As the hygienically-sound MC celebrates the release of his joint project with producer Amp Live — Gate 13 — Del The Funky Homosapien is making his way across the country in support of the album. People go nuts for Del and he’s one of the few MCs out of the Hiero crew who’s really forged a lucrative career separate from the rest of the guys. From his work with the Gorillaz to his side project Deltron 3030 with Dan The Automator and Kid Koala, artistically he’s always stood out.
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Trout Steak Revival – Play Us Some Mountain Music
I attribute a lot of Trout Steak’s success to stamina. As we built the band, it felt like the steps of growth took much longer than we expected. We play about 120-150 shows each year. While we are on tour we travel in a van a lot, sleep in a different place every night. There are a lot of amazing moments on stage, there are also a lot of moments that cause you to ask yourself why you’re in a touring band. The thing that has held Trout Steak together over the years is communication. We treat each other fairly, we know each other very well and we know when to tread lightly and when to sit down and talk about it. It’s a family and we were friends first. My advice for a budding band would be to start a band with people you admire and trust: your friends!
Continue readingSteve Harms – Sound Life Choices
Walking into Harms Labs in Old Town Square, Fort Collins, one immediately discovers that founder Steve Harms’ passion for music and high-quality speakers drives him every single day.
But Harms is a discovery all his own. The Chicago native, whose father wanted to name him DoNo (as in ‘Do No Harms’), attended Colorado State University in the ‘70s, where he stumbled upon his life’s work. Harms, who started building speakers at 14, was an electrical engineering student at the time. He started to realize speakers were his future when he unexpectedly had to provide a P.A. for a band whose monitors had blown out during a campus party.
Continue readingAlbum Review: Bitter Suns – Broke Off Blues
Bitter Suns is on to something with Broken Off Bones. Produced by Alan Hlavacek of the Ft. Collins band Attack On Venus, the tracks are tight and the guitar tones crisp, making a fine punk record. It’s less of a ‘fuck the man’ style of punk and more of a ‘what’s your damage dude, I’m trying to get pitted with my boys’ sound. The song “Pitted” summarizes the whole vibe of the EP (and the band) with lyrics like; “yesterday I got totally pitted, it’s been a while since I’ve been this broke off.” Not exactly Shakespearean level poetry, but coupled with the rich punk instrumentals throughout, it hits the mark more closely than if they sang about something they didn’t care about.
Continue readingAlbum Review: Chain Station – Where I Want To Be
This proud bluegrass band – consisting of Jarett Mason on the mandolin, Jon Pickett on bass, Alex Thoele on guitar, and James Weatherly on Banjo – is held together by the harmonizing voices of Mason, Pickett, and Thoele and the fast-paced picking of all four members. Where I Want To Be, released in 2016, is probably the most pure bluegrass album we’ve heard in some time.
Continue readingBandWagon Magazine Battle of the Bands @ Moxi Theater – Greeley
Alex Cameron & Roy Molloy Are No Cheap Dates
Alex Cameron and his business partner/saxophonist Roy Malloy know what it means to put in time. From their humble beginnings in Sydney, Australia to their consistently sold out shows around the world, the name of the game has been stay on the grind and cash those checks when you can.
Continue readingAntibalas Is The Medicine Everyone Needs
As the lead singer of Antibalas, Amayo is used to juggling the various demands that come along with being a working musician. Founded in 1998 by Martin Perna, the 11-piece outfit was inspired by Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, who wove jazz, funk, Ghanaian/Nigerian highlife, rock, and traditional West African chants and rhythms into one cohesive fabric.
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