Volume 2, Issue 14 June 22 - July 5, 2000

There are so many ways to love music. With over 500 local bands and performers, it's easy to love a wide variety of styles, groups, bands, recordings, and people. The two bands featured here represent my love of the "great song," an element that has long defined some of rock music's most significant moments.

Writing a great song is difficult, mostly because a failed attempt is easy to spot. Think of the thousands of ways that songwriters have tried to express the simple renderings of boy-meets-girl. We embrace the formulas they have created, and wait for the next catchy tune, the next heartfelt lyric, the next power chorus.

Two local bands, Mean Old Man and Ed Fingers, have developed a style that focuses on the rock song ... good grooves, good lyrics, a catchy riff or melody that I can sing along with. Verse-chorus-verse, and I'm happy.

Mean Old Man

Mean Old Man just released their first recording, Another Crossed and Broken Line. Contrary to the band's name, these four guys are young, extremely talented, and quite nice, actually. Lead singer Tony Medina plays acoustic guitar and writes almost all of the lyrics supported by Shon Howard on guitar, Chris Maestes on drums, and Stephen Crespo on bass.

Until recently, this band was a trio. Each member had carved his own niche: Medina was poet and melody-maker extraordinaire, Maestes was the motor and driving force that created the band almost three years ago, and Howard was the ringer, the virtuoso. Stephen Crespo joined about six months ago. "Adding Stephen to the band did a lot for our energy," said Medina. "I was doubling on bass and vocals, and not quite able to really just enjoy singing and putting it all out there. And at our live shows, Stephen is the dynamic showman that brings it all together."

Medina's lyrics are certainly one edge that Mean Old Man has over many other good Denver bands. The skill of the players is number two. Another Crossed and Broken Line sounds like a hit record. As far as the music industry is concerned, the tracks are extremely radio friendly. And, perhaps most importantly, the band has done a good job of staying far away from the cheesy stereotypes that often plague rock bands.

For example, Medina talked about the inspiration for his writing. Most of the songs come from previous experiences or experiences of people around him. Without sounding banal or campy, Medina wrote "Warm in Here" about the time he was cold: both physically and emotionally.

"I was living in an attic in the middle of winter, and dealing with a bad relationship," Medina remembers. "I finally realized that with everything being cold and difficult, I still had a place inside of me that remained warm and safe." The result is: "Outside the wind bites through my skin/And the night is the face that I fear/As I fight the enemy within/I thank God it's warm in here."

The rest of the guys match Medina's strong and smoky vocals with a tight groove and a seriously talented rhythm section. I don't care how many guitar players you've seen in this town, Shon Howard should be at the top of your list. During his short solo on the bluesy "Time and Time Again," I am reminded of what guitar solos are supposed to sound like ... a good riff that becomes an extension of the song and exposes a piece of the player. It's that simple, and that kind of quality doesn't go unnoticed.

Maestas has been searching for the right combination of musicians since he was in junior high. Literally. "Shon and I tried a lot of different people and different styles of music before getting to where we are today. I'm happy with what we have. Our writing comes naturally now, and we draw on what we like and what we think will be great and fun for our listeners."

Stylistically, Mean Old Man is a rock band, but like every good rock band, each song speaks for itself. On the second track, "Today," there is sort of Pearl Jam-esque quality to the soft guitar sound and melody, reminiscent of "Daughter" or "Better Man."

"Interestingly enough," laughed Medina, " I was listening to a lot of Seattle stuff before I wrote that song. I was looking for a change and realizing that I needed to do something or be stuck where I was. Out came, 'The scene of this world is changing/It's something I've heard of before/And I thought I'd find out/before it's too late for me to change/Today.' "

Mean Old Man will continue playing live around Denver, refining their style and entertaining their fans. "We'll take it as far as we can," said Maestes. "We love what we're doing. I'm used to being told that someone likes my drumming or thinks the bass player is cute or whatever. But with this band, people tell us that they like our songs. That's the coolest thing."

Mean Old Man plays Herman's Hideaway on Saturday, June 24 at 8 p.m. Info at www.meanoldman.com. Another Crossed and Broken Line is available at Twist and Shout Records.

Ed Fingers has succeeded in building a sound and fanbase dedicated to powerful, quality songs and lyrics. It wisely relies on the immense vocals of Christy Allbee, the graceful and moving trumpet work of Ed Schroeder, a strong rhythm section with Craig Gilbert on drums and Phil Hegel on bass, and a set list filled with great songs.

For three years, Christy Allbee, Craig Gilbert and Ed Schroeder worked to create a band that could bring their vision and specialized sound to the Denver music scene. With the addition of Phil Hegel on bass last year, Ed Fingers began taking the business of music a bit more seriously. The band tightened up their songs, put a set together, and hit the Denver bar-band circuit. By including the trumpet and acoustic guitar, the band wanted to strike a balance between straight rock and folk. The result is unusually compelling.

