Folks might remember Aaron Betcher and Chad Peterson from their long-running band O’er the Ramparts, a confounding project that seemed to be going in several directions at once. But as scattershot as the music was, there were moments of artistic clarity, and they’ve resurfaced in the pair’s new project, the…
It’s fitting that Dean Coleman was discovered by Deep Dish, since his sound is a natural evolution of that duo’s deep and funky take on progressive house. Coleman’s tracks and mixes incorporate sounds and influences from electro-house, techno and even pop. Since his bootleg remix of Narcotic Thrust’s “Safe From…
Love him or hate him, with six Grammys to his name and having sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide, Billy Joel has a pedigree that’s impossible to ignore. Although he’s known primarily for crafting shamelessly catchy pop melodies with an ear for the British Invasion and a fondness for…
Thoreau said that most men lead lives of quiet desperation, going to the grave with the song still in them. It’s obvious that he never met anyone like Guy Clark, a troubadour who’s been penning odes of quiet desperation for more than thirty years and shows absolutely no signs of…
While Gil Mantera’s Party Dream makes more-or-less sincere and angst-filled electro-emo, you’d never guess it from the duo’s live shows. On stage, the brothers from Youngstown, Ohio, dance, prance and make general asses of themselves with giddy, homoerotic abandon and total disregard for any hangups the audience might have. Gil…
It’s a safe bet that all ambient instrumental rock after the turn of the century will inevitably be compared to Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Sigur Rós. Even compelling acts such as This Will Destroy You will be subjected to such lazy comparisons. In this case, the association isn’t completely…
When group members split to form separate projects, the results frequently add up to less than the original sum — but not in the case of Mat Brooke and Ben Bridwell. The pair teamed in Carissa’s Wierd, a sometimes entertaining but often erratic Seattle act, before joining forces again in…
“Eating before practice helps a lot.” With a mouthful of homemade pizza, drummer Sam Spitzer is explaining the secret of the Hollyfelds’ camaraderie. Before each rehearsal, the quintet sits down to a meal at the Spitzers’ home. What started as carryout has evolved to delicious home-cooked meals, compliments of Spitzer’s…
A couple of decades back, U.K. metal acts like Iron Maiden ruled the hard-rock world. Since then, the market for British steel has gone soft — but Bullet for My Valentine lead singer/guitarist Matt Tuck sees signs of stiffening. “It’s something that we think about and are aware of —…
It’s before 9 a.m. when Marie Litton and Matt Bellinger shuffle into Pablo’s at Sixth Avenue and Washington Street. The barista calls out to them by name; they grunt back. It’s like Ice Station Zebra outside, and the shivering Denver couple doesn’t look happy to be conscious — but at…
Dear Bandicoots, I have been playing guitar for years now and have always aspired to be in a band — although now that I have graduated I am working at this monotonous financial reporting job. When and how did you make the commitment to say fuck the 9-5 and be…
In the States, the music of Bullet For My Valentine – the subject of a profile in the February 28 Westword – is typically lumped into the modern rock, hard rock or screamo categories. But as lead singer/guitarist Matt Tuck makes clear in the following Q&A, he considers his band…
Bang Camaro Saturday, February 23, 2008 Bluebird Theater On the line: Denver’s rep as a bastion of metal magnitude. (Hint: The Jury’s still out.) It was nearly 10:30 when I rolled up on the Bluebird last Saturday night. Joel Simches, the sometimes JV rocker and once long-time master soundman for…
Here’s a selection of the best of last week’s music blogging from around the Village Voice chain: The ten-year anniversary of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea has arrived, and this live set from 1997, covering several songs from the now-classic release, is as good a way as any to…
The writers may have been back for the 80th annual Academy Awards, held on February 24, but that fact didn’t automatically transform the ceremony into scintillating television. The show still dragged past the three-hour mark, padded by too many interchangeable montages and a speech by 98-year-old art designer/special honoree Robert…
Locals Only: Beatsource launches a “hip-hop iTunes” It’s been the talk of the town for the last several months but Beatsource.com has finally launched and features a few local artists as well. Based here in Denver, Beatsource.com is an online hip-hop music store that targets DJs and features classic and…
I hate winter. Yes, I know. Colorado winters are remarkably mild and sunny, and we’re blessed with the occasional 60-degree day to break up the season. But I still hate it. And I say that every year, right about this time. Like many people I know, the middle of winter…
Intronaut, Saviours, A Life Once Lost, High On Fire Wednesday, February 20, 2008 Bluebird Theater Better than: Banging your head on the punk rock It’s official – metal ain’t dead. Sure, you can point to a million cases in which metal has been modified – some might say diluted or…
This week, the Spiral podcast catches up with Bad Weather California before they head out this weekend for a tour of the Southwest. Download the episode , or listen to the stream below…
Last Saturday will go down as a historic night for music in the Mile High: We paid our last respects to Planes Mistaken for Stars at the Marquis, watched the Flobots turn in the performance of their young career before a sellout crowd at the Gothic — and heard that…
It’s often said that the greatest geniuses go unappreciated during their own lifetimes. The true brilliance of ancient masters like Michelangelo and Leonardo wasn’t fully grasped until long after their deaths. People even underestimated the talents of Americans like Whitman, Bukowski and Eazy-E while they walked among us. Then there…
Mike Kellogg seems like an unassuming, clean-cut suburbanite who might otherwise pass as a poster boy for middle-class composure. That is, until the Redline Defiance frontman plugs in his Les Paul. Then he’s all sorts of rage — the repressed kind, the type you carry with you into adulthood when…
