Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker cofounded the Duluth, MN–based band Low in 1993 with John Nichols. The trio, considered forerunners of “slowcore,” has released a number of well-regarded albums since, including Long Division, Secret Name, Things We Lost in the Fire, and C'mon.

Nashville residents Rich and Mindy Painter are Rich Creamy Paint. Two of the songs from their album Lovers, mixed by Russ Long (Wilco) and coproduced by John Mark Painter (Ben Folds), were featured on MTV’s “Road Rules.”

Now based in Washington, D.C., Pete and Maura Kennedy met in the early ’90s at the Continental Club in Austin, Texas. They were backup band members for Nanci Griffith before completing their first album as The Kennedys, River of Fallen Stars, in 1995. Subsequent releases include Angel Fire and Stand.

Tara Key and Tim Harris, along with friend Josh Madell, are the New York–based trio Antietam. Their albums include the self-titled debut Antietam (1985), Everywhere Outside (1991), and Victory Park.

$mall ¢hange (Jim Dier) and Jules/C (Julie Covello) are based in Paterson, NJ. Dier hosts “Nickel and Dime Radio,” a long-running show on independent radio station WFMU, and has deejayed at many downtown NYC clubs. Covello, who spins as “DJ Shakey,” is also a filmmaker and served as the music editor for Sweet Action magazine.

Berlin-based agf/dlay is Antye Greie and Vladislav Delay (whose given name is Sasu Ripatti). Greie’s solo efforts include Westernization Completed; she’s also performed since the mid-’80s with Berlin band Laub. Delay (who often records as Luomo) releases include 2003's The Present Lover.

After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1974, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth moved to New York City, where they cofounded the legendary Talking Heads with David Byrne. In 1981, the couple formed the Tom Tom Club as a side project. The group’s albums include that year’s Tom Tom Club, Close to the Bone (1983), Dark Sneak Love Action (1992), and Live @ the Clubhouse (2002). In addition to their own musical projects, Frantz and Weymouth have produced albums for artists such as Angelfish, Happy Mondays, and Ziggy Marley.

Originally from Seattle, WA, Jason and Tina Trachtenburg and their daughter Rachel are The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. Currently based in New York City, the group scours thrift shops and estate sales for vintage slide collections, then transforms them into musical narratives. Their albums include Vintage Slide Collections from Seattle, Vol. I.

Pasadena, CA–based Giselle and Johnny Brewton record music under the name Chemistry Set. Johnny publishes and assembles the limited edition art and literary magazine X-Ray; Giselle is an artist and filmmaker.

Ventura, CA–based Jeff Grimes and Jenny Pea perform together as Green Sweater Collection. Pea is an environmental designer; Grimes is a writer and musician whose band, The Broken Strings, released an album on Rocketship Records; he also plays with the What Me, Worry? Jug Band.

Fantastic Lovers are musician Kevin Drew, filmmaker Eric Yealland, artist Joanne Goldsmith, and writer Mona Zaidi. The Toronto-based band formed in 1999, when Drew also cofounded the groups KC Accidental and Broken Social Scene, whose critically acclaimed You Forgot It in People topped many critics’ lists in 2002.