Talkin’ Shop with Rooney

July 5, 2017

Rooney is a band you know you’ve heard. The commercial success of songs like “Don’t Let Your Heart Go Missing” and “I’m Shakin” made them a part of the high school experience for many young people growing up in the early and mid-2000s. What many casual listeners don’t know, bandleader Robert Schwartzman is also an accomplished filmmaker. In 2016, he released his directorial debut Dreamland at the Tribeca Film Festival while almost at the same time releasing Washed Away, Rooney’s first full-length album in six years. We spoke with Schwartzman about his incredible life as an artist.

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Album Review: Coco Montoya – Hard Truth

Coco Montoya’s latest album Hard Truth demonstrates the 65-year-old Stratocaster singer’s ability to play and sing the blues. Montoya certainly holds his own with the blues community and has a storied resume. He even used to play with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, filling a spot once occupied by Eric Clapton and Peter Green.

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Album Review: Kris Lager Band – Rise and Shine

April 3, 2017

Rise and Shine is another big step forward for the Kris Lager Band and offered fans a satisfying place to return to. This album proves they really know how to deliver solid blues and rock tunes, but it’s some of the funk and R&B tracks that don’t quite add up. I get it, they want to explore some different tunes and create something unique, but KLB fans know what they want and it’s the blues.

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Album Review: Edison– Familiar Spirit

January 9, 2017

Denver-based folk/rock outfit Edison, consisting of singer/guitarist Sarah Slaton, multi-instrumentalist Dustin Morris and former Lumineers guitarist Maxwell Hughes gave been around since late 2014, and spent most of that time on the road. The hustling paid off as the trio signed with Rhyme & Reason Records in late 2016 and soon after released their first album, Familiar Spirit.

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Album Review: Race To Neptune – Oh Contraire

October 4, 2016

Oh Contraire is the first full-length release from Fort Collins rock band, Race to Neptune. Formed in 2012, the band has been a staple of the Fort Collins rock scene and now, with the release of their new album, they have a solid body of work to show for. The band has an overarching sound of 90’s alternative but they pull from a multitude of different influences that span a 30 year range, from the 60’s to late 90’s. What’s impressive about this album is the band’s ability to go from “in your face” riffs, to soft ballads, to even country while still staying true to their sound.

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Album Review: MISCOMUNICADO – Fun-Land Express

September 8, 2016

Take the hooks from the best music of the 1960s, hand them over to an EDM outfit with a couple good singers/guitarists, and you would get Fun-Land Express, the fifth album from MISCOMUNICADO, a Fort Collins-based EDM/Psychadelic Rock fusion band that originates from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They call their music “Future Classic Rock,” and the artists they also like, they only answer “Everything.”

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Mark Sultan’s One Man Show Comes to Fort Collins

August 2, 2016

Before he was in The King Khan & BBQ Show, Mark Sultan played drums for the Canadian punk outfit Powersquat, who were noted for particularly violent live shows. After Powersquat disbanded, Sultan took over vocal duties for The Spaceshits, who also had a reputation for violent shows. They were so crazy in fact, The Spaceshits were eventually blacklisted from multiple venues in Montreal. Needless to say, Sultan has quite the history.

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Blues Jam Spotlight: Davy Knowles

June 6, 2016

Growing up in the Isle of Man, 29-year-old blues musician Davy Knowles learned to play guitar by listening to records he’d find in his father’s collection, which included artists like Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher, Oasis and Eric Clapton. At 19, after sharpening his skills in the local music circuit, he opted to split for America, where he toured with his band, Back Door Slam.

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