Like a gnarled old cottonwood that you remember as a kid that now is all shaggy and stately, Pinback has aged well. From early efforts like 2001’s Blue Screen Life — an understated masterpiece that fell somewhere between early Police and stonerfied math rock — on through the albums that…
The Walkmen were one of the most successful bands that came out of the so-called post-punk revival of the turn of the century. With catchy melodies more bright than the dark and brooding variety favored by many of its contemporaries, this New York-based act also endured changes in tastes a…
A-Co Recordz founder Albeez 4 Sheez has been in the scene for over a decade. The Aurora resident has a mysterious persona and doesn’t stick to the typical gangster rap style of many of his contemporaries. His style is wild, fast paced and witty, drawing fans of all different types…
Steering clear of strict categorization, the tenured musicians in Railroad Earth have managed to merge multiple genres with bluesy riffs, acoustic instrumentation and a mesmerizing live show. We caught up with mandolinist John Skehan while the group was laying down tracks in a private home studio on the western edge…
DJs are the new rock stars? Maybe. (Although chefs are already the new rock stars.) Still, the big name DJs do seem to be living pretty large, what with the constant travel to exotic locations, goofily-clad fans, eager women, drugs and parties. Just swap MacBooks for guitars and it doesn’t…
Early in his career, pianist Uri Caine got to play with jazz legends like Philly Joe Jones and Hank Mobley. While Caine is a deft improviser and can play the hell out of bop, he’s incredibly multi-faceted and also quite equally at home playing avant-garde, classical (Caine’s released a number…
A new year is here, and from the looks of this week’s new batch of music, it’s going to be a good one for local hip-hop. We’re off to a good start, anyway. We’ve got new beats from Man Mantis off his label’s new comp, a fresh joint from production…
Real Cosby’s new four-track EP, MmmmLuvv, is a dynamic, mind-blowing masterpiece of retro-futuristic experimental house in the vein of acts like Daphni (aka Caribou) and Four Tet. The elastic bass lines, disembodied vocal samples and organic sense of sentiment make it eminently listenable. This local producer (aka Paul Banker) immediately…
Los Lobos singer and guitarist David Hidalgo clearly knows his away around Latin music, and so does guitarist Marc Ribot, who’s played with a ton of folks over the years, from Tom Waits and Elvis Costello to John Zorn and the Lounge Lizards. When the two bring their Border Music…
Before heading to the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston to earn his master’s degree, Tyler Gilmore spent a lot of time in Denver as the former music manager of Dazzle, as well as composing and leading the Ninth & Lincoln Orchestra, a forward-thinking large jazz ensemble that he…
Five Iron Frenzy is a Colorado band with a lengthy and storied history. Initially formed as a side project to Exhumator, an industrial-thrash band, Five Iron became a full-time endeavor when its founders — frontman Reese Roper, bassist Keith Hoerig, guitarists Micah Ortega and Scott Kerr, and drummer Andrew Verdecchio…
In recent years, the Black Angels have deservedly been a prominent band in the psychedelic rock world. Though the act had the rare distinction of being the backing band for one of the pioneers of psychedelic rock, Roky Erickson of the 13th Floor Elevators, the music created by the Austin-based…
Quantized Fitness is new monthly hip-hop showcase being hosted by Qknox (aka Jerod Sarlo) and Kalyn Heffernan of Wheelchair Sports Camp, two artists who have contributed considerably to the local hip-hop scene over the last five years. In honor of this evening’s inaugural edition of Quantized Fitness, Qknox will also…
New Year’s Eve is packed full of amazing shows and events, but few will compare to the party that is in store at City Hall with Amon Tobin. Before the spectacle begins, we caught up with the longtime experimental producer while he was on a holiday trip to Quebec, and…
Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary last April, had been playing annual New Year’s Eve shows at the Bluebird Theater for the past eleven years. This year, the band is playing two nights at the Oriental Theater — with the Sterling Sisters (which features Slim’s son George)…
It’s been a few years since Kam Mohager (aka the Chain Gang of 1974) has called Denver home, but if cellphone area codes are any sign of geographical allegiance, then he still keeps a little bit of Colorado close to his heart. He returns to the Mile High City to…
If any band typifies the Colorado approach to contemporary bluegrass, it’s Yonder Mountain String Band. The quartet built up its chops playing in venues in Boulder, Nederland and beyond in the late 1990s, and its fusion of traditional instrumentation and progressive musical structures resonated with local crowds. The quartet has…
Brian Eno’s 1977 album Before and After Science marks the end of an era. In the four years before it came out, starting in January of 1974, Eno released no fewer than three solo pop albums, and this, his fourth, was to be his last for almost thirty years. By…
A veteran of the Denver music scene of the ’80s who’s been living in California since 1989, rockabilly guitarist Jinx Jones has performed with Chuck Berry and Roy Buchanan and his chops can even be heard on En Vogue’s hit “Free Your Mind.” As a leader, Jones has four albums…
Marty Folb has been a touring musician for nearly six years now, and in that time, he’s developed a style all his own. Continually evolving as a DJ, Folb is returning to Denver with a seemingly endless catalogue of unreleased PANTyRAiD and MartyParty tracks to soundtrack the end of the…
Another week, another batch of fresh hip-hop from the Mile High City. Pries draws all eyes to him with The Lonely Kid Show, the tireless SP Double shows his proficiency on “The Mission Statement,” Myke Charles, FL and the ReMINDers take on some G.O.O.D. music in “The Mourning,” Black Mask…
A revered hip-hop producer who got his start with Phonte and Big Pooh in the North Carolina-based group Little Brother, 9th Wonder has worked with an array of top-shelf artists, from Jay-Z and Destiny’s Child to Mary J. Blige and Ludacris, among many others. Known as one of the best…
