Backwash

What a difference a decade makes: In 1992, Conrad Kehn was a founding member of Skull Flux, a Denver combo that mixed the dark arts with metal; with that band, he played a lot of music on stage while his off-stage antics inspired the scorn of both his fellow bandmates and many fans. But the once-squirrelly Kehn has mellowed over the past ten years. He graduated from the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music -- where he is currently a member of the faculty -- and formed Kallisti, an arty rock-based combo that he shares with guitarist Brandon Vacarro and violinist Carrie Beeder, among others. And now, with the Experimental Playground Ensemble, Kehn has found a vehicle for his more sophisticated tastes as well. The eight-person ensemble, composed of graduate students and faculty from Lamont, melds electronic and multimedia elements into original works and those of modern classical composers, then performs them chamber-style. The group's next concert, set for Thursday, April 17, at the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, will feature film projections designed to enhance the roving instrumental readings. Might Kehn someday become our city's Frank Zappa? Who knows? He's already shown us that attempting to anticipate his next creative move is tricky, indeed.

To the playground!