just amazing; Polly Mackey's new band Deaf Club is great...Gallops are also really great, as well as Angry Vs The Bear. I've also been jamming to this band called the Flesh Lights. It's old school punk with a rock n' roll feel. Good stuff. This blues act Tate Mayeux and Broussard really amaze me every time I see them live. They just got started, but the singer's voice is just like a train and he can growl like no other. Tom Waits should be jealous.

Future Plans:
Drop out of school, go on tour. (Don't tell my mom that.) Just kidding...probably just continue gigging and then maybe look into touring during the summer with a couple other bands.

Tour Dates:
As of right now, our EP release is January 3rd at Frank with Dead Black Hearts and the History Department, and then we're not quite sure what else we have coming up yet.

If you were the prime minister / president for one day, what would you do:
Ban Jersey Shore from television. That show kills more brain cells than drugs. And I'd make Monday a mandatory disco night. So everyone has to have a disco ball in their house every Monday.

If you could go back to any time in history, where would you go and why:
Oh goodness. I'd love to go back to 1976-1979 and throw myself into the heart of the punk movement going on across the world. Dead Boys, The Germs, Iggy and the Stooges, Velvet Underground....these guys are where it all started...

Our thanks to Lauren for answering the questions. Be sure to check out their Bandcamp page and get the debut EP.

From all of us at Room Thirteen, we hope all our readers where ever you are in the world, have a wonderful and rocking 2012.