Tag: bandwagon

Features, Print

INTHEWHALE Gets Real on Vanishing Point

December 4, 2021

What sets Eric Riley and Nate Valdez apart from other heavy acts isn’t their musicianship (though it is excellent) but their ability to translate unflinchingly raw moments into music. Starting with INTHEWHALE’s last EP, Dopamine, the band’s tone shifted from the sophomoric humor of their earlier releases to brutally honest explorations of the darker moments of life. These explorations continue on Vanishing Point. The band wrestles with pharmaceutical addiction, suicidal ideation and gentrification. The pain and anger is palpable.

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Community, Features, Print

UPLIFT: FoCo – New Generation on the Rise

December 2, 2021

“My thinking was, ‘Yeah, get me off this bus,’” Andy Whilden said. He decided to leave touring as a musician for a job at The Matthews House, a place for underserved youth. 

Starting the Uplift: FoCo festival two years ago gave Whilden more personal satisfaction than he expected. The benefit festival will feature acts that are acoustically driven. “They can play any genre,” Whilden said of the house band, though the 2021 installment will also deliver something different, and, well, a little less tenured.

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The Velveteers: Nightmare Dream-Team Graduates from the Garage

November 15, 2021

When The Velveteers (Demi Demitro, Baby Pottersmith and Jonny Fig) pulled up to a hip, all-ages venue in Detroit, they didn’t expect anyone to recognize them.

“Most of the last two years we’ve just been doing the same thing we always do, which is the three of us practicing music alone in a tiny garage,” Pottersmith tells BandWagon.

As soon as they stepped out of the tour van that day, the illusion of isolation was shattered. Maybe shattered is the wrong word. A fan, sporting Adidas flip flops, a Johnny Cash t-shirt and playing air guitar on a squash racket, was pacing outside of the venue and screaming the lyrics to the lead single “Charmer And The Snake” from their deliciously sinister hard rock album Nightmare Daydream.

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Trash Cat and the Absurdity of the Human Experience

November 12, 2021

Greeley’s greatest-of-all-time cartoon-inspired indie funk rock band Trash Cat features Mary Claxton on lead vocals and electric ukulele, Hayden Farr on baritone sax and Brian Claxton on drum kit.

“Imagine you’re 13 years old and you’re trying to write about your innermost feelings,” Mary Claxton tells BandWagon of the band’s character writing. “It’s a lot to share. On some level I felt the same way about myself.”

Though all three members hold down day jobs and tour with The Burroughs, they have clearly carved out plenty of time for their “side project.” Their live performances are exceedingly danceable, and their recordings are meticulously produced. 

On December 3, Trash Cat will set the mood during rounds of cosmic bowling at Chippers Lanes in Fort Collins, marking the first ever live performance of the band’s sophomore album, The Tide.

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Music, Print, Reviews

Album Review: Mr. Fredo – Movement

November 10, 2021

Fort Collins-based Fredo The Rapper brings intricate layerings in his new EP Movement, featuring his long-time collaborator, producer (and step-brother) Suburb based in Chicago, IL. The movement is chill, and his relaxed tone glides over the complex trap and lo-fi beats.

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Wreckno: B-Queen Drops it Like a Boss

October 14, 2021

An unlikely icon has burst onto the EDM scene. Brandon Wisniski, known eponymously as Wreckno, creates earth-shaking bass drops, raps about pulling up on your dad and refers to himself as a “FULL TIME BUSSY BOPPER” on Twitter. He may be the biggest, loudest, gayest producer the bass scene has ever seen, and he’s just getting started.

Wisniski’s music melds together the aggression of old-school gangster rap with the manic energy of bass music and the glamour of a drag show. It’s a perfect fit, but it has never really been done before.

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