By Brian F. Johnson

Photos by Lindsay McWilliams http://flickr.com/photos/thatladylindsay

b. side Lounge

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Seriously, what do I need to do? Hit y’all in the head?

I’ve been talking about Buffalo Killers for two years now, sometimes to an annoying amount, but you’ve all failed to listen to me.

Last night, the Ohio-based trio played an absolutely blistering set at the b.side lounge. The problem is that they played that set to about 15 people.

Now, there ain’t a band out there that hasn’t had a Tuesday night like that. It’s a suck-ass, practical reality of a band on the road, but if you’d all start listening to me a bit more, the bands that deserve a good crowd on any given night wouldn’t have to deal with this shit. FULL STORY — CONTINUE — READ MORE »

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:: 3OH!3 ::

:: Fox Theatre ::

:: August 23 (sold out) and 24 ::

By Tiffany Childs

“You’s a punk-ass bitch, if you don’t know about Boulda.”
That, right there, could almost be the end, as well as the beginning of this story. It’s a line from 3OH!3’s break-out song “Holler ‘Til You Pass Out” — a song that catapulted them to YouTube fame with more than a quarter-million views of their crunk, gangsta and simultaneously hilarious video.
But now, the SOBO (South Boulder, to those in the know) duo could add that “You’s a punk-ass bitch if you don’t know about 3OH!3,” and they’d be right.
The nerd-hop duo of Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte are making the Boulder area code famous worldwide, blazing on the scene with the same fury and irreverent charm that made the world take notice of the Beastie Boys in the 1980s. And while hundreds of acts similar (in terms of white boy hip-hop) have come and gone, 3OH!3 has something that so very many of them drastically lacked — talent, as well as absolutely infectious, undeniable energy. FULL STORY — CONTINUE — READ MORE »

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:: Yonder Mountain String Band :: with Keller Williams ::

:: Red Rocks Amphitheatre :: August 2 ::

By Timothy Dwenger

Ten years ago, Yonder Mountain String Band was just another little bluegrass band from the hills of Boulder, Colorado. They played open mic nights, friends’ living rooms and, of course, the ultimate right of passage, opening slots at The Fox. While they have been growing steadily, in the last few years the band’s popularity has exploded well beyond the confines of the jam band community, and that doesn’t come without its hardships.

Today they stand poised at the brink of one of the most important shows of their career: their second headlining gig at Red Rocks. As Jeff Austin said in a recent interview with The Marquee from his home outside Nederland, “Last year was pretty surreal. It was an intense experience, but it was over before I knew it. The fact that it did sell-out was pretty cool but, not being the glass-half-full guy I used to be, it made me go, ‘Oh shit, does this mean we have to come and sell it out every time or it’s going to feel weird?’

“There were certain parties that were wanting us to do two Red Rocks gigs this year and we told them, ‘You’re out of your mind! We appreciate your faith in us, and that’s great, but the reality of the situation is that we can’t get ahead of ourselves. Let’s see what we can do this year.’ I mean, we’re not Widespread Panic selling the place out in four hours,” he said. FULL STORY — CONTINUE — READ MORE »

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:: Mike Gordon ::
 :: Fox Theatre :: August 28 ::
 :: Mishawaka Amphitheatre :: August 30 ::

By Timothy Dwenger

Known as Cactus to some, and Gordo to others, Mike Gordon made a name for himself as one-quarter of Vermont’s Phinest, Phish.

Today, however, with Phish four years behind him, Gordon seems to have his plate full as ever. “There are so many musical possibilities in my life right now that it is out of control,” the bassist said in a recent interview with The Marquee from his wife’s law office in Burlington. He’s got a new band, a new record, tons of new songs, several jam sessions he participates in regularly and, of course, there are all those rumors about his old band getting back together.

