They fired everybody over Christmas break,” recalls Photo Atlas guitarist Bill Threlkeld III, talking about when he first found out that his band’s label, Stolen Transmission, had gone belly up a few years back. “We were on tour, and our manager called and said, ‘Uh, bad news. It looks like…
In 1990, Bryan Erickson started what would become Velvet Acid Christ with a few like-minded friends whose side and main projects had merged. Recalling early Death In June and Clan of Xymox, the act’s debut effort, Fate, came across as the work of people capable of rapid reinvention. 1995’s Neuralblastoma…
It is going to be pretty difficult for Ty Segall to top the year he had in 2012. The California native released three full length albums, a 7-inch and a tour split, appeared on a compilation, and toured as a member of bandmate/collaborator Mikal Cronin’s solo effort. Add in the…
Brooklyn’s Buke and Gase (formerly Buke and Gass), an outfit comprising Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez, who played together in the post-punk band Hominid, took its name from two of the instruments the pair created and use to make their music: A buke is a baritone ukulele and a gase…
Winston Yellen, the Nashville-by-way-of-Colorado tunesmith who makes music under the Night Beds moniker, is immediately captivating, and his music bears a distinctive familiarity. With an absolutely gorgeous voice that’s a little bit Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, a little bit Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and a little bit Ryan…
In 1964, drummer Keith Moon approached Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle about being in their band, the Who, which had been named the Detours until the outfit found out another band with that name already existed. The foursome went on to become one of the most beloved and…
Reed Mathis talks about improvisation like it’s a mystical religion. The bassist for the San Francisco-based quintet Tea Leaf Green and former frontman of the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey sees a great deal of power in making music on the spot, and that passion will likely be front and center…
Although Carlo Lio has released a number of EPs and singles on various labels, it wasn’t until last May that his first commercial mix (the highly anticipated SCI+TEC back-catalog blowout Past, Present, Future — Vol. 2) saw the light of day. That might tell you something about the priorities of this…
While Jon Wirtz has lent his piano and keyboard skills to a variety of singer-songwriters, from Matt Morris to Angie Stevens to John Common, he’s also a fine jazz player, as evidenced on his stunning 2010 solo piano debut, Sea Level. There are elements of jazz on Tourist, and Wirtz…
There’s a lot of energy in the first three cuts of the Trubelos’ debut long-player, Boomerang Girl, including the up-tempo countrified rocker “All I Want to Do is You,” the blues shuffle of Little Walter’s “Little By Little,” and the twangy title cut. But while the vigor is there, it…
If there’s one thing Mountain Lion, Pt. 1 succeeds in doing, it’s putting a song in your head and keeping it there, whether you want it or not. While Jahni Denver’s flow is only okay and his subject matter is rarely original, he is a master of the hook, and…
A bit of an odds-and-sods collection, this set of songs covers the entirety of the Bedsit Infamy’s existence, including its first formal demo. Recalling XTC’s 1992 compilation Rag and Bone Buffet in terms of purpose and content, this “leftover” work is anything but inferior. Billy Armijo may be a writer…
Brace yourself: The Solution, one of the dopest hip-hop parties in Denver for the past half-dozen years, is making its return this Friday night as a weekly. The award-winning night (Best of Denver 2010) has thrived despite a succession of moves over the years, from Milk — where DJs Low…
The lineup for this year’s edition of the Gathering of the Clouds has been revealed. The three-day festival, slated to take place at the Walnut Room this year on Thursday, March 7, through Saturday, March 9, is being headlined by the Warlocks, Wovenhand, Gliss and the Black Ryder and features…
Great news for discerning dance-music fans: The Denver Winter Showcase — slated to take place on the weekend of March 14-16 at Beta Nightclub, NORAD and Opal Restaurant and Lounge — has added a third day of music to its schedule. Conceived as an alternative to mainstream EDM festivals, Denver…
The local scene has suffered another tremendous loss this week with the passing of Marcus Hayes (aka Marcus Arrilius), one of the founding members of the emerging Welcome to the D.O.P.E. Game crew. Hayes, an esteemed father, husband, brother, friend, mentor, thinker, MC and visionary, passed away this past Friday…
Welcome back to the work week. How was the weekend? A bunch of great shows, eh? Icelantic’s Winter on the Rocks with Macklemore, Eli Goulding at the Ogden Theatre, Brother Ali and Danny Brown at Cervantes’ and Hot Water Music at Summit Music Hall. What did you catch? Bunch more…
So you like your music hard and heavy, do ya? Good news: You’re in for some serious brutality this month. There’s a ton of shows happening in February, all of which are listed in our concert calendar, but here, we’ve singled out the six best metal shows in Denver (well,…
HOT WATER MUSIC @ SUMMIT MUSIC HALL |2/3/13 Last night’s Hot Water Music show at the Summit was the kind where the crowd pretty much knew all of the songs. But the song that got the strongest reaction, bar none, was “Rooftops,” which came in toward the end of the…
BROTHER ALI @ CERVANTES’ MASTERPIECE BALLROOM | 2/2/13 Brother Ali commands the stage like a political figure, only one who’s less concerned with appearance and more concerned with the impact of his speech. In the nihilistic rap world of uncountable monies, untraceable guns and impregnable bitches, Ali has remained a…
ELLIE GOULDING @ OGDEN THEATRE | 2/1/13 The Halcyon Days Tour that Ellie Goulding’s currently on does not seem to change from night to night. Her set at the Ogden Theatre began with “Don’t Say a Word,” and was followed by “Halcyon,” “Figure 8” and “Salt Skin” — the same…
MACKLEMORE @ RED ROCKS |2/1/13 Toward the last part of his set at Red Rocks, Macklemore got a little confessional. He shared with us how since he was in his early teens he’s had no control over his consumption of drugs and alcohol, and he admitted to having spent many…
