Be Your Own Pet

Be Your Own Pet has been wreaking havoc since its inception in 2003. Back then, it consisted of some crazy-talented teenagers sitting around a Nashville basement. Today, they're still crazy-talented and adolescent, but they're out of the basement and on the road. Of course, they had a little help from their families: Lead singer Jemina Pearl Abegg's dad is Christian artist Jimmy Abegg, guitarist Jonas Stein's dad is music manager Burt Stein, and bassist Nathan Vasquez's dad is acclaimed Latin jazz guitarist Rafael Vasquez. (No info on whether drummer John Eatherly has any big-time connections.) But all the famous relatives in the world won't get you the kind of rabid fans that BYOP has. That kind of action comes only by consistently offering up relentless, hard-hitting, messy, "I'm sure there's a melody in there somewhere" garage rock. — Olivia Flores Alvarez