If you don't know, now you know: the cream of the Bay Area's music crop got props from the New York Times this past weekend in an article highlighting Thee Oh Sees'John Dwyer, Tim Cohen of The Fresh & Onlys, and Sonny & the Sunsets' frontman Sonny Smith.

The men are called figureheads for the local do-it-yourself ethos, spending impressively prolific years in the trenches making trailblazing music yet rarely reaping financial rewards. The sounds they create are proof that taking musical risks and not giving a hoot what the industry thinks they should do yield local-legend status over time. Read the article here, and add their live shows to your bucket list.