Currently, Gordon is attempting to focus on the upcoming tour he has scheduled with his new band and he seems to be very excited about it. “The band was very carefully picked after much deliberation and jamming,” Gordon said. The line-up that he finally settled on consists of Max Creek guitarist and long-time collaborator Scott Murawski, fellow Vermonters Tom Cleary on keys and Craig Myers on percussion, and Todd Isler on drums.
FULL STORY — CONTINUE — READ MORE »

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:: Marquee Magazine presents ::

:: Buffalo Killers ::

:: w/ The Dumm Friend’s League ::

:: b. side lounge :: August 5 ::

By Brian F. Johnson

It was the picture of the gold-top Les Paul bass that first made me take notice of the Buffalo Killers. I figured that anyone who wielded such a fire-breathing monster — especially a towering, ominous looking freak — was worth a listen. It was the opening notes of the song “San Martine Des Morelle” off the band’s self-titled 2006 release that let me know I was on to something.

Now, two years later with a brand new release, Let It Ride, under their belt and the kind of growth and maturity that comes from lessons learned during a slew of gigs opening for The Black Crowes, Ohio’s Buffalo Killers have emerged as one of today’s most crucial and skilled power trios — greasier than a Pep Boys parking lot and hotter than a HEMI.
FULL STORY — CONTINUE — READ MORE »

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:: Melissa Etheridge :: Fillmore Auditorium ::

:: August 26 ::

By LJ Hammer

“My top career highlight? Oh, I’ve had a lot. Oh, man. That’s tough.”
Speaking with The Marquee from a tour stop in Charlotte, N. C., Melissa Etheridge took a long pause. She could have been thinking of being signed out of a club by Island Records giant Chris Blackwell (U2, Bob Marley, Steve Winwood, Jethro Tull). It might have been the first Grammy nomination for 1988’s “Bring Me Some Water.” It could have been winning a Grammy for 1992’s “Ain’t It Heavy” or the one for 1994’s mega-selling “Come to My Window.” It could have been stealing the show (along with Red Hot Chili Peppers) in front of a quarter of a million people at Woodstock ’94. It might have been making the cover of Rolling Stone.

But, true to form, her answers lay somewhere in between those milestones. “It’s a tie” she said, in a recent interview with The Marquee, “between singing with Bruce Springsteen (in 1995 for MTV’s ‘Unplugged’) and winning an Oscar (for the song ‘I Need to Wake Up,’ featured in Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth).”

Etheridge has been an articulate and passionate writer and rocker since she burst upon the scene with her incendiary eponymous debut, which included “Bring Me Some Water,” “Similar Features,” “Like the Way I Do,” and “Chrome Plated Heart.” Those who were listeners to KBCO back in that era certainly remember, as the station supported Etheridge a great deal, even leading her to have the distinction of being the very first artist to play a Studio C session.

This year, Etheridge will achieve another Front Range milestone by playing the Denver Fillmore during the week of the Democratic National Convention. The gig is also a fundraiser for HRC, the Human Rights Campaign. “My management and the HRC are very close. Throughout my career we’ve done things together. So when I realized I’d be on tour and the convention was going to be in Denver while I was on tour, it was like, ‘Sign me up. I wanna be there.’ We booked the whole tour around this gig,” she said.

A supporter of progressive Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich during the primary season, Etheridge is now backing Barack Obama in the general election. “I’m with Obama because I believe he represents the biggest change. I think that multi-national corporations totally have hold of the Clintons. I believe what we need to do most is clean up our government big time, so that’s why I’m going for Obama,” she said.

The Fillmore show will see Etheridge out with her blistering band, including new keyboardist Paul Trudeau, stalwart Mark Browne on bass (since ’94), guitarist Phillip Sayce, and her original drummer, Fritz Lewak (’88-’92). “Every time Kenny (longtime drummer Kenny Aronoff) wasn’t available, I’d say, ‘We’ve got to call Fritz.’ Finally, he said yes. We fell in love all over again, and I said, ‘You’ve got to come be my drummer.’ Nobody plays like Fritz. He’s like my right hand on the guitar,” said Etheridge.

