Twenty-something singer-songwriter Dar Williams confesses, “I’m probably getting a little more hype than I’m worth.” This becoming display of modesty is prompted by a line from a recent edition of Stereo Review; a critic there dubbed her “the Great Folk Hope.” To Williams, this designation is flattering but somewhat premature…
These notes are for you. Tippy, from the cranium of Denver’s Neil Slade, reminded me of Seventies-vintage Todd Rundgren in its juxtaposition of pure pop melodies, sometimes arch lyrics, challenging structural conceits and substantial ambition. “Shauna,” “Couch” and several others are extremely hummable, yet they also ask for (and reward)…
Nas It Was Written (Columbia) The reported death of gangsta rap has been greatly exaggerated: It Was Written entered the Billboard sales charts at number one, and three weeks later, it’s still there. But although this album contains the usual verbal allotment of niggas, bitches, gats and gunshots (as well…
On August 16, 1977–nineteen years ago this week–Elvis Presley died. But while the general public believes he’s at rest on the property of Graceland, his Memphis home, Carol Downey, perhaps Denver’s most devoted Elvis booster, knows the truth. “I don’t think he’s there,” she says. “I don’t think they moved…
In May, I derided Denver’s electronic media and the folks at our fair city’s daily newspapers for their hysterical coverage of an altercation between kids and cops during a punk-rock show at an area Veterans of Foreign Wars hall. Well, the coverage of the ruckus in Morrison on August 5,…
“Our style of music is called garage punk,” says Michael Daboll, lead singer and guitarist for Denver’s Element 79–and he’s glad to elaborate. After all, Daboll and his brethren (bassist Mike Gilligan and drummer Jeff Learman, supplemented by Dancin’ Boy Wade Morse, “the only male go-go dancer in a five-state…
Willie Nelson is right where you’d expect to find him: on a tour bus, heading from one show to the next. He’s 63 years old and wears every one of his adventures on his leathery features. But he still has a guitar and a voice, and he fully intends to…
The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Chaos and Disorder (Warner Bros.) Spite is often overlooked as a spur to creativity, but it’s as capable of providing artistic inspiration as love and beauty–something that Chaos and Disorder amply demonstrates. Prince, you see, has been sniping at his mega-label for years–but rather…
Life on the road can be fun for a traveling rock-and-roller–but according to Ned “Hoaky” Hickel, bassist for New Orleans-based Dash Rip Rock, it’s not without its drawbacks. “With all this traveling we’ve been doing,” he laments, “there’s no time for fishing.” Hickel and his mates (drummer Chris Luckette and…
In September 1994, I scribbled an article for this publication entitled “Come Together–Again”; it was intended to lampoon then-current supergroup reunion tours by acts such as the Eagles and Steely Dan via a supposedly fictional list of other outfits considering get-togethers. Among them was the Sex Pistols, about whom I…
I park my car along the side of a narrow road at 7:10 Sunday evening, August 4, and begin running up the incline toward Red Rocks, where the Vermont phenom Phish is due to take the stage in less than twenty minutes. My speed and technique certainly don’t put Michael…
It’s not uncommon to hear stories of a reggae star’s rise from the ghettos of Jamaica to international fame. But few performers have endured as much or struggled as hard as the harmony trio Israel Vibration, whose members are all survivors of polio. “I didn’t get no chance, no job,…
Prior to departing for a tour of California, George Fraska and Dave Paco, of the Denver punk band called Four, announce their intention to indulge in a favorite hobby between gigs. “Me and Dave have this thing about spanking kids,” says vocalist/guitarist Fraska. “Yeah,” adds Paco, Four’s bassist. “We pull…
Neil Young and Crazy Horse Broken Arrow (Reprise) In a review of 1977’s That Obscure Object of Desire, the last film made by the late Luis Bunuel, Pauline Kael noted the relaxed confidence of the director’s work; after decades spent absorbing every aspect of the cinematic medium, he was able…
When a writer at the New York Times coined the phrase “heroin chic” to describe those underaged bulimia babes who have defined the fashion scene in recent years, he didn’t have Augy, the front man for Denver’s MK Ultra, in mind. But the term applies. Consider the evidence. In performance,…
Golden Smog began its life as what singer-guitarist Dan Murphy describes as “the cover band from hell. We’d learn, like, twenty or thirty covers in two days. And we’d just barely learn them. We’d play requests, too–like ‘Freebird.’ There’d always be some wiseacre who’d call out for that one. But…
Singer/guitarist Michael Daboll loves garage music. He loves to play it in his band, Element 79, and he loves to listen to albums by other artists who love it, too. Which goes a long way toward explaining why Daboll has created Treble Fest! ’96, a celebration of all things garage…
The exhaustive liner notes that accompany Cowabunga! The Surf Box, a four-CD set recently issued on the Rhino imprint, are certainly respectful of the musical category dubbed surf; you’d expect nothing less from John Blair, author of The Illustrated Discography of Surf Music, 1961-1965, widely acknowledged as the most loving…
It’s Saturday night at the Knights of Columbus hall in Brighton, Colorado, and about 250 people are mingling near the stage, waiting for the band to strike up. Their patience is soon rewarded: Mike Gaschler counts to three, then gives his accordion a hearty squeeze. Another set by the Polka…
Unlike those musicians who play up a variety of interests, perhaps to demonstrate that there is more to them than their tunes, Tabu Ley Rochereau, the Zaire-born leader of L’Orchestre Afrisa International, insists that music is his be-all and end-all. “I’m writing one book about my life,” he says. “I…
Metallica Load (Elektra) Thus far, this album has been reviewed more often on the basis of the bandmembers’ new grunge-junkie haircuts and the act’s decision to headline the worst Lollapalooza bill imaginable than it has on the merits of the music itself. But even if you exclude the aforementioned factors…
Most local, independent record labels are labors of love–small outfits such as Arnie Swenson’s Prolific company (lauded in this space last issue) that struggle from day to day and month to month to remain in operation. But Pro T.U., a Denver imprint that makes its bow this week, is quite…
