In prime-time country these days, the once-revered tradition of duet singing has given way to what are called “vocal events” at awards shows. In alternative-country circles, though, the form seems to be making a bit of a comeback: John Prine traded lines with a host of female partners on his…
It’s been so long that most people no longer remember, but once upon a time, Dolly Parton was one of country music’s genuine treasures, a songwriter able to pour her personal experiences into tunes that more than earned their sentimentality. “Coat of Many Colors” and “Jolene” are two of the…
Almost six months after David Fox invited a couple dozen people — and seven local bands — into his Alley Studio space in Northwest Denver for an initial round of recordings, 2000: LiveDenverComp is ready to see the light of release. The compilation is the first offering from Fox’s new…
Gil Scott-Heron, Saturday, February 26, at the Lion’s Lair, is an acknowledged influence on many of hip-hop’s finest performers — and the genre would be better still if more rappers paid him obeisance. A Chicago native whose formative years were split between the American South and the mean streets of…
Jack Wright, Boulder’s outermost jazz saxophonist, welcomes itinerant reedman Bhob Rainey to St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 1615 Ogden Street, on Thursday, February 24, for a duo performance of extreme-sport improvisation that might make bungee-jumping seem safe by comparison. A soprano specialist, Rainey has played with John Zorn, Joe McPhee,…
We don’t have Charlie Brown to cheer us up in the funny papers anymore, but luckily, there’s still Charlie Brown’s Bar & Grill for a little good grief after work. Located in the same building as the old Colburn Hotel on Grant Street, Charlie Brown’s happy hour offers great two-for-one…
In the annals of jazz lore, the story goes something like this: Dizzy Gillespie, perhaps tired from a long night of gigging, mistakenly sat on his trumpet, causing the horn’s normally straight bell to twist skyward at a perfectly right angle. Desperate to continue with the next set, Diz blew…
If Miles Davis were still alive and in need of a turntablist, it would make sense for him to hire New York native Jason Kibler, aka DJ Logic. Logic is a DJ who, like the legendary trumpeter, consistently stretches the boundaries of the musical landscape with his instrument of choice…
“The band, by all appearances, at least from what people tell me, is vastly influential, but I have no paycheck to show for it,” says former Camper Van Beethoven bassist Victor Krummenacher. “Not one.” Welcome to the world of cult rock. In the mid-1980s, Camper was perhaps the most “important”…
A sick-minded Westword salesperson (is there any other kind?) spun my copy of Still I Rise before I got my hands on it, and upon the CD’s return, I found tucked into its liner a lovely printout of Tupac Shakur as he looked mid-autopsy: flesh hanging out, split skull, and…
Step off, Eddie Vedder. And Stone Gossard — you might as well be Stone Phillips this go-around. Mike McCready, lead guitarist for Seattle’s Pearl Jam, has assembled some childhood pals to eke out a dozen James Garner-influenced songs about angels and bad relationships. Let us weep openly, my baggy, flanneled…
On her third release, Fun9 (somehow pronounced “funk”), Minekawa lays down a manifesto of experimental pop and future folk. It’s a curious record of breathy, My Bloody Valentine-esque dissonance, beautiful melodies and experimental bedroom samplings. Yet Fun9 is catchy without being pure kitsch. Minekawa makes jet-set pop for the future…
In September 1999, local hip-hop promoter Wendy Barr invited more than a hundred of her closest friends into a not-quite-finished space on Market Street, a portion of LoDo known for its sports bars, trendy restaurants and even trendier people. It was the grand opening of Liquid, a dance club that…
Bad Brains, Tuesday, February 22, at the Bluebird Theater, with Fitz of Depression and Gina Go Faster, are back with all of the band’s original players after a four-year spiritual retreat. Whatever cosmic realms the bandmembers may have trespassed during that time, musically, they’re doing what they’ve always done. Combining…
The fifth annual Artopia, Saturday, February 19, at the Temple Events Center, promises an evening of tribalism, trance music and extraterrestrial art under tents. This year’s fete is hosted by Westword, and the rulers of Artopia seem as intent on summoning alien craft as they are on showcasing some fine…
Looking to get a dose of Scott Joplin in your head? Have you got visions of gambling halls, the origins of jazz and boater hats floating in your veins? Then get a load of the 7th Evergreen Ragtime Bash, Saturday and Sunday, February 19 and 20, at the Evergreen Elks…
Tommy “Working Man” Thomas is in a jam. Sure, he’s got a new CD, Working Man, out in stores, and he’s slowly selling copies of the bluesy six-song disc. He’s also getting a dash of airplay on the local airwaves. But musically speaking, Thomas’s handle doesn’t seem to hold water…
Talk to a purveyor of the blues long enough and you’ll eventually hear about how (irony of ironies) the fans in Europe have so much more respect for the form than do their counterparts in the U.S. of A., where the genre was born. But according to guitarist/vocalist Judah Bauer…
Chuck Prophet’s earlier solo work was likable enough: twangy, stripped-down roots rock that, released nowadays, would immediately get him pegged as yet one more exponent of alternative country, singer-songwriter division.(Think Tom Petty without the Byrds infatuation and recording budget.) The Hurting Business, though, rises head and torso above his four…
A former member of the Delta deconstructionist duo Doo Rag, Log has chosen a literal interpretation of the term “stripped-down blues” on his second solo release: He credits Trike’s rhythm section to two “professional women,” by which he does not mean musicians. Instead, Log paid a pair of female pros…
One of the joys of truly independent discs is the lack of baggage they carry. Or, to put it another way, you can’t come to an album with preconceptions if you don’t know anything about it. Take Enter the Draco, by the duo of Mima and Naoki Morimoto, aka Draco…
With each subsequent release of the various Wu solo projects, the individual members (perhaps with the exception of Method Man), have all seen diminishing returns in the fickle rap marketplace. Which raises the question: Does the public still crave product from the Wu-Tang dynasty? With this followup to his classic…