While Etheridge and band rock hard onstage, life off-stage on the road is quite a bit different than in the early years. She now tours mostly during the summer, when it’s a family affair. Wife Tammy Lynn Michaels and their toddler twins, Johnnie Rose and Miller Steven are with her. They are periodically joined by Etheridge’s older kids, Bailey and Beckett (with ex, Julie Cypher). “Touring with the family is a whole different world. It’s great. The little ones in particular are so adaptable, especially if they’re with us, they’re happy as clams. The band and the crew are great. It’s really a family,” said Etheridge.

And speaking of family, Etheridge and Michaels had a huge, lavish wedding back in 2003, but plan on making it official when they return from tour, now that the State of California has opened the rights of marriage to all couples. “My wife figured we should make honest women of one another and get the piece of paper. So when we come home from the tour this fall, we’ll make a date with the justice of the peace and have a little thing. It’s about love and family. Let’s move on now,” said Etheridge.

Consumed with themes of relationship and betrayal in her earlier work, Etheridge now paints with a much broader palette, especially since a diagnosis of breast cancer in 2004. But, the singer said that experience helped to force a change in her music toward the more spiritual themes she was only toying with earlier in her career. “Exactly. That is exactly what I’m going through. That’s exactly what is happening,” she said. “‘My Back Door’ (from 1989’s Brave and Crazy) is the beginning of my social interest and writing. The voice that wrote ‘Testify,’ ‘Keep it Precious,’ ‘I Could Have Been You,’ and ‘Silent Legacy’ is my experimenting with my higher consciousness. I’m doing more of that now than I am of the personal relationship songs … It’s not about being a rock star. That’s fun and everything, but it’s about sharing and illuminating this experience for others to see and for others to be inspired.”

:: Melissa Etheridge ::
:: Fillmore Auditorium ::
:: August 26 ::

Recommended if you like:
• Indigo Girls
• K.D. Lang
• Joan Osbourne

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:: Super 400 :: Realm of Music Festival ::
 :: August 8 ::

By Cornelia Kane

Super 400 could be a couple of things, depending on who you ask. It could be an extremely valuable vintage Gibson jazz guitar, circa 1934. Or it could be the hardest rocking trio to come out of upstate New York in a long, long time. As you might have already guessed, the focus of this article will be (mainly) on the latter.

The band formed in 1996, in Troy, New York, when long-time friends Kenny Hohman (guitar and vocals) and Joe Daley (drums) played a local musicians’ showcase in front of bassist Lori Friday. The three instantly clicked and in 1998 they were signed to Island Records and released their self-titled debut. But things weren’t all they were cracked up to be. In late 1998, due to shakeups at the label, Super 400 were released from their contract and ever since have been doing it on their own, releasing two studio albums, including their most recent, 2007’s rock and roll-fueled fire starter, 3 And The Beast, and one live album on their own imprint, Electric Mombie. FULL STORY — CONTINUE — READ MORE »

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:: Steve Kimock :: NedFest ::
 :: August 22nd :: w/ Praang ::
 :: August 23 :: with Melvin Seals & JGB ::

By Ryan Lappi

If there is an art and discipline to maneuvering through the shifting climates and sonic landscapes of the world of musical improvisation, then Steve Kimock has undoubtedly taken on the dual roles of Zen Master and Secretary of the Psychedelic State. Not only has he mastered the art of shaping chaos within the context of on-the-fly musical composition, but he has also turned context itself on its head, adding a sublime and kaleidoscopic presence to any band that will have him.
In the last year alone, he has embarked on musical forays that have included such improvisational greats as Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Mike Gordon, Bill Kreutzmann, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Stephen Perkins, John Molo, and the Everyone Orchestra (just to name a few).

When he appears at NedFest this year he will continue the journey by playing with two more bands – Praang (featuring Jamie Janover and the String Cheese Incident’s Michael Travis and Jason Hann) and Melvin Seals & JBG.

Kimock’s fearless spirit for musical exploration will no doubt benefit musicians and fans alike at NedFest, which is known to encourage cross pollination between musicians and late night adventures aplenty. In fact, the roots of his relationship with his NedFest cohorts arose with a similar amount of spontaneity, with a few drops of freshly squeezed serendipity to boot. While Kimock was in Denver in December 2006, waiting to play a show with old friends Bobby Vega and Ray White, a snowstorm left him stranded without a band to play with.  “I flew in a few days early,” Kimock recently reminisced with The Marquee, “and everybody else was supposed to fly in the day of the show. But nobody could fly in because of the snow. And I was like, ‘anybody around with a sled or snowshoes want to come over and play?’”

