Nick Forsterexplored unfamiliar territory as he interviewed his daughter's band for the first time March 20 at the Boulder Theater.

Forster, CEO, founder and host of the syndicated weekly, community-oriented radio show etown, was hesitant at first, as he doesn't like to portray favoritism.

However, Forster's Boulder born-and-raised daughter, Erika Forster, is taking on the international music scene with Brooklyn-based indie pop trio Au Revoir Simone. And it's only fitting that they shared the stage with Denver-based quartet Devotchka -- who are quickly familiarizing the world with their instrument-rich, Gypsy-tango sound.

"This is uncharted territory in that Erika's my daughter, but I've often interviewed close friends," says Nick. "In fact, my own band, Hot Rize, has been on etown before and we worked it out."

But for a founder of a radio show, whose mission is to educate, entertain and inspire diverse audiences through music and conversation, a successful band with a story to tell is hard to ignore.

"I just think these young women are smart and worldly and yet their music is both innocent and dreamy -- a really interesting combination," Nick says. "Last December, I flew home from Paris after traveling with Au Revoir Simone for a week as they opened for the French band Air, and I really got to see how professional they are, how unique their sound is and how relevant they are in today's music scene."

Au Revoir Simone, composed of three female vocalists, three keyboards and vintage drum machines, was initially started as a mutual group hobby, "an all-keyboard collective, a girls keyboard club," by Erika and Annie Hart in 2003, who were soon joined by friend Heather D'Angelo.

"Little by little we were being asked to perform at bars and parties. Then we had to come up with a name and had a practice space and made some demo recordings," Erika says. "It quickly took over our lives -- which we all happily accepted -- then we had interest from U.K. and Japanese record labels and put out our first mini-album, Verses of Comfort, Assurance and Salvation in October 2006."

In addition to opening for Air, the band also has opened for New York City trio We Are Scientists and Swedish rock duo Peter Bjorn and John. And although the band's been together for more than four years, Erika says they're just getting started.

Erika will always have her Boulder roots as a graduate of Boulder High School with many fond memories from Majestic Heights Elementary, Foothills Elementary and Casey Middle School. In addition, she'll never forget spending many weeknights in the audience of the Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., watching her dad and stepmom bring the community together with music and conversation.

"As she grew older, she was devoted to her piano lessons and I could tell she was musical," says Erika's stepmom, etown co-host and co-executive producer Helen Forster, in an e-mail.

But Erika wasn't totally set on music. When she moved to New York in 1998 to attend Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs for art and writing, little did she expect her exposure in a few short-lived college bands to pay off when she moved to Brooklyn.

"A friend from Skidmore invited me to come to his band practice and maybe try singing or playing something. Then I bought my first synth on eBay," she says. "Going to practice seemed so much better for me than going out to the bars every night like many New Yorkers."

"I honestly thought she'd go into the visual arts, just from all the art she produced growing up, or possibly in the performing world, I imagined she would go into acting; she was such a naturally talented actress," says Helen. "But she always fully embraces whatever it is she chooses to do, and that musical side of her I observed in her earlier has led her to co-found Au Revoir Simone, of which I'm a huge fan."

As Au Revoir Simone currently works on their next album, Erika says she hopes the trio will be "taking deeper breaths" this time around and that she couldn't ask for anything more from her fellow band members.