Review: Pearl Necklace – “Soft Opening”

January 22, 2013

Straight out of the Brooklyn electronic music scene, Bryce Hackford and Frank Lyon make up the band Pearl Necklace. Pearl Necklace immediately draws attention to themselves with the blatant innuendo in their name, along with the title of their first album, “Soft Opening.” These naturally creative Brooklyn boys recently signed with the Norwegian label Smalltown Supersound, and their debut album is set to be released on January 29th.

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Review: “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”

January 17, 2013

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is the first in a new trilogy of films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 “Lord of the Rings” prequel of the same name and directed by Peter Jackson. Starring British television favorite and “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” star Martin Freeman as a young Bilbo Baggins (relative of Frodo Baggins from “LOTR” and previously played by Ian Holm.)

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Review: David Leonard – “To and From”

January 15, 2013

Leonard’s 2011 debut album, consisting of pleasant classical guitar noodling, is something you listen to after the end of a long day to unwind. Anyone can rock out or get their thrash on, but sometimes it’s nice to just listen to something calming, and that’s what Leonard’s pickings are.

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BOTB: Squid Kids

January 11, 2013

The Squid Kids have been around the block a few times when it comes to playing shows in Greeley. Moving up a spot from fourth to third from last year’s Battle of the Bands, these Greeley natives continue to elevate themselves musically with each show.

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Gun Control in Colorado

January 10, 2013

The latter half of 2012 was marked by a series of deadly shootings, including one right here in Colorado. The mass shootings in Aurora, CO and Newtown, CT were just two of sixteen that happened last year, with a total of at least 88 casualties and many more wounded. These shootings, especially the highly-publicized ones in Aurora and Newtown, have reinvigorated the call for stricter gun controls.

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BOTB: Grits & Gravy

January 9, 2013

Grits & Gravy stand apart from other hip-hop acts. The duo of Neal Titus, providing the instrumentals, and Marcus Steward, aka GiovanniRaps, on vocals, are both classically trained musicians and bring a unique perspective to the rap scene. What has typically been a street-driven and trained art form has grown to the tipping point, becoming an art that can be studied and composed academically.

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