I just stumbled across this and have to comment.
I play in a band called Sex Beet. We're originally from a shitty small city called Leicester, in England. Maybe a bunch of you would call us a hipster band seeing as we're all under 25, but I would see us as a garage punk band.
Last year we got an email out of the blue asking if we'd like to go over to America and play at the Scion garagefest in Kansas, as well as a show in NY and Austin. We've toured in Europe a few times, and love nothing more than playing in new places. Thats the best thing about being in a band. Going to play in America has always been a dream, which never looked likely seeing as we never had any fucking money. Scion offered to cover our travel, so of course we didn't think twice for a second. What the fuck would you have done? Some people really need to fucking grow up. I had the time of my life on both trips to the US, which were both thanks to Scion & Vice. And for the record, we didn't have to write any songs about how amazing Scion are, or do anything that could remotely be seen as "selling out."
I feel like I should also say that I met the guy who's behind this whole project, and he's not what a lot of people seem to think. He's not just some square Scion marketing guy googling "garage rock." He's (clearly) got a great music taste and is genuinely into what he's doing. And he's doing a GREAT fucking job.
If you didn't want to go to either of the (free entry) GarageFests because they had a Scion logo on the poster, you missed out on two amazing line ups FOR FREE, and basically you're a far more pretentious dick than I could ever be. Likewise if you don't want to pick up a free 45 with Oblivions or Dirtbombs etc on. Good luck with that.
Oh and for the record, even after my great sell-out of 2010, I'm still completely broke, and touring Europe for next to nothing in a beaten up old van.