Grocery Bag’s DEADVOLT: Meet KUTX’s September Artist of the Month

Artist

Why Grocery Bag is having a September moment

KUTX recognition

September 2026

Home base

Austin, Texas

Sound

Psych-garage rock · punk energy · West Campus co-op roots

KUTX’s Artist of the Month profile calls Grocery Bag part of the punk royalty of Austin’s West Campus co-op scene. The station describes a group of multi-instrumentalists combining garage-rock immediacy with psychedelic textures and a live approach built around speed and volume.

That recognition is useful context, not just a badge. Grocery Bag’s recent work shows how a young Austin band can connect a neighborhood-scale DIY origin to established local stages, radio coverage and support slots without sanding down the rough edges that made the project recognizable.

Release

DEADVOLT at a glance

Release date

May 14, 2026

Artist

Grocery Bag

EP

6 tracks · 19 minutes · Austin psych-garage rock

DEADVOLT runs through “Lies,” “Watching TV,” “Stop Calling Me Out,” “Grave,” “Reason” and the title track. Grocery Bag’s Bandcamp page confirms the May 14 release date, sequence and running time, while the Austin-based Sans Soleil Records edition credits the same four musicians as writers and performers.

At 19 minutes, the EP works best as one compact statement. Its sequence moves from the clipped insistence of “Lies” through the longer, pressure-building title track without the pacing reset of a full-length record.

Artist

The four musicians behind the record

Lineup

Isabella Martinez · Logan Kerman · Jimmy Mercado · Dillon Aitala

The official DEADVOLT credits list Dillon Aitala, Logan Kerman, Isabella Martinez and Jimmy Mercado as the EP’s writers and performers. Earlier reporting from The Daily Texan identifies Martinez on guitar and lead vocals, Kerman on bass, Mercado on drums and Aitala on lead guitar.

KUTX characterizes Grocery Bag as a collective of multi-instrumentalists, which is a better frame than treating those roles as hard limits. The band’s recorded credits and live reputation point to a project organized around shared authorship as much as a conventional front-person lineup.

Guide

How Grocery Bag kept the EP local and DIY

Recorded at

Jimbo’s Saloon and Club Sound Machine · Austin

Production

Produced by Grocery Bag · mixed and mastered by Michael Jelinek

Grocery Bag recorded and produced most of DEADVOLT at Jimbo’s Saloon. “Lies” was recorded by Max Lorenzen at Club Sound Machine; Michael Jelinek mixed and mastered the EP, Jamie Holmes mixed “Watching TV,” and Isabella Martinez created the artwork and layout.

Those credits make the record a useful Austin case study: the band retained production ownership, divided specialized work across a small local network and treated the visual identity as part of the release rather than an afterthought.

Guide

Three tracks that explain the EP quickly

Start here

“Lies” · “Stop Calling Me Out” · “DEADVOLT”

Start with “Lies,” the shortest route into the band’s sharp guitar attack and repeated vocal hooks. Follow it with “Stop Calling Me Out,” where a direct chorus and compact structure show how Grocery Bag turns frustration into something built for a room to shout back.

Finish with “DEADVOLT.” The title track stretches the EP’s central nervous energy across its longest arrangement, using an operator-and-voltage image to connect communication breakdown, pressure and motion. Together, the three songs outline the band’s balance of immediacy and psychedelic abrasion.

Guide

Watch the live chemistry before the Mohawk show

Session

KUTX Studio 1A

Performance

“Lies” · “Stop Calling Me Out” · “DEADVOLT”

KUTX’s current profile embeds a three-song Grocery Bag performance built from the same tracks that form the clearest introduction to DEADVOLT. It is a practical preview of the band’s physical live sound before the September Mohawk date.

Listen for the way the rhythm section keeps the songs moving while the guitars alternate between tight riffs and noisier edges. The recordings are concise, but the live session shows why KUTX emphasizes the group’s stage energy in its September recognition.

Event

Grocery Bag opens for POND at Mohawk

When

Wednesday, September 16, 2026 · doors 7 p.m. · show 8 p.m.

Where

Mohawk Outdoor · 912 Red River St., Austin

Bill

POND · Grocery Bag · all ages

Mohawk’s official ticketing page lists Australian psych-rock band POND with Grocery Bag outdoors on September 16. Resound and LEVITATION present the show, and both the ticket page and KUTX identify Grocery Bag as the opening act.

The listing marks the event all ages, with doors at 7 p.m. and music scheduled for 8 p.m. Because performance times and ticket inventory can change, check the official page again before traveling to Red River.

Guide

The working-musician takeaway

Release lesson

Own the process · document the credits · make the live set the proof

Grocery Bag’s current run connects three pieces that emerging artists often separate: a focused recording, a legible production story and a live performance strong enough to carry the songs beyond the release date. The EP supplies the catalog; the KUTX session demonstrates it; the Mohawk support slot puts it in front of another psych-rock audience.

For Austin bands planning the same cycle, keep complete recording and production credits public, give local outlets one clear listening entry point and build the release around shows that match the music. Trackside’s studio and talent directories can help compare rooms, engineers and collaborators before the recording stage begins.

Quick answers

Grocery Bag and DEADVOLT frequently asked questions