Luckily, Colorado locals Michael Travis, Jamie Janover and Jason Hann were willing to lend a helping hand. “We got together, and it’s sort of a, how do you say it? Miles per gallon, pound for pound, it’s the highest possible musical efficiency rating for that band because we just showed up at the gig and played. There was zero bullshit, zero hassle … So that’s really neat, and the way that those guys approach music, I can relate to them,” said Kimock. “And for whatever reason, whatever I do with it they relate to it too, and we just sort of paint as we go.”

That ‘incident’ was not the first time Kimock was thrown into unfamiliar music terrain, and it certainly was not the last. In the summer of 2007, Kimock received a call from an old friend, former Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir. Just two weeks before tour, Mark Karen, lead guitarist for Weir’s band, Ratdog, was diagnosed with throat cancer, leaving the future of the band uncertain.

After much pondering about what to do, Kimock seemed to be a logical choice. “The Grateful Dead and those folks have really given everybody [so much], wherever you are in the scene,” Kimock said. “If you’re playing music or building PA systems or  involved in music somehow, the Grateful Dead have given everybody a lot. I felt like that was an opportunity for me to give something back, just whatever way I could. Just give back something by hopping in there and keeping that seat warm for Mark to get better. You’ve got to have some momentum. It would have been a real shame if they’d have to go into some kind of limbo, for the band, and for Mark. I think everyone was served by keeping it going and I think that the entries and exits were handled gracefully. I have nothing but respect and fondness for that whole crew.”

Now that Mark Karen has returned, happy and healthy, Kimock can pursue his own muse. Aside from his recent, highly lauded contributions to the Mickey Hart Band, he is perhaps most benefiting from a project that reaches a little closer to home: his son, John, is an up-and-coming drummer, and he said that playing with his son is a constat learning experience. “All the time. Constantly! He’s at that stage in his life where he’s on a fantastically accelerated learning curve. I wish I could have stayed there. And in a way I wish I was playing more with him. At the same time, he’s almost 19, and it’s like, who wants that every time you play to have your dad there?”

:: Steve Kimock ::
:: NedFest ::
:: August 22nd :: w/ Praang ::
:: August 23 :: with Melvin Seals & JGB ::

Recommended if you like:
• Ratdog
• moe.
• Grateful Dead

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By Brian F. Johnson

As the producer of Denver’s top-rated morning radio talk show, 103.5 The Fox’s “Lewis and Floorwax,” Kathy Lee is the glue that holds the team together.

The Korean-born Lee, who moved to Colorado when she was only two, plays the role of the informer when the boys are on the air — the one who is quick to grab a fact, or direct the off-the-cuff hosts into the topic du jour. But the other part of that role is being, almost daily, the butt of the joke, discussing embarrassing moments of her personal life simply because it makes good radio.

Even though her audience can only hear her, it’s obvious that the majority of her time on the air is spent with a smile, enjoying the hell out of taking “water cooler conversations” and broadcasting them throughout Denver and the Front Range.

Marquee: What was the first concert you ever attended?
Lee: Michael Jackson on the Victory tour at Mile High Stadium in 1983. I was 10 years old. I remember all my first concerts. My first Red Rocks show was Def Leppard, the Pyromania tour. My first McNichols show was Guns N’ Roses in 1989 and my first Fiddler’s Green show was Rush in 1988.

Marquee: What was your first job in the industry?
Lee: Well, in college I interned at MTV in New York. Then I interned in Denver at KS 104, (it was like 107.5 today) and I interned at Channel 4 in the sports department. I thought I was going to go into TV, doing anchoring. But I was also interning for Lewis and Floorwax’s agent Peter Schaffer and he asked me to ‘just go help them’ and after a few weeks they offered me a job as their producer.

