While studying trumpet performance at St. Olaf College in Minnesota two decades ago, Jason Harrelson, owner of Harrelson Trumpets, became consumed with learning how the trumpet works and understanding the physics of playing one. In 1993, he began experimenting with trumpet mouthpieces, enlarging throats, backbores and adding mass, and before…
Death Angel was formed in 1982 by four cousins who were inspired by the new wave of British heavy metal. After releasing a demo called Heavy Metal Insanity, the band enlisted its roadie, another cousin, Mark Osegueda, to be its singer — just in time to open for the then-up-and-coming…
Although jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan, who’s just going by his first name these days, is only in his mid-twenties, he already has more than two decades of playing under his belt. Having started on piano at the age of three, he was already playing festivals by the time he was…
Gov’t Mule formed in 1994 as a side project of Warren Haynes and Allen Woody, who were then members of the Allman Brothers Band. While both men continued to play with the Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule became quite a viable entity on its own, rooted in a similar blend of…
I’m a simpleton, in general, but particularly when it comes to beer — I know, a shameful admission in this town, beloved land of the microbrews. Sorry, dude. Most of that stuff gives me a headache. Still I can’t help but be hopelessly in love with TRVE Brewing Company. I…
Shakey Graves (Alejandro Rose-Garcia) is a one man force to be reckoned with. Armed with a vintage guitar, attention grabbing musical stylistics and a drum made out of a suitcase, this one man band grabs audiences like no other; you can hear a pin drop at his shows. In advance…
After years of refusing to play Soul Coughing songs, Mike Doughty, the band’s former frontman is not only performing entire sets of the band’s material, but he also released an album of Soul Coughing tunes reimagined. The title of the disc, issued last month on Doughty’s Snack Bar imprint, is…
What is trap music? According to T.I., on the title track of his genre-defining Trap Muzik, it ain’t no album and it ain’t no game. Indeed, the origins of trap go beyond music — beyond even the Atlanta corners where drugs are dealt and rubber bands are filled — into…
Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel formed the Helio Sequence in Beaverton, Oregon, in 1999. On their first few releases, the duo created vividly realized, playfully psychedelic songs that made a languid, rockist format seem expansive and upbeat, particularly 2001’s Young Effectuals, which was like a day-glo-hued daydream of an album…
Stevie Boiser is an omnipresent figure in Denver metal. He fronts Vale of Pnath, and recently stepped down from Enemy Reign to focus on Dissonance in Design, a progressive death-metal quintet that features brothers Harrison and Zac Patuto on guitar and drums, respectively, as well as Vale of Pnath guitarist…
Phish, which kicked off its fall tour this past weekend in Virgina, has a body of work large enough to provide fans with endless fodder for “best ever” and “all-time great” arguments. Such discussions often devolve into pointed and passionate debates. It’s not that Phish fans are easily agitated or…
The Naked and Famous was founded in Auckland, New Zealand in 2008 by Thom Powers and Alisa Xayalith when the two were students at the Music and Audio Institute. Taking its name from Tricky’s “Tricky Kid,” the Naked and Famous isn’t exactly what you’d call trip-hop. Rooted in alt rock,…
The Fabulous Boogienauts came together in 1996, when founder Rocky Ramjett was finally able to realize his dream of creating a disco band. Rather than the Chili Peppers brand of funk rock that was in vogue in certain circles at the time, Ramjett, who’d been relieved of his bass-playing duties…
Since immigrating from Russia in 1992, Ivan Ovchinnikov — better known by his stage name, Scum — has grown into one of the best-selling horrorcore artists in the country, through relentless touring and with Lyrikal Snuff Productions, the label he founded more than a decade ago. In that time, Scum…
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…
Shawn Lee’s music can be heard in everything from snowboard films and video games to documentaries and TV series. Over the course of his career, the Wichita, Kansas, native has released dozens of albums, both on his own and with Ping Pong Orchestra. Tonight, he stops by the Marquis with…
Inspired by early art-rock bands like Genesis and King Crimson, Goblin started out in 1972 as Cherry Five. But when the Italian group was recruited to help score the 1975 Dario Argento film Profondo Russo, the act changed its name to Goblin before releasing an album of the music it…
Jeff Campbell’s one-man show, Who Killed Jigaboo Jones?, premieres tonight at work | space. Our Show & Tell blog spoke with Campbell about the show, and that piece focuses primarily on the production. We also caught up with Campbell, who’s been a stalwart of the Colorado hip-hop scene for the…
Founded in the Harajuku district of Tokyo in 1987, Guitar Wolf puts on one of the most wild shows around. Inspired in part by guitarist Seiji’s encounter with “Rumble,” the Link Wray classic, the band crafted a sound that combines bits of old time rock and roll with punk, garage…
Back again with more fresh Colorado-grown hip-hop. This week’s batch features some classic hip-hop stylings from Big House and Ace, a pleasantly surprising track from newcomer Lytes Edison, a club anthem from Cash Addict’s DC Smilez and KooQua shinning on a new cut. Keep reading to see what’s good this…
For many bands, the light show is almost as integral to the live act as the music, so much so, in fact, that lighting directors are often heralded as an additional member of the group. These illumination wizards have the most open and creative space to work in, and as…
Sister Crayon got its start in Sacramento, California, in 2010 when Terra Lopez and Dani Fernandez met and bonded over ’90s-era hip-hop. The pair teamed up with various bandmates in the past few years and produced music that sounded like the perfect fusion of soul and trip hop — a…
