It’s hard, even for the Wheels duo, to bring humor to such a sad week, but we press on. We’ve got some exciting young talent that would probably call the late King of Pop an influence, whether they’re rock, rap or anything in between. We’ll be at the beach next weekend, but keep the submissions coming—we’ll need something to fill our iPods with: wheelslosers@gmail.com.

ONES TO WATCH
’87 Stick Up Kids (www.myspace.com/the87stickupkids): Three MCs and one DJ—that’s just one way to describe this super-high energy, Beastie Boys-esque group, who had a chance to show off their style at BMI’s Pick of ohe Month this week at the Viper Room. The spring of 2007 is when these childhood friends decided it was time to turn their individual passions for music into an unstoppable collective. Rockwell (James Outlaw), Squishy (James Orbison), Nashville (Nash Roussel) and Zile-Ransome a.k.a. The Deacon (Gavin Decantillon), who call the East Side of Los Angeles home, are building an incredible buzz with their infectious live show. Capitol, you wanna scoop ’em up?

Bear Hands (www.myspace.com/bearhandsband) are a rock band from Brooklyn who have been receiving a lot of praise for their four-song EP Golden and for their amazing live shows. The band is currently in the studio working on their debut album with producer Chuck Brody. They’ll be taking breaks from the studio to play Siren Music Festival in Coney Island and for Reading and Leeds festivals in the U.K.

ON DECK
Casper Bangs (www.myspace.com/casperbangs): Take a trip through the trials and tribulations of love, from Casper’s point of view. Written and recorded on his desktop computer, his album combines the freedom of dance, indie rock and pop for a feel-good record with kickin’, light-hearted beats.