A few years after being formed by Rozz Williams in 1979, Christian Death released Only Theater of Pain, an album that’s considered to be a classic of both death rock and post-punk. With its dark lyrics and themes, the group embodies the aesthetic and sound of gothic rock better than…
Kneebody has had many labels thrown at it, but none seem to fit. Just the same, the members of the transcontinental quintet (saxophonist Ben Wendel, keyboardist Adam Benjamin, drummer Nate Wood and Denver natives, trumpeter Shane Endsley and bassist Kaveh Rastegar) haven’t exactly gone out of their way to make…
Phish is the greatest cover band on earth, hands down. Some songs have become staples — so much so that we’ve come across fans, even well versed fans, who didn’t realize songs like “Funky Bitch” was a cover — while others are only busted out occasionally, sometimes only once. Of…
Born Joshua Davis, DJ Shadow made great waves with his first proper album, 1996’s Endtroducing, which has been lauded as the first album made up entirely by samples. By then, he’d already made a name for himself as a producer with some singles and production work out on Mo’ Wax…
Like any other town, Denver has its share of cover bands, and those bands often tend to get overlooked, because, well, they’re playing somebody else’s music. Thus, our latest feature, Cover Band of the Week (or, perhaps more accurately, every few weeks, because let’s be honest: There’s a finite number…
When Big Gigantic played Red Rocks last year, the feeling of hometown pride was unmistakable. As the act went into “Colorado Mountain High,” a giant projection of the state flag draped the rocks, and the crowd went absolutely bananas. The duo ended up delivering its best set ever. That said,…
Rap is not the homogeneous radio-whoring genre that people make it out to be…most of the time. But the rest of the time, you have to admit that rap can be just as formulaic and predictable as its detractors claim. If you’re looking to find a new appreciation for one…
Casey James Prestwood and the Burning Angels just finished recording their new album, Honky Tonk Bastard World, in the Nashville home of revered designer Manuel Cuevas, whose iconic Nudie suits have been worn by an array of country legends. It’s an ideal pairing for the two, as the former has…
“The most poignant use of ‘Mad World’ I’ve seen.” That’s how Curt Smith reacted to seeing Boulder attorney Mark Changaris playing the Tears for Fears song on a piano last week in his flood-ravaged home. The song is already imbued with a distinctive sense of melancholy on its own, but…
Wax Tailor is the long-running hip-hop/downtempo project of Jean-Christophe Le Saoût. In the ’90s, Le Saoût was involved with the rap band La Formule, and in the latter part of that decade, frustrated with the creative restrictions of a major label, he established the Lab’Oratoire imprint. In 2001, Le Saoût…
Cage the Elephant formed in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 2006. And while the group’s 2008 self-titled, debut full-length was met with a great deal of acclaim in this country, it wasn’t until after the band lived in England for a spell that it gained notice. Influenced by alt-rock, the outfit…
In advance of the National’s show tonight at Red Rocks, we spoke with Aaron Dessner. We printed the excerpts from our chat with him in this week’s paper, and today on the blog, we have the full Q&A. Dessner talks about what could be in store for the band’s next…
In jazz discussions, the saxophonists and the trumpeters generally dominate the conversation, and rightly so. Equally as integral to the music, though, is the rest of the band. While we’ve already listed the pianists, and we’ll soon be taking a look at bassists and drummers, today we focus on the…
The Orb got its start in the second half of the ’80s, inspired by dub and house music. Cited as an influence of many modern electronic music artists today, the act also had a major impact on ambient artists of the past few decades, including guitar bands like Seefeel and…
Andrew W.K. is best known for his single “Party Hard” from his 2001 album I Get Wet, but really, he’s one of the hardest working people in show business. The guy puts himself fully into all he does, particularly his music, be it the party rocking variety, classically-inflected piano pieces…
Like any other town, Denver has its share of cover bands. For the most part, the outfits here don’t merely perform somebody else’s music; rather, they put time, energy and effort into really channeling the acts and eras they’re emulating. This is especially true of this week’s cover band, Under…
Back again with more fresh Colorado-grown hip-hop. This week’s batch features a hustle anthem from Richie Rich, and Monte Burns showing his versatility. F.Lawless, meanwhile, drops a new video from his solo debut, Limbo, and Tommy Brown shows off his ink and moolah. Continue on to see what’s good. See…
After finishing their tour in support of 2010’s High Violet, the members of the National didn’t have any immediate plans to record again. But guitarist Aaron Dessner, whose daughter had just been born, ended up with a lot of time on his hands. He began writing songs in his backyard…
Master luthier Scott Baxendale lives in Athens, Georgia, these days, but he still has Denver on his mind. In fact, he says he has plans to move back here at some point. Right now, though, the guitar maker and former Colfax Guitar Shop owner has his hands full in Athens,…
Sweden is to death metal what Norway is to black metal. Norway’s sixth sense for finding black metal with the right amount of heavy guitar distortion, banshee shrieking vocals and an unrefined recording quality gives them a black flame kick that fuels the fire of many metal fans. Keep reading…
Space In Time was started by some friends from the local punk and metal scenes who had rediscovered their love of early ’70s hard rock. In 2007, guitarist Javram Ciel-Tilton and drummer Yancy Green tapped some other friends to start a band in that vein, and for the next six…
What makes a great country song? Well, if David Allan Coe is to be believed, the songs require a few things: mama, trains, trucks, prison or gettin’ drunk. There’s got to be more to it than that, though, right? Like, at least five more things. Country music draws on the…
