For more casual fans, trucker music begins and ends with “Convoy,” C. W. McCall’s 1975 country hit. But Colorado playwrights Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman have scratched that satirical stereotype and interviewed many real-life big-rig drivers about the hurdles and sorrows of the highways for their new musical, Mama Hated…
The brainchild of multi-instrumentalist JT Nolan, the Lovely and Talented seems eerily similar to fellow Denver outfit DeVotchKa. After all, both gather sounds from a similar pool of eras and genres, and Nolan has even appeared on stage with DeVotchKa — not to mention the fact that that group’s drummer,…
For fifteen years, King Rat has held down its own small, smelly corner of Denver’s punk scene. That kind of longevity alone is commendable — especially considering the volatile, at times self-destructive nature of King Rat’s music, a crackling blitzkrieg of hard rock, ’80s hardcore and Mike Ness-style confessionals. On…
You have to hand it to Tim Burton. Not only did he pull off the biggest opening of his already formidable career with the record take for Alice in Wonderland, he managed to turn one of the weirdest kids’ books in history into something even weirder. Of course, he took…
Nothing makes us sit up and take notice like nakedness. But Denver-based fine-art photographer Greg Friedler had something more sublime than titillation in mind with his ambitious, experimental Stripped series. Since 2007, Friedler has hauled his cameras, his commitment and his unique vision around the globe to create indelible images…
Lots of bands use cello and violin. Strangers Die Every Day, though, rocked those rarefied strings in a way that evoked everything from hardcore punk to the Constellations Records roster. But when the Boulder-born instrumental band moved to Portland in 2007, where it dissolved after releasing the stunning Aperture for…
At first listen, it’s easy to mistake Glowing House’s debut as a vehicle for Jess Parsons, the outfit’s lead vocalist and pianist/guitarist. But the more the sumptuous and heartfelt songs sink in, the more the whole project feels like a real band. And a good band. Sidestepping the trend of…
One thing about Sharon Jones that’s often overlooked: She may be the figurehead of today’s retro-soul movement, but she was also there the first time around. Granted, Jones may not have been strutting around big stages the same time that Tina Turner was tearing up “Nutbush City Limits,” but Jones…
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: Ever notice that the word “music” doesn’t appear anywhere in there? And yet the Academy takes it upon itself each year to choose the best original song from movie soundtracks. Beside the occasional dark-horse fluke in the form of Elliott Smith or…
Comedians are supposed to deliver punchlines, not become them. But Howie Mandel has withstood plenty of paradox. For the past thirty years, the Canadian funnyman has been renowned as a dramatic actor (in his breakout role on NBC’s St. Elsewhere); an Emmy-nominated creator of the kids’ show Bobby’s World; and…
For the first time since 1944, the Oscars have more than five Best Picture nominations. But this year’s ten-film ballot has caused a stir, and Keith Garcia — programming manager for the Denver Film Society, the group behind the annual Party With Oscar bash — knows which side of the…
Part of the Scottish cabal (including the Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit) that threatens to turn indie rock into a weepy wasteland of butt-hurt crybabies — yes, one of their signature songs is called “Quiet Little Voices” — We Were Promised Jetpacks should, by all rights, totally suck. The fact…
Despite the Anglocentricity of its name, Philadelphia’s A Sunny Day in Glasgow is far from some Belle and Sebastian clone. Instead, the coed ensemble reaches toward the heavens with a wispy, wintry shoegaze sound that’s as abstract as it is dizzying. Like a shitstorm in a teacup, A Sunny Day’s…
The potato-based latke, a Hanukkah tradition. The sweet hamantasch, a staple of Purim. Which is better? That’s a longstanding, semi-satirical debate that Sarah Pessin, director of the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Denver, is keeping alive with today’s The Great Debate: Latke or Hamantasch?, during which Pessin…
“I’m a huge music fan,” admits Steve Byrne, a comedian who’s opened for Kanye West, Modest Mouse and Spoon, among many others. “I love everything from Dean Martin and Harry Connick Jr. to the Killers and the Beatles to Bob Wills and Dwight Yoakam. I think music and comedy complement…
Rose’s Pawn Shop may forever attract cheap punchlines about the aptness of its name; after all, the group sports more instruments than the back room of a run-down secondhand shop. But a fair listen to the music should put a dead stop to any assholery. Amid the banjo, upright bass,…
There isn’t a thing remotely original about Fanfarlo — but that’s kind of what makes the band so endearing. Led by warble-voiced multi-instrumentalist Simon Balthazar, the group luxuriates in the kind of ebullient, upward-spiraling pop that the Arcade Fire has popularized. But there’s a ragged edge to Fanfarlo’s fluttering coo…
“Film and standup are two separate worlds in my head,” says actor and comedian Aziz Ansari. “My goal with the new hour I’m working on is to be even more aggressive with the material, more confident and just overall make it a better set.” Ansari’s confidence has taken him far…
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was poised to become the next biggest thing after the Arcade Fire back in 2005 when the band’s widely praised, self-titled debut was released — a dizzying possibility that seemed to come as much of a surprise to the act as anyone else. As it…
It might be hard to believe that Nick Oliveri has a soft side. The maniacal former member of Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age — and current leader of the vicious Mondo Generator, as well as an occasional member of the Dwarves — has long been infamous for his…
With Oscar season in full swing, it’s time to wake up and smell the celluloid. And there’s no better way to get your fill of film than by attending the Boulder International Film Festival. Tonight through Sunday, this year’s BIFF will showcase some of today’s most compelling independent cinema. The…
Summoning the gruff howl of punk legends like Leatherface and Jawbreaker, Throwaway Sunshine has no shortage of raw, open-hearted soul. The quartet may be relatively young, but their songs sound weathered by the ages: Singer/guitarist Cory Trendler, formerly of post-hardcore champs the Blackout Pact, brings the same level of passion…
