Profiles of both national acts and local talent that reveal the personality and motivations behind the art; recognized by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for Music Writing in 2018, 2019 and 2021
The welcome unpredictability of Shakey Graves
“I don’t really wear a lot of suspenders anymore,” Alejandro Rose-Garcia, aka Shakey Graves, tells me from a small town in British Columbia with “a pretty dramatic landscape.” While out touring with his latest release, the self-described “gentleman from Texas” admits his musical moniker is a character he’s built, an image he’s projected out into the…
The humanity in Of Monsters and Men
Images of mythological creatures and fanciful creations move through a sea of clouds in the music video for “Little Talks,” the chart-topping single that catapulted the Icelandic indie-pop band Of Monsters and Men into the U.S. mainstream in 2011. But with the release of their second album earlier this summer, the band draws more from…
The magic in not knowing
Sofar Sounds secretive shows are an incubator for diverse talent “There it goes with the wind, there it goes with the wind,” a masked audience of about 20 sings on a snowy January night in Denver. Boulder-based musician Bob Barrick, playing under the stage name Kingdom Jasmine, then repeats the beginning of the chorus: “Hold…
Tradition and progress collide in Charley Crockett’s country blues
As Charley Crockett drove out of the depths of Death Valley into a field of Joshua trees, the snow began to swirl. He had just finished a tour in Arizona, sent his bus back to Texas, and rented a car, taking the back roads as he headed West. Moving into the high desert, the storm…
Lord Huron’s insatiable search
2019 First Place award for Music Writing from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia “All of our representatives are currently busy. The current wait time is seven years,” a recorded voice says when you call 1-877-VIDE-NOIR. The next cycle through it says the wait time is four eons. You’re then taken on a journey of choices…
Apropos, at least for the moment
Andrew Bird’s world is changing and so is he Andrew Bird has his own reality TV show. Which seems uncharacteristic for the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for his whimsical lyrics and perfectly pitched whistling. But nevertheless it’s true, at least in a certain sense. “It’s your world, I’m just living in it,” says recent…
Tayla Parx competes with only herself
Taylor Parks, who goes by the stage name Tayla Parx, has one message: “Come as you are because, whatever that is, is acceptable.” It’s a message that comes through all Parks’ work, whether that’s as a songwriter of chart-topping hits for a variety of musicians or through her own work on her debut LP We Need…
The gravitational pull of Zimmer
2019 First Place award for Music Writing from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Two black holes circling each other deep in space, going round and round until they finally collide. The impact sends waves rippling out into the universe, gravitational radiation warping space and time. Undetectable until just a few years ago, Albert Einstein’s theory…
The best of both worlds
The Flaming Lips to play ‘The Soft Bulletin’ with Colorado Symphony, again In 1969, thousands of people crammed into the Royal Albert Hall in London to watch Deep Purple perform their Concerto for Group and Orchestra with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The band’s long hair and unbuttoned shirts were juxtaposed with the tux-wearing and neatly groomed orchestra…
Trombone Shorty: keeping tradition alive
Troy Andrews was handed a trombone at the age of 4, and he’s never looked back. “I think at that time that was one of the only other instruments that wasn’t occupied and that actually worked in the house,” he says. “I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I was able to get…
Angela K. Evans 