At eight o’clock at night in an Englewood industrial park, a single streetlight casts a milky glow on a simple wooden sign. It reads: “Ralph’s Top Service.” Although Ralph’s, at 2890 South Zuni, is a custom counter and cabinet shop, the scene inside this evening has little to do with…
When Neil Halstead–vocalist, guitarist and guiding light for Britain’s Mojave 3–thinks of Denver, he pictures singer and fellow bandmate Rachel Goswell. In agony. “We were flying from L.A. to New York last year, and Rachel’s eardrum burst during the flight,” he says. “So we had to drop her off in…
“I try not to repeat myself,” says trumpeter Herb Alpert. “I don’t want to play another version of ‘Rise’ or ‘The Lonely Bull’ sideways.” Unfortunately, the above comment is the closest Alpert comes to discussing his past with the Tijuana Brass, even though his ultra-lucrative career is built on the…
College radio has been responsible for the popularization of much of the best pop music over the past couple of decades–yet residents of Denver have virtually no access to such a station. Geographically, the closest college outlet is KUCB, at the University of Colorado-Boulder, but even if you drive past…
One smoggy day in West Hollywood circa 1985, I was standing behind the front counter at Tower Records’ Sunset Strip branch when Greg Dulli, my best friend among my co-workers, entered the store carrying a plate of edibles and wearing a merry grin. “It’s Cornbread Day,” announced Dulli, a fledgling…
When they’re not making beautiful noise together, the members of Denver’s Moot are agitating for social change. And luckily, the musicians agree on what changes should be made. “I’ve tried to play with conservatives before, and I don’t think you can be of that mindset and be creative at the…
If reggae fans were given a chance to nominate a performer who’s best filled the role of the music’s elder statesman since the passing of Bob Marley, Culture vocalist Joseph Hill would receive a lot of votes. Since 1972, when he released his first single, “Behold the Land,” on Jamaica’s…
Manfred Hubler and Siegfried Schwab Vampyros Lesbos: Sexadelic Dance Party (Motel) If you haven’t seen a film by director Jess Franco, you’re not alone; he’s so obscure that he doesn’t rate a mention in either of the average cineast’s two favorite reference books, Ephraim Katz’s The Film Encyclopedia or Leslie…
Over the past couple of years, a number of nationally distributed independent labels have taken root in Colorado, including W.A.R.?, Not Lame Recordings, Bohemia Beat and Records 420, a Hollywood Records spinoff run by David Frey. (A founder of the annual H.O.R.D.E. Festival, Frey is on the lookout for the…
Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to take a mythical trip to the bayous of Louisiana, where deep in the mist lies Evangeline. Once a year, under the light of the full moon, Evangeline comes out to mate. And tonight, it is mating season…it is mating season…it is mating season…..
“Because as a producer I’ve stayed behind the scenes for the most part, there’s this certain sort of mysterious enigma built up around what I look like and what I do,” says Butch Vig, studio sorcerer and anchor of the eccentric pop band called Garbage. “And I think people kind…
At a north-downtown practice space, testosterone drips as a competent but sadly predictable bar band runs through covers of tunes by such hormonal outfits as Rancid, the Replacements, Green Day, the Goo Goo Dolls and Pearl Jam. Meanwhile, across the hall, the members of Denver’s Hectics are (reluctantly) discussing the…
Los Lobos Colossal Head (Warner Bros.) David Hidalgo, Louie Perez and the rest of these East L.A. renegades made their first fabulous album, How Will the Wolf Survive?, in 1984. By the Light of the Moon and The Neighborhood followed in 1987 and 1990, respectively, and although they differed from…
“Even as a little kid, I knew jazz was a great art form, but I didn’t really like it,” admits jazz bassist Christian McBride. “It’s not that I disliked it. But at that point, being that young, I would rather listen to my pop and my R&B more than jazz.”…
“We don’t like rock dudes,” exclaims Britt Daniels, guitarist, vocalist and guiding force behind Austin’s Spoon. “We like lots of musicians. But the whole ‘rock dude’ thing, I don’t know. These days, it seems like bands do a few cool songs and everybody gets interested in them, and the next…
It’s been three years since Frank Black last participated in a round of interviews intended to publicize his music, yet he already seems ready for another breather. “I’m sick of it,” he confirms. “Writers are always looking for some stupid, lame-ass angle. “Sometimes I have interviews when I’m in a…
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On December 17, 1987, Twice Wilted played its first show, in an art gallery space in Boulder. Over the course of the next several years, the group, fronted by Kurt Ottoway, grew into one of the Denver area’s biggest live draws and piqued the interest of representatives from numerous major…
“I think anytime you make a record, it’s got to be a leap of faith,” contends Emmylou Harris. “Because you never know how it’s going to turn out.” Harris has plummeted into the unknown on numerous occasions over the course of her more than a quarter-century of performing and recording,…
Veteran bluesman Buddy Guy’s modesty is becoming, but sometimes he takes it too far. Take, for instance, the following statement: “I’m not a great singer and I’m not a great guitar player.” That’s absurd. Guy has an extremely strong and distinctive voice capable of enigmatic purring, full-throated roaring or unexpected…
Mike Elkerton is a rock-and-roll musician in love with Americana’s cliches. So when he’s told that his latest band, Electrolux, conjures up images of Fifties-era prison flicks, movies by Roger Corman and Russ Meyer and other cultish faves from cinema’s seedier side, it’s no surprise that he immediately relates. “I…
These are the discs of your lives. “Kitchen of rhythm/Pocket of dreams/ Falling these angels/How desperate it seems”: These lyrics, from “Lemon Ceiling,” a selection on Sponge Kingdom’s self-titled CD, offer an indication of the earnest poetics favored by the sextet. Sponge Kingdom is ultra-tasteful, and Jessica Vanden Hogen’s violin…
