Broncos vs. Raiders. Blur vs. Oasis. Bush vs. Kerry. Us vs. Them. All of these pale before Bear vs. Shark. Like a tightly packed bundle of nerve endings trying to burst in five directions at once, this Michigan-based quintet is at war with itself. The territory being fought over is…
Jared Southhard’s grandmother had an owl fetish: clocks, salt-and-pepper shakers, you name it. And while such seemingly well-mannered knickknacks often embody the qualities of wisdom and patience, who’s to say they won’t suddenly fly into your windshield late at night and shatter a thoughtful moment? For the bird-watching frontman of…
You can plan it on your calendar. It happens every year at this time. It’s become as routine as Big Head Todd’s New Year’s Eve concert. As the sky starts exploding and everyone around you becomes a lawn-chair patriot, John Popper and his crew roll into Mootown to celebrate freedom…
Somewhere deep in the swampland of New Orleans, a diabolical, bayou-spawned shaman begot the ultimate rock-and-roll voodoo doll. Angus Young’s broken guitar picks became its eyes; Gene Simmons’s used condoms became its skin. And then, in a fit of unholy transfixion, this high priest of the occult emptied out one…
Metal Church is the perfect representation of ’80s-era speed metal. Even the group’s logo, its thick crimson letters peaked with jagged edges, remains quintessential ’80s. The Church has had several leaders over the past two decades, and its members have changed over time, but the music remains the same. Founding…
Eric Lowe’s tenure as a Denver musician has been a quest for essence. Starting with his ’90s stints in the warmly remembered pop-rock bands the Christines and Honeydew, the singer/guitarist has been paring down and laying bare the hidden, pulsing heart of classic songcraft, digging for that raw pulp at…
In the often too serious world of jungle and drum-and-bass, Gavin King, aka Aphrodite, is one of the few DJs and producers who haven’t forgotten that dance music is supposed to be fun. During the U.K.’s acid-house revolution and the later hardcore rave days, Aphrodite was already producing anthems such…
Legends are supposed to last forever — but Hollywood Legends has called it quits after thirty years. Dennis Muck opened the club originally called After the Gold Rush at 5255 West Sixth Avenue in Lakewood in January 1974, and he closed the doors for good on June 21. Among the…
Three years ago, I was part of what’s now one of the hottest, most talked about bands in the country. “So we’re just walking down the street in Lawrence, Kansas,” recalls Daniel Sproul, “and some chick comes up to us and says, ‘Are you Rose Hill Drive?'” Shocked to be…
Pain is the great motivator, anguish the most compelling muse. In other words, a world of hurt can go a long way. Just ask Chris Fogal, singer/guitarist of Denver’s the Gamits. His group’s brand-new disc is called Antidote, and it’s meant to be exactly that: an anodyne for crushing agony,…
According to the calendar, New Year’s Eve is still six months away. But you’d never know it from the faces at Herman’s Hideaway on this steamy Friday night. The place is packed, with a line pouring out onto the sidewalk. Inhibitions are stacked at the door like so many unneeded…
The female singer-songwriters of today can be lumped together into two convenient camps. There’s Camp Norah Jones, in which every sensitive, hushed-tone lullaby is safe passage to chart-topping success. Sarah McLachlan and Alicia Keys are camp counselors, while Jewel reads from a book of poems. They aren’t looking to rock…
Sonic Youth remains one of the great names in rock, but it may be a bit past its expiration date. After all, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley celebrated the big 4-0 a while back, and Kim Gordon hit the half-century mark last year, leaving relative newbie Jim O’Rourke…
Few things could be as emotionally stunning as a mute suddenly opening his mouth and speaking. Over the course of the past five years, San Diego’s Jimmy LaVelle, who records under the name The Album Leaf, has honored an almost monastic vow of silence; barring the occasional collaboration with luminaries…
It’s no secret that Neurosis is a changeling. Masters of mixtures and daredevils of disparity, guitarists Steve Von Tills and Scott Kelly, bassist Dave Edwardson, percussionist Jason Roeder and keyboardist Noah Landis have fifteen years of genre-bending music to their credit. Drawing on hardcore, industrial, metal, ambient and folk music,…
Chicks with dicks love the Symptoms. So do dudes with pussies. In fact, anyone who’s ever felt the pull between the masculine and the feminine within them might get a little wet between the legs upon their first exposure to this six-song debut. Founded in 2003, the group is new,…
On paper, Scott’s approach to music-making — members of his ten-piece Bowed Piano Ensemble saw, hammer and pick at the strings of an open grand piano — seems like little more than a stunt. On CD, it’s anything but. Scott, a professor at Colorado College, has found a way to…
This time last year, on Westword Music Showcase weekend, I took the reins from Laura Bond and doled out my first Beatdown. And, my, how Mootown has changed since then. Hip-hop is finally getting some respect, with organic crews like the Break Mechanics and Dojo leading the way and clubs…
Straight outta Omaha, Joel Petersen made his name playing bass for the Faint — but his side project, Broken Spindles, is every bit as intriguing as his main gig. The Spindles’ self-titled debut, issued in 2002, comprises a series of trippy numbers that pit electronics from yesterday and today against…
While the half-baked genre of electroclash cashed in its chips almost quicker than it could ante up, its echoes resound. One such reverberation is Oakland, California’s Gravy Train!!!! (below). Although the coed quartet’s music is far removed from the contrived, plasticky kitsch of electroclash, it shares an affinity for the…
Al Green is a bit like former Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders — an all-time great who took himself out of the game prematurely, leaving fans to wonder what might have been. After issuing one brilliant side after another throughout the first half of the ’70s, this most effortless…
For twenty years, Skinny Puppy has combined horror-film samples, dark synthesizers and dance-floor-friendly beats to produce some of the most terrifying electronic music to come out of North America. Albums such as 1988’s VIVISect VI and 1990’s Too Dark Park are the apotheosis of the group’s sinister vision. Originally the…
