2005: BLOC PARTY

When EW told Bloc Party bassist Gordon Moakes that his band was one of the most anticipated shows at SXSW in '05, the mellow Londoner had a simple reaction: ''Cool.'' After a Franz Ferdinand show, Bloc Party lead singer Kele Okereke gave his band's demo to front man Alex Kapranos and also to BBC Radio One DJ Steve Lamacq, who became a big supporter of the band. Bloc Party signed with Vice Records in April '04 and released their first album, Silent Alarm, in February '05.