<strong>Five Years Ago</strong>
<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vYrdfFpxTXQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<strong>Last Year</strong>
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iQXbf1i24C8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

In many ways I would argue that this is the same story. Female fronted genre based rock band with little to no recognition hits. The big difference? Social media in 2011/2012 is much more advanced than it was in 2006. The ability of a band to be pushed by the hive mind collective is really something to see. The Alabama Shakes clearly have talent but the tools at hand to disseminate the story to the wider public has grown massively. The path from <a href="http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2011/07/25/the-shakes-you-aint-alone/">this first high profile post about "The Shakes"</a> to where they are today is nothing but amazing. 

Blogs, news organizations and the public are always looking for something "new". While GPN's slow steady upward trajectory is heartwarming and rewarding I wonder what would have happened if the Grace Potter and the Nocturnals of the first video would hit the net today.

Mr. Furnari - your analysis please. 