Battle Profile: Lady Denim

February 15, 2021

“We were starting to get the ball rolling, you know, the snowball effect,” recalls Lundeen, Lady Denim’s lead vocalist, of the band’s momentum heading into March 2020, “and then it all got paused.”

Lundeen looks back on the band’s last headliner at the Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins, where the band walked out to a crowd of 450. At a show a month later on March 13, just as news of COVID-19 began to flare up, the band walked out to a crowd of less than 50. 

“The silver lining of it all was that we were able to set aside time and record,” Lundeen reflects. Trading rehearsals for recording sessions not only brought the band closer, but also yielded the seeds for what Lundeen said will be their next release.

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Battle Profile: Hannah & The Cuddies

February 13, 2021

Hannah Rodriguez knew that The Cuddies were entering a new chapter in January of 2020 when they won the first round of BandWagons’ Battle of the Bands. She eagerly planned their finalist set and looked forward to the future. But the future had changes in store.
So now, after a year-long unplanned intermission, losing / gaining new band members and the optimism of a vaccine, Hannah is ready for The Cuddies’ first gig in 2021.

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Battle Profile: Graham Good & The Painters

February 12, 2021

Graham Good is relentlessly upbeat. Not only is that really his last name, it’s his nature, and it’s the band’s aesthetic. Even the band’s website greets you with “I believe good things are coming.” He wants people to be happy.

So after a year-long delay between the semi-finals and the finals of our Battle Of The Bands, he’s ready to rock.

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Something To Vibe To: Black Pegasus Is On A Whole Different Frequency

October 2, 2020

‘Pandemic Proof’ by Black Pegasus obviously speaks to the current times. The world has been drowning in the COVID-19 pandemic since March, subsequently bringing the music industry to its knees.

“I’m doing my best to adapt,” says Black Pegasus. “It’s pretty tricky, but I’ve always been a hustler and an innovator so I’m not worried.”

He’s also vocal about important socio-political issues and is wary, yet hopeful for the future.

“I really believe in the current movement for social justice and equality,” he says. “I also believe that the movement has been infiltrated by corporations and political agendas.”

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Band Together: National Independent Venue Association Saves Our Stages

June 3, 2020

“There was no one to speak for us,” Stephen Chilton said. “Everyone was talking about the big events and festivals, and no one was talking about the mid-size venues and clubs.”

Chilton heads the National Independent Venue Association which is fighting to #SaveOurStages in the fallout of coronavirus repercussions.

“What is the most unsafe thing right now? It’s mass gatherings, and we produce mass gatherings,” he said.

In two months time, more than 1,600 have joined NIVA, but it still pales in comparison to the thousands in the restaurant industry.

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Jim Curry Is Not John Denver

March 3, 2020

Jim Curry is not John Denver. Well, no #@%*!, you say, but when you see him sing on stage, you may have doubts. Curry brings his Denver act to Greeley, performing with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra March 6. Curry has worked with Denver’s old bandmates themselves, though admitting: “I never did embrace the idea that I could have a music career.”

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Mike Doughty: Escape and Return to Ruby Vroom

September 18, 2019

Mike Doughty knew he wouldn’t be able to shed his association with Soul Coughing, though he describes the band as “a dark, abusive marriage.” The only thing he chose to keep was their approach to music: the idea that compositions were fluid, not songs to be played in their recorded forms to-the-note. “You reinterpreted it,” Doughty said. For his current tour he broke his own rule and listened to ‘Ruby Vroom’ (Soul Coughing’s debut) for the first time in decades, using it as a reference to honor the 25th anniversary of the recording. He performs ‘Ruby Vroom’ in its entirety October 5 at Washington’s in Fort Collins.

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