When it comes to the South by Southwest Music Conference, bigger isn’t necessarily better. This year’s model, which ran from Wed-nesday, March 18, to Saturday, March 22, in Austin, was the William Conrad of confabs. Thanks to an expanded lineup on the event’s first day, over 1,000 acts shopped their…
Zeke Kicked in the Teeth (Epitaph) You know rock and roll is in sad shape when Smashing Pumpkins takes home a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Album. After all, the hardest thing about that pack of whiners is Billy Corgan’s bald, pointy noggin. But fear not, heathens: Seattle’s Zeke is…
Jimmy Hoffa seems like a more plausible candidate for a comeback than Vanilla Ice. The once and former Robert Van Winkle briefly ruled the pop-music galaxy thanks to the across-the-board success of the 1990 smash “Ice Ice Baby,” but the vicious backlash that struck him shortly thereafter was of the…
In the first year of its existence, Denver-based Synergy Music has issued nine albums–an impressive number by any standard. But Michael Fitts, who’s both the president of Synergy and the CEO of Indiego Promotions, isn’t satisfied; he wants to double that total in 1998. “I think it’s important, with a…
Ever since the 1992 birth of Rorschach Test, a onetime Denver band now situated in Seattle, James Baker–initially known by the memorable moniker Jimmy Utah–has been working tirelessly toward the goal of signing a major-label contract and earning the mass popularity he sees as his due. And now, at last,…
Ani DiFranco Little Plastic Castle (Righteous Babe) One of my colleagues suggested that DiFranco is better than most of her Lilith Fair peers because she says “fuck” a lot more frequently than they do–and after a moment’s reflection, I realized that there’s something to that. A great many of today’s…
Electronica has evolved faster than fruit flies multiply, but its hybrids are no longer raising eyebrows: If a synthesized sonic bouillabaisse pops up in ads for television or corporately owned radio, it can no longer be considered the coveted province of elitist club-crawlers. One of the main reasons that this…
It’s easy to understand why most critics are reluctant to praise Madonna. After all, practically everything she does can be read two ways–laudable or laughable. Take, for instance, Sex, a 1992 photo book that quickly spawned epic waiting lists at libraries across the country. Sympathizers saw the supposedly erotic shots…
When New York’s Superstar DJ Keoki first entered the Denver dance community two years ago, everyone knew about it: Keoki–whose latest doings are chronicled in Feedback, page 80–made sure of that. But he was not the only nationally recognized DJ holed up in Colorado at the time. From 1996 until…
It’s Saturday morning in the Bay Area, and most good little punk rockers are tucked away safe and sound in their beds. But not the Peechees’ Chris Applegren: He’s wide awake as he discusses the intricacies of his latest passion–Final Fantasy VII, an epic game made for the Sony Playstation…
Singer-songwriter Ted Hawkins believed in God–but for many years, Hawkins feared that God didn’t believe in him. As he told Westword in late 1994, “One day I looked up and said, ‘Whosoever you are up there, I’m talking to you. I’m talking to the maker, the one who made this…
Nearly two years ago, news that Superstar DJ Keoki had moved to Denver created a splash. And why not? As noted in a previous Westword profile (“DJ Keoki, Superstar,” July 18, 1996), Keoki’s Disco 2000 night at New York City’s Limelight nightclub made him a national figure, and the recordings…
Ani DiFranco Little Plastic Castle (Righteous Babe) One of my colleagues suggested that DiFranco is better than most of her Lilith Fair peers because she says “fuck” a lot more frequently than they do–and after a moment’s reflection, I realized that there’s something to that. A great many of today’s…
As mentioned in this space in our February 26 issue, Jacor Communications recently donated a radio station, KHOW2-AM/1190, to the University of Colorado at Boulder. This transfer is noteworthy if for no other reason than that this area has long been one of the few major urban areas without a…
Before we get to Jake Black, aka the Very Reverend Dr. D. Wayne Love, who’s both the conceptualist behind Scotland’s A3 and the self-proclaimed “First Minister of the First Presleyterian Church of Elvis the Divine (UK),” you need to know why this article almost didn’t come to be. Although we…
The Garland Center strip mall in Northglenn doesn’t seem scary from the outside. In truth, it appears to be quite wholesome, thanks to a marquee so horribly out of style that it looks intentionally retro (like a Nick-at-Nite billboard), a Tug’s restaurant that promotes steaks, cocktails and a “$5 off…
A sticker on the shrink-wrap that covers Dark Dear Heart, the latest album by Canadian vocalist Holly Cole, reads, “File in Rock/Pop Vocal.” But such a label hardly does justice to Cole’s versatility. She’s been described as a smoky siren, a jazz interpreter, a chanteuse and a sultry cabaret specialist–and…
The Halo Benders The Rebels Not In (K Records) The Halo Benders are generally referred to in print as an indie-rock supergroup, and that tag is certainly justified: The main men behind it are Calvin Johnson (founder of K Records, leader of Beat Happening and Dub Narcotic Sound System) and…
For rock historians and rockabilly fiends, Paul Burlison, guitarist for the Rock ‘N Roll Trio, is every bit as important a figure as Scotty Moore or Link Wray. Led by wildcat vocalist/acoustic guitarist Johnny Burnette and his stand-up bass-slapping brother, Dorsey, the Trio crafted some of the rawest music of…
KTCL-FM/93.3, which makes a couple of appearances in this week’s article about Denver radio (see page 73), has spent much of the Nineties as the butt of criticism. Back in the day, the outlet took chances with its music, introducing area listeners to exciting alternative acts they might otherwise never…
How bad is Denver radio? For an answer, look no further than my middle finger–the one I use to button-push during my drive to and from work. Earlier this decade, I was able to leave the needle set on one frequency for minutes at a time, but over the past…
When the subject of Thelonius Monk is raised, most people think about the late pianists’ groundbreaking compositions and his singular approach to playing, which was marked by rhythmic innovation, subtly virtuosic technique and stirring emotionalism. By contrast, T.S. Monk, Thelonius’s only son, is as apt to inspire lust–particularly among females…
