By Maia Stern and Sarah Zellwegger

With some time to kill between their sound check and show at Mercury Lounge on this early evening, we took the boys of Awesome New Republic — Michael John Hancock and Brian Robertson — record shopping to dive deeper into their world of musical influences. What could be a better way to kill time than digging through some records?

Turns out The Sound Library in the Lower East Side was the perfect location, as they found numerous rare disco records and even an African gem who MJ told us he sang with during his time at music school in Miami. Aside from just watching them shop, he guys told us what happens at their label, Honor Roll Music and the history behind their “Birthday” single. And just when we didn’t think there could be any more disco in the air, we met a rowdy boxer — ironically named Disco — who took a huge liking for the duo. Disco, baby, disco!

You can download Awesome New Republic’s Rational Geographic Volume 1 for free here.

1. New Music Thursdays – Awesome New Republic
2. Live – Republic Tigers, The Party Dream @ Record Bar | KC
3. Chad Kroeger Forms Record Label, Goes Coat and Tie Shopping
4. The Republic Tigers
5. Courtney Love Shopping Her Own Journals To Publishers