What drives this band is a generally unique sound stemming from Allbee's vocals and Schoreder's trumpet. On "Distracted," Allbee conveys the feeling that a person gets after a few really good dates with someone. "It's when you can't think about anything else besides this new person, and you are so distracted that you can't even drive down the street or work without feeling completely giddy."

At the live show, this song is tremendous. Initially, it begins with Allbee's acoustic guitar, and a haunting muted trumpet line. The trumpet continues to hang over the lyrics, becoming more punching and urgent with the addition of Gilbert and Hegel. As the song builds and buckles, the intensity of Allbee's vocals increases. "I've been distracted since the moment we met/I'm so distracted I haven't come to, yet/I'm so distracted I can't see the light through the trees/I'm so distracted you've got me down on my knees."

Allbee's vocal style is probably as distinctive as anything else in this band. With obvious influences from the likes of Ani DiFranco, Allbee adds sensual, smooth, and comforting elements. It's a deep, throaty voice, and it can be a huge voice, but it's also a pleasant voice.

Another Allbee tune, "Frogs," explores the myth that most young girls grow up with, that someday their prince will come. In this case, Allbee feels that too many 'frogs' have shown up instead. "Frogs" takes a gentle approach and is more lyrical and dreamy than "Distracted." The trumpet intertwines the vocal lines, and even occasionally plays off of Hegel's bass line. The song explains how Allbee views the situation for young single women these days, and brings the song back to the chorus, "Throw my penny in a wishing well/when I cannot wish upon a start/I wish I may I wish I might/be okay alone in life."

Not many rock bands these days feature a trumpet as a major instrument, unless it's part of an entire horn section. Ed Schroeder began playing trumpet in fourth grade, and has always liked the way it blends with the guitar. His simple yet lyrical writing and playing styles add wonderful color and ambience to the band's sound, a slight nod at trumpet legend, Miles Davis.

"I love our style and the simplicity of the music. That's what is most important," claims Schroeder. "We let the audience draw its own conclusion rather than forcing the issue." Judging from the work so far, it can only get better.

Ed Fingers will release their first recording next year. They play at the Lion's Lair on July 18, 10:30 p.m.

Devine Shaker Records

Shake that ass. Put your hands in the air like you just don't care. When stuck in traffic try not to stare. I never liked Sonny and Cher. Spank that ass bare. I am stuck here in a dark club taking in smoke from my nicotine-necktie buddies just thinking about this CD I have not been able to put down. I think my eyes must have been glazed over because this girl is just wondering if I have had a nocturnal emission in my chair. Not this time, but I am wondering when I am going to be hearing this disc in every club across this great dance club nation of ours.

I have never heard of the Cherry Bomb Club before and am told that this is the first of many golden calves yet to come from this very large group of musicians. What we have here is a fist-full of vocalists tearing up the digital airwaves of a masterful DJ with a cellist smoothing out the edges a bit. Let me get down to the players real quick: First you have Miss Erica Brown on vocals. A dude named Legendary singing as well. Angie Defrancis piping up when it is her turn. Monica Fuentes: you guessed, is operatic by voice. A cat who goes by Sexyboy well, um, yep, warbling away with the rest of them. Lisa Simms throws down with her chords as well. Becky Vera must feel like an outsider here: she plays cello: you go Becky, don't let all of those fucking prima-donna vocalists give you any shit. Finally the meat of the tunes and beats is Divineshaker. He is on guitars, programming and "punching the buttons."

I like a disc that flows. Yet one song not sounding like the other, you know, continuity. The production and continuity on the CD are of top quality. The moods change with each track going from making you want to dance your ass off to just chilling with a large group of topless shameless little hussies that cant get enough of your Vitalis hair oil. The first track called "200% Machine" makes me want to go out and get a gold tooth put in, stuff my shorts with a keilbasa and just cruise the chicks. As I dig deeper into this though, I find that there are some down to earth lyrics and grooves that I can get into.

What I would like to elude to is that this is a big group with a big sound. I think Big Audio Dynamite started a lot of the DJ sound melted into rock, but these folks take it a little further. There is some real goddamned soul and funk here. What gives is this: this group is a hodgepodge of experienced musicians and singers that have been in various successful gigs. Foreskin 500 and Warlock Pinchers to name a few. They got together a few years ago as Cherry Bomb Club and played a mixture of clubs and theaters around town as well as in L.A. They took time out to record and get serious about this project and what they have is a smoking disc that needs props. Expect this group to get picked up faster than a toothless chick at a bike rally.

This has the makings of Rave On The Rocks. In fact, the Cherry Bomb Club has a CD release party at 7 South on Thursday, July 13. I would highly recommend checking the show out. If you are too scared to have a cool buzz going on by the time you get to work the next day, at least go get this CD. Until then, I say we barrage the radio station that sponsors Rave On The Rocks (we all know who that is) and tell them to add these folks to the ticket. Seriously. A

There is just so much you can say about the '80's. One thing that sticks in my mind are those popular John Hughes films. Weird Science, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club. Some of the music on those soundtracks were from bands that I had never heard of before and never heard of again. Now at first, that is what popped into my mind upon hearing Rubber Planet's newest piece of work, "Just Visiting." The first two songs on this disc could have certainly landed a spot in one of those blockbuster films.

