Audio By Carbonatix
Spoke Shaver’s description on its MySpace profile reads “Progressive/Post-Punk/Country.” But unlike many bands’ deliberately absurd mix of genre classifications, Spoke Shaver is mostly serious about its three choices. Not that it feels bound by them. Over the past few months, the Denver-based group — singer/keyboardist Kristin Garramone, guitarist Rich Haven, drummer Nathan Marcy and bassist/keyboardist Josh Cool — have confounded local audiences with a dose of wiry, sprawling rock that’s complex and catchy at the same time. A big draw is Garramone’s rich, almost traditionally soulful vocals — not to mention the songwriting heart Cool carries over from his previous outfit, the gritty roots-rock group Out on Bail. With Spoke Shaver releasing its debut EP, ¡HLÄZERZ!, at the Larimer Lounge Saturday (alongside pals Big Timber, who will also unleash a new disc), Cool spoke with Westword about the band’s formation and mission to rock.
Westword: What was your transition like from Out on Bail to the very different Spoke Shaver?
Josh Cool: I do a lot less songwriting in this band than I did in Out on Bail. That said, I think there are a lot of similarities. From the get-go, I was trying to make Out on Bail a prog band. A country-prog band. I have a huge love for Yes and Genesis and Rush and all those nerdy ’70s prog bands. Near the end of Out on Bail, we were doing seven-minute songs that had un-traditional song formats. We call ultra-linear in Spoke Shaver. It’s not exactly verse-chorus-repeat; it’s all repetition through variation, creating different textures.
Why are you driven to toy with song structures so much?
I just find it more interesting. In Out on Bail, sometimes the songs would get a bit stagnant. For me, it’s more fun to hear something that’s completely different all the way, something that sounds like four or five different songs over the course of five minutes. At the same time, we try to put a lot of pop in there.
How did the Spoke Shaver lineup come together?
Everybody in this band met each other through Craigslist, which is kind of surprising. Rich put up an ad saying he was looking to play with anyone who was into Jets to Brazil and the Broadways, who are two of my favorite bands of all time. I would say that’s fairly indicative of Rich’s guitar playing. We all joined forces from there. We brought Nate and Kristin in at the same time. She has an amazing voice.
On first listen, Kristin’s voice is an unexpected part of the mix. Did her vocals click with the band right away?
I knew from day one that Kristin would work. The first time she practiced with us, she sang either some Bonnie Raitt or some Patsy Cline over one of our existing songs, just so we could try to hear how her voice sounded. The second I heard it, I was like, “I’m sold. That’s perfect.” Her voice is so dark, yet it works under any circumstance.
