Like countless groups before it, Denver’s Electric Summer formed on a university campus. But there’s a difference between the average college combo and this punk-rock quartet. You see, the school in question is Teikyo Loretto Heights University, a southwest Denver institution that’s primarily populated by students who are natives of…
Radish Restraining Bolt (Mercury) Hate to break it to you, Kurt, but this is what the movement you popularized has come to–imitations of you by a fifteen-year-old kid from Texas. Ben Kweller is his name, and he’s got your style nailed. The throaty vocals, the distorted guitars, the punchy songwriting,…
When asked why he plays the music he does, blues singer-songwriter Guy Davis quotes a line borrowed from Son House: “The blues chose me.” When he elaborates, however, his words are his own. “In whatever I do, I intend to continue to play the blues. It’s just a part of…
Okay, I admit it: I’ve never understood the appeal of Rush. When friends would tout the instrumental gymnastics and lyrical insights of bombastic discs such as 1976’s 2112 (largely inspired by the writings of–gulp–Ayn Rand), I’d respond with a shudder and go back to my Clash albums. But a funny…
Craig Christensen, aka DJ Craig C, has been spinning dance records at Denver nightspots for five years–an eternity by late-night standards. But he shows no signs of slowing down. He and his frequent partner, DJ Dealer (ne Greg Diehl), have become nationally known remixers; their revision of Joi Cardwell’s “You…
Hubris: an overweening self-confidence that can lead to calamity. Many a hero in Greek literature met a grim fate as a result of this failing, and in virtually every case, their collapses were richly deserved. These characters weren’t merely examples of the how-the-mighty-have-fallen concept that gives many of us common…
“There are questions I’ve tried really hard not to ask myself about my own music–what lifestyle does it reinforce, what niche does it fit into,” claims accordionist David Willey, the creative force behind Denver’s Hamster Theatre. “Because I’m operating, under the guise at least, that I’m following my heart.” If…
The hype surrounding the current tour by the Chemical Brothers has been somewhat less overwhelming than the hoopla associated with U2’s current jaunt (see page 71)–Dennis Hopper hasn’t offered to narrate any network television specials for them yet. But in some ways, the expectations are just as heavy. The Brothers–Brits…
Avoid writing about Denver radio for a few months and look what happens: hirings, firings, format shifts and random bloodletting. Let’s try to catch up, shall we? Hilary Schmidt, among the brightest DJs on the local scene over the past couple of years, is gone; after stints with the late…
Pat Kincaid, frontman for Denver’s Foggy Mountain Fuckers, first encountered country music at age seven. “I had this babysitter who I’d stay with, and she was really into country,” he says. “Every day for about a year, she played the live Waylon Jennings-Willie Nelson record, so all those songs were…
“College music has evolved into instrumental music being accepted,” says Erik Deutsch, keyboardist for the singer-less Boulder-based collective Fat Mama. “Bands like Medeski, Martin & Wood and Groove Collective are popular now just because it’s a nice evolution from the Grateful Dead and Phish. It’s the next step, and I…
Doug Martsch of Built to Spill, among the few sparks on the swiftly dimming alterna-scene, is a guitarist, singer and songwriter of great skill and intensifying renown thanks to Perfect From Now On, an impressive full-length recently released by Warner Bros. But he has another job that’s just as important…
The Offspring Ixnay on the Hombre (Columbia) Despite the presence of Jello Biafra on “Disclaimer,” a bit o’ hucksterism plopped at the top of this disc in an effort to rent a little credibility, Ixnay is punk rock only in the broadest sense. The comfort lead shouter Dexter Holland displays…
For over a decade, singer Blag Dahlia and the band he fronts, the Dwarves, have done a good job of rattling the cages of rock-music fans. Since its 1986 debut, the group’s players (currently Dahlia, guitarist Whslley Smskes, bassist Gash Money and drummer Vadge Moore) have offered up a blistering,…
Anyone who’s ever paid the slightest attention to popular music in these United States has long realized that the record industry’s response to an economic slump is to manufacture a trend. There’s no shortage of examples: The birth of rock and roll, the British Invasion, the singer-songwriter era, the disco…
“People can’t just take Stevie Ray Vaughan and think he’s the creator and almighty god of the blues, because that’s just not how it is,” says Denver bluesman Lonesome Dan Kase. “He played rock and roll, which was good. But when you base your whole philosophy on a guy who…
Johnny Dowd Wrong Side of Memphis When I began reviewing albums, I instituted a simple rule for myself: I must listen to at least three songs of every recording I receive before deciding whether or not to put it in my giveaway drawer. This doctrine has caused me no shortage…
Last week’s column about the ruckus during the April 9 Jeru the Damaja date at Boulder’s Fox Theatre contained a lot of information about the incident, but it lacked an important element: the comments of Jeru himself. When yours truly finally tracked down the rapper, on tour somewhere in the…
Most acts that are part of the so-called third wave of ska promote themselves using a simple formula for success: touring, touring, touring. But Isaac Green and the Skalars, among the best of this new generation, recently discovered that the road can sometimes be rough. “We’ve only been on tour…
Veruca Salt Eight Arms to Hold You (Outpost/Minty Fresh) In my review of Veruca Salt’s much-ballyhooed debut, 1994’s American Thighs, I lamented the band’s derivative nature (the Breeders and Sonic Youth were among those paid homage via imitation) but suggested that, given some time, the players might eventually develop into…
Guitarist/vocalist John Cephas and harmonica expert Phil Wiggins, collectively known as Cephas & Wiggins, play what’s alternately called Tidewater music or Piedmont blues. And while they’re not the only ones to do so, Cephas is frustrated that more young players aren’t following in their footsteps. “You know, I can’t really…
Singer-songwriter Dan Bern is of the rather old-fashioned belief that words–as in lyrics–actually matter. Too bad most of the ones that show up in popular music are so banal. “We live in a very polite time in some ways,” he says in a halting yet intense voice that only occasionally…
