Audio By Carbonatix
Basically,” says bassist Curtis Durham, “we’re just four guys who were sick of all the crap from our other bands and got together.”
Durham’s joking, but from the sound of it, the members of this local pop-rock outfit complement each other, and together they communicate better than any other group they’ve been part of.
“I don’t think we’ve ever gotten pissed off at each other,” Durham marvels, “either individually or as a band.”
“It’s amazing,” adds guitarist Ryan Countryman, “because we all come from bands that just fought all the time.”
The chemistry the quartet has developed is particularly remarkable considering the haphazard way Starfuzz came together. After auditioning more than a dozen potential collaborators, guitarist/vocalist Josh Skelton made contact with guitarist Ryan Countryman and began writing songs. Countryman enlisted Durham and drummer Jared Schiltz, with whom he worked at a small aerospace company, to help flesh out a demo that he and Skelton were working on. The two had initially intended to document their songs in a full-band format so they could present them to a prospective rhythm section. The four jelled in the process, however, and decided to form a group. And the studio time that had already been booked to record the demo ultimately became the sessions that produced Starfuzz’s stellar full-length debut, 2004’s You Are Food.
“Josh and I met in January of 2004,” recounts Countryman, “and by May, we were in the studio.”
Starfuzz stormed out of the gate with poise, complexity and competence. Despite being freshly minted and still in the midst of finding their sound, the foursome exhibited a stunning artistic and sonic maturity on You Are Food. The eleven-track album’s catchy blend of classic rock, ’70s folk rock and indie pop, as well as a noteworthy emphasis on rock-solid pop songwriting, quickly earned the act acclaim. Though they had only been together for a matter of months, the bandmembers soon found themselves warming up for the Fray, a like-minded outfit who’s since gone on to become one of Denver’s biggest breakthrough acts. If it seems like Starfuzz arrived fully formed, it’s because it did.
“For me, coming into music just required coming out of the womb,” says Skelton. “It seems like it’s always been part of my life.”
Prior to collaborating with Countryman, Skelton made a name for himself as a singer, songwriter and guitarist, most notably as guitarist for pop-rock act Xiren and in collaboration with current Trampolines frontman Chris Stake in Losing November. Before that, he studied composition as a student at Butler University in Indianapolis, writing orchestral pieces and big-band arrangements that were as far from pop rock as possible. Schiltz, too, came to music from a classical perspective, starting with the usual youthful piano lessons, later taking on the drums in orchestras and concert bands, and ultimately transitioning to trap-set drumming with experimental jazz outfits — one of which included Durham on bass.
“I just play bass, and any monkey can do that,” says Durham, Starfuzz’s self-described “band mom,” with the characteristic self-deprecating humor that enhances his resemblance to actor Matthew Perry. “But all these guys are such amazing musicians that they can play anything.”
Durham’s musical development began with sneaking time with his dad’s guitar as a kid growing up in Florida. His dad caught him and, instead of punishing him, taught him how to take care of the instrument and gave him his first chord book, encouraging him to learn. It wasn’t until he began playing in cover bands in Colorado many years later that he decided to take up the bass. For Countryman, who’s played with Winston Smith, among others, the urge to be in a rock group began came after he caught Nirvana on tour, just months before Kurt Cobain’s death.
“That’s when I said to myself, ‘I’m gonna play in a fucking rock-and-roll band!'” he recalls. “After that, the Ogden Theatre was like my second home.”
Collectively, the members of Starfuzz possess an inordinate amount of talent, which can make finding just the right sound challenging.
“When you can basically play anything,” Durham notes, “it’s hard to figure out what you should play and what really fits the band.”
According to Durham, the refining process that went into winnowing down the group’s prodigious output to the six tracks that make up its sophomore EP, Product for American Radio, was grueling. But the labor was worth the baby. Radio showcases a continued focus on songwriting, with an even greater emphasis on fully fleshed-out arrangements and radio-ready songs. It recalls early Radiohead and the poppier side of Pearl Jam. “Room 10-03” is a dark, sincere ballad, while “Break It” combines two complementary guitar hooks — one written by Skelton and the other by Countryman — with an irresistible melody, infectious chorus and spot-on vocal harmonies. In an entirely subconscious fusing of influences, “January Architect” simultaneously invokes the Counting Crows’ “Mr. Jones” and New Order’s “Subculture.”
Although the bandmembers did a great job of reining themselves in on Radio, they had a little help. They recorded the album at the same studio with the same engineer that they’d used for You Are Food. “We followed the same process we used on the first record,” explains Countryman. “Chris Boggs is a great engineer, but he really played the role of producer. He really helped us out with simplifying our parts so they’re not as cluttered.”
“Yeah, he basically cut out the last 27 notes of every song,” jokes Skelton. “He was a great whip-cracker.”
In spite of their attempts to control the variables, Radio also came together during a time of great personal upheaval, some of which comes through in the EP’s earnest and emotive songs. In the midst of recording, Countryman underwent the dramatic personal transformation that comes with becoming a father, while — in a much darker turn of events — Skelton confronted some very serious mental-health issues.
“I spent several 45-minute periods locked in a public bathroom stall,” Skelton confesses of a frightening phase that preceded his diagnosis and treatment of bipolar and anxiety disorders.
Emerging from these personal challenges and contending with the difficult process of determining its musical identity, Starfuzz is more ready than ever to make its presence known on radio, in retail and in person. The band recently performed live on KBCO’s Studio C and is one of fifty acts chosen to perform at the Hyperactive Music Festival in Albuquerque next month. As the pace picks up for these four friends, dreams of making music full-time persist. Countryman and Schiltz still work in the aerospace industry, while Durham runs his own bath-and-body-products company and Skelton manages to make a living teaching in-home music lessons to local kids.
“We’d just love to have more time to devote to this,” says Skelton. “I just want to be able to voice my thoughts musically to as many people as are interested.”
“If any of that happens, it would be nice,” Countryman offers. “But all you can do is put out the music you want to put out, and the rest of it is pretty much out of your hands.”
“We really just want to make music that’s relevant,” concludes Durham. “We want to express ourselves in a way that’s understood by and matters to other people.”