Marquee: So, right out of college you went from having internships to being a producer?
Lee: Yeah. I was 22 years old and I was going, ‘What does a producer do?’ A lot of my intern jobs were going to get food and pull carts. They had already been on the air for five years and were the number one show. Now it’s different because I’m seasoned but at the time they’d tell me, ‘We want this guest,’ and I’d be like, ‘O.k. How am I going to get them?’

Marquee: Well, now that you’ve done it for 12 years, what does a radio show producer do?
Lee: I do a lot to help them get prepared. You know, I book all the guests and that stuff, but every morning I pull like 500 articles from the internet, and I look to see who’s coming to town and find fun stuff for them to talk about like the top 10 reasons why men don’t want to have sex. That kind of stuff. I make it so that when Rick and Wax walk in, they’re prepared. The jokes aren’t prepared, that’s all ad-lib, but I give them the tools to sit down and talk for four hours.

Marquee: What do you do on the days when there is nothing to talk about?
Lee: We have standbys and phone burners, but that doesn’t happen a lot. I mean, everyone has a book these days, and they all want to talk about them, so we can usually get someone on.

Marquee: What about the days you just don’t feel like being charismatic and on the air.
Lee: Well, we all have them, but there’s never a time when all three of us have a down day at once. And, you know, it’s four hours. If you can’t get through four hours, I mean, c’mon.

Marquee: You guys discuss some pretty personal stuff on the air. Was that a tough adjustment for you at first and how do you deal with not having anything that’s really personal?
Lee: It’s tough to have your personal life on the air, but that’s what makes our show real. You’ve got to be able to talk about that. People want to hear that you’re just like them and that’s how we relate to our audience. It’s the personal stories we tell. Our off-air banter is really hilarious and x-rated. When we’re not on the air, I’m probably 10 times dirtier than both of them. I gross them out a lot. I talk about taking a poop a lot.

Marquee: Are you worried that in our iPod world that radio is at risk?
Lee: No. First of all, radio is free. And that’s what I was talking about with relating to your audience. There’s a personal connection and you bring your personal experiences with it. Radio has changed a lot, but Rick and Wax are legends of radio because they’re still live. It’s not canned. And as radio continues to change I think it can still hold its own. People like the stories and the silly games and all of that.

Marquee: What was your most memorable day on the air?
Lee: Well, meeting Captain Kangaroo was one. There was a real presence about him. But, the other was being on the air when 9/11 happened. The only thing you could do was express your emotions and the greatest thing about these guys is they’re so good at doing that. That day I was really impressed with them as to how they handled things. You know, besides the comedy they blow me away with how they can relate to people, and their knowledge about everything, sports especially. Wax can’t remember where he put his keys, but his long-term memory is unbelievable.

Marquee: Because of this show, you posed for Playboy. How did that happen and what was it like?
Lee: Yeah, Playboy did a women in radio issue and they asked me to do it. It was nerve racking. I starved myself for like a month beforehand. But it’s not like I was spread eagle or anything. The photographer and the crew have seen millions of naked women before so that made it easier.

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Burns burning up the charts — Colorado local (by way of Suffolk, England) Jessie Burns, the fiddle player for the celtic band Gaelic Storm, has had her “dream come true.” Gaelic Storm’s new album, What’s the Rumpus, debuted at number one on the Billboard World Music Charts, knocking Peter Gabriel off the top. The album also hit number 165 of the top 200 albums in all genres. Burns formerly played with the Wayfarers and, more recently, collaborated with Gregory Alan Isakov in his band, The Freight and recorded on his album That Sea, The Gambler.

Spring Creek Signs — Colorado pickers Spring Creek Bluegrass, who late last month opened the RockyGrass Festival, have signed a deal with Rebel Records. The award winning quartet are set to enter the studio in late fall with an expected release in spring of 2009.

