What does mermaid porn, an ominous ice cream truck driver and a bionic arm have in common? One mega star: Lady Gaga. Or at least Gaga’s video for her new single, “Yoü And I.” We may not be too jazzed about the recent announcement that she’s opening the VMAs this…
Just over a month ago, Death Cab for Cutie (due tomorrow night at Red Rocks with Frightened Rabbit) was slated to close out the Ottawa Bluesfest when a freak storm hit and sent the stage crashing to the ground, destroying a lot of the band’s equipment, which was stored under…
Shortly after graduating from Carleton College and moving to Minneapolis, Josh Grier and some friends started the band Tapes ‘N Tapes (due tonight at The Bluebird Theater with the Chain Gang of 1974). Within a year of the band’s existence, the group recorded its first EP, and those recordings were…
The music industry has changed in fundamental ways since bassist Robby Takac started the Goo Goo Dolls (due tonight at 1STBANK Center with Michelle Branch and Parachute) with guitarist and songwriter John Rzeznik in the late 1980s. In their more than two decades of existence, the band has tapped into…
LMFAO leads the Billboard Hot 100 again this week, once again blocking Katy Perry from her fifth number one and tying Michael Jackson’s record. But we heard all about that last week. This week, the biggest surprise comes from a half-naked Maroon 5 frontman. Weird, we know. Oddly, and finally,…
Although gypsy-jazz guitar pioneer Django Reinhardt died in 1953, there’s been a steady stream of players inspired by him over the past few decades. One such player is Robin Nolan, who’s been hailed as one of the world’s leading guitarists in the Reinhardt tradition, in addition to being a favorite…
Gramatik (due tomorrow at Red Rocks with Pretty Lights) used to be an MC who rapped with his buddies over his beats. He grew up in Slovenia listening to DJ Premier, Guru, Rza, Dre, and an arsenal of hip-hop and break beats fills his catalog of sample options. Now, after…
Ah, yes, each week we bring you the latest and greatest in the world of local hip-hop and rap music. We’re all across the map with this installment of That’s a Rap, bringing you a sexy freestyle from singer Bmore, a beautifully crafted joint from Zome of Diamond Boiz, a…
John Legend considers everything, especially when he’s being interviewed. He pauses long enough for you to imagine him considering several inferior answers and tossing them before choosing one that sounds just right. Back in the fall of 2004 at Denver’s Club Soul, he displayed a similar thoughtfulness…
Founded in Salem, Oregon, in 2005, Typhoon (due tonight at the hi-dive, with Lord Huron and Sour Boy Bitter Girl) started out as a recording project but quickly evolved into a sprawling live affair with over ten members. Two years into its time together, the act essentially went on hiatus…
Jimmy Tamborello. While the name might not register immediately, you’ve probably heard his work with the Postal Service, an outfit that also features Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard. On his own throughout the ’90s, Tamborello, who plays under the name Dntel (due tonight at the hi-dive with One AM…
Chicago-based singer-songwriter Andrew Bird (performing tonight at the Arvada Center for Arts and Humanities and tomorrow evening at Chautauqua Auditorium) says that since he’s been writing music there’s always a healthy conflict between brevity and indulgence. On one hand, Bird knows all about crafting short, near perfect pop songs, but…
“Katy Perry breaks another record” — how many times have we heard that this summer? Not enough, apparently. Perry, whose last two singles, “E.T.” and “Firework,” have both been certified 4x-platinum, may claim yet another chart record title with her fifth single, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.).” For her most recent…
In the constantly evolving world of jam, bands are increasingly being overshadowed by DJs who rely on samples to formulate their sound. After nearly a year-long hiatus, the Frozen Movement returns to the scene to remind us of the merits of live instrumentation (Mike Stewart uses seven keyboards on stage)…
For this week’s print feature, we spoke with Laura Taylor, Vice President of Operations for Guitar Center regarding the company’s recent initiatives to improve the treatment of female customers in the company’s 219 stores across the country. When we spoke with Taylor, she was very candid about the steps the…
With her classical training and her background singing country music, Lizzy Allen brings impressive chops to her role in Vitamins, which got its start in Greeley. And tonight at Red Rocks, she’ll be putting that talent to work with the Flaming Lips, who have asked her once again to provide…
Ask someone who doesn’t know anything about electronic music to name a big DJ, and odds are, they’ll pick John Digweed’s name out of the crowd. He played the Big Name DJ (as himself, of course) way back in 2000 in the raver flick Groove, and he hasn’t lost any…
This week in rap, we have many dimensions of hip-hop for you. From Mcbig House and Gyp’s stripped down video for “Prize” to Pries’s more introspective take on Goapele’s “Closer” titled “Closer to Nothing” to Solomon Words ode to an old school line with “Can I Kick It.”…
In the eloquent liner notes of Sin Desires Marie, the band’s sole full-length, bassist Yoon Park explains that Sin Desires Marie (due tonight at Glob for this weekend’s Titwrench Festival) was started by friends who learned how to play their respective instruments as they learned to play together as a…
Since the beginning of the year, The Flaming Lips (due Wednesday, August 3 at Red Rocks) have been collaborating with a number of artists from Neon Indian, Prefuse 73, Lightning Bolt and Nick Cave, as well as releasing their own material in unconventional methods like USB drives embedded in gummy…
Behold, Untold Stories, another new periodic feature on Backbeat. As you’ve probably deduced from the name of this feature, Untold Stories will feature first-hand accounts of momentous occasions involving local folks that have never really been highlighted — thus the Untold part of that equation. The inaugural installment comes courtesy…
Alela Diane (due tomorrow night at the Fillmore Auditorium with Fleet Foxes) was born in the small town of Nevada City, California, where she got a nudge from her friend Joanna Newsom to perform her solo material for the first time. After issuing her debut album, Forest Parade, in 2003,…