Swallow Hill goes for the Guinness — Swallow Hill, The Denver Film Society and the City and County of Denver are taking a shot at Guinness Book of World Records fame. On Monday, August 18, before the Film on the Rocks screening of Zoolander, those groups will help to host the world’s largest guitar lesson. The lesson is billed for people of all levels, from those who have never picked up a guitar before to those considered virtuosos. To register, visit swallowhillmusic.org.

Adler’s Appetite nets an arrest — Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler was arrested in Hollywood last month for alleged drug possession. According to police, Adler was picked up at 4 a.m. after officers were called about a man who was creating a disturbance. He was jailed and held on $45,000 bail. Adler was an original member of G N’ R but was fired from the band in 1990 due to “excessive drug use.” Since then, he has toured on and off with his band Adler’s Appetite, which mostly covers Guns N’ Roses.

CSN team with Rubin - Crosby, Stills and Nash are getting set for their first album since 1994 and the trio have chosen Rick Rubin to produce. In recent years Rubin has produced Johnny Cash’s American V: A Hundred Highways, and Neil Diamond’s 12 Songs, in addition to churning out dozens of albums with younger artists. Graham Nash told Billboard that the album will be a set of covers, “songs that we wish we’d written.”

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Sigur Rós
Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

EMI/XL Recordings

5 out of 5 stars

If there was one band in the world that I could be a member of right now, it would be Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Rós. I have dreamed this for years and their latest release, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (translation: With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly), only makes my fantasy longing stronger.

Fresh off their recent documentary movie project Heima, Sigur Rós entered the studio last November with a new sense of optimism that permeates their new album. Heima found the band touring the Icelandic countryside playing intimate concerts in small villages, in houses for friends and family and hosting big open-air concerts in the vast countryside. The documentary was accompanied by the double-album soundtrack, Hvarf-Heim. The music for this project delved heavily into their back catalog and most of the arrangements were kept simple with acoustic instruments. It was their purest, most beautiful music to date. Sigur Rós chose to go the opposite direction on their latest release and the result is arguably their most intelligent, worldly and complete musical statement to date.

Med Sud finds Sigur Rós refocusing and further exploring their sound — channeling the best parts of the old into something refreshingly new and beautiful. They have enlisted producer Flood (U2, Depeche Mode), expanded their studio creativity by embracing extensive overdubbing and even added musical coloring from the London Oratory School Schola Boys’ Choir as well as a 67-piece orchestra. Gone are the repetitive down-tempo arrangements and heart-breaking despair. This album is full of twists, musical exploration, life and beauty. Much like Sigur Rós’ journey since their inception, this album is a journey onto itself. It should be considered a complete piece of artistic work, start to finish.

Med Sud begins with two tracks which point to a new musical direction, as both are driven with heavy drums and percussion. Both are up-tempo and happy (at least by Sigur Rós’ standards) as well. The album’s opening track, “Gobbledigook,” which is also the album’s first single, might scare some diehard Sigur Rós fans. So might the next track “Inní mér syngur vitleysingur.” However, in the context of the album, these tracks work as they open up a new door in Sigur Rós’ music as the album gets back to familiar territory with the gorgeous, acoustic guitar-led third track, “Góðan daginn.”

My impression is that Sigur Rós is not trying to ‘sell-out’ with their stylistic shift, rather better convey their musical direction in a more worldly way. These opening songs do not sound like pop songs. They sound like music that has been made with a purpose, as the instrumentation still lends itself to the songwriting.

For those wanting the Sigur Rós of old, the track “Ára bátur” just might possibly be their most prodigious piece of music yet created. The 9-minute track starts with simple piano and singer Jon Birggisson’s falsetto voice. Even though Birggisson is singing in Icelandic, the longing in his voice needs no further instrumentation. At the 4:30 mark the song’s second movement takes over and an angelic piano refrain creeps along into a slow build that climaxes with the boys’ choir and full orchestra — some of the most beautiful music I have heard in years. Other album highlights include the string-accompanied “Fljótavík” and Sigur Rós’ first-ever full English vocal track “All Alright.”

Med Sud is an album that needs to be digested and listened to with patience. It needs to be given time and space to creep into your soul. If you let it in, wonderful things will happen.

— Jonathan Keller

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