This is a pop trio that does have an '80's sound to them. What I find hard to figure out is whether it is intentional or just through osmosis. The background vocals on track three have Gary Newman written all over them and visions of a Listerine bottle ready to come crashing through the trees. Now, the song "What Went Wrong" caught my ear right from the start. It has a lot more of a punchy, grind of a sound that certainly made me think of The Pixies' song "Gigantic." I dug that, and that's where it ended. What I do think is that these guys could offer up a little more diversity in the lyrics as well as the melodies within each song. They seem to lack the twists and turns found in most pop songs now-a-days and are just a little too sugary for the pulsing airwaves pushing the likes of The Cottonmouth Kings and such.

Just so you dont get me wrong here, let me offer up this. Do you remember the band The Outfield? They had a few good hits and they were all good musicians, but that was then and this is now. This band really does remind me of that style of music and you can tell these guys are talented. Curtis Smith, a.k.a. Silver, is a good vocalist. After high school he attended The Vocal Institute of Technology in Hollywood. Listening to his different ranges tells me that it was money well spent. Brice Hancock sounds to me like he has spent many a lonely evening practicing his craft on guitar and plays with different sounds throughout the disc. I found the work of Matt Morse on drums cool too. He uses a few catchy beats and keeps time like Big Ben.

I think to be fair to these local guys is to say that they do have a combination of three guys that play together well. I think the formulaic sound that they are chasing might leave the well a little dry in the long run. If I were to give advise to them I would say to keep writing, recording and working with the likes of TAXI or some other musician service that will give them tips on how to change up some melodies as well as freshen up their sound. I am sure live they are tight and would offer up a fun evening of cool tunes that might take you back to a time in your life when songs like this swarmed the airwaves. And if you were not lucky enough to endure the sound of the '80's you might just wonder where the heck this sound comes from. C-

I don't know how many times I have to flip through the channels and accidentally hit MTV only to see this so-called Boy band in a full on circle-jerk with each other. I know, I know, they are selling records like hot cakes and have every 12-year-old girl in a frenzy, but when I was to review this CD I wanted to stand in the middle of a bonfire just to shove ice cubes up my ass. I can only listen to so many cheesed out dance tracks performed by trained monkeys. I must admit, upon hitting the play button I realized that there are some awesome studio wizards out there.

I remember when The New Kids On The Block were out and then finally "outed" for not being quite the slick little singers that they were pretending to be. I don't exactly think that is the case here, but you certainly get a feel of the level of puppetry going on with such a commercial force as 'NSTINK. OOPS! Did I say that?

Now, I know that this kind of music has its target audience and that I do not fall into the pre-pubescent demographic that the band is looking for. I reviewed this CD to be sort of a watchdog for all music lovers and non music lovers alike. With 12 tracks of bubble gum goo and enough sugar to rot your teeth, this disc really has some quality to it. It has farmed out the writing, producing and instrument playing in which it provides plenty of out-of-work musicians and writers jobs. No wonder the fucking economy is so great right now, every Tom Dick and Harry has a finger in this pie.

I really do feel sort of sorry for the members of this group as well as any studio-rich-guy-invented-them group. I wonder what kind of take the "big guy" gets compared to the performers. And it seems to me that they are being guided around with a broomstick up their asses without even knowing it. What they seem to provide here is just an image. Sure, they have songs on this CD, 12 of them to be exact, but the songs go right for the jugular of the aforementioned age group of girls. There are no songs for 15-year-old boys to skateboard to, no songs to travel to (not in my fucking ride) and nothing to offer the general public.

Hell, I like quite a variety of different music. I have an open mind if someone wants to listen to rap, rock (which are close to a full on fusion) even some country if I feel like puking out a bad wing or something, but this is pure radio ga-ga. Not smart songs about love or lost love. Songs like: get this: track number nine, "Bringin' Da Noise." Give me a break, What kind of noise can these dudes bring? Snoop Dog can bring the noise, not this group. I generally don't like to swim through a bad review, but this one really got to me. It's as if this group wants you to believe they are legit. They are pissing in your face and trying to convince you that it is raining!

As they continue to sell out arenas and sell merchandise like cups of water in hell, I have to say that I would not recommend this CD for the for the person who likes the saga of the singer-songwriter finally making it and doing it all on his or her own merits. Not for the casting call and cattle herding create-a-band concept of making music for the masses. It might however, make a great birthday present for your niece or little sister barring they do not already have it and the posters on the wall. If so, you're not out of luck, you might be able to book them for her sweet 16 birthday party in about four years, since that seems to be the run time of these bands. In that case she won't give a shit by then anyway. Again, this is just my opinion. D-

Kenny James: one of the better-known studio musicians around town: has been working on his solo project The Witching Hour for some time now and it is beginning to come to fruition. The first single: "Shocking": from the forthcoming release "Skeletons in the Closet" will be released July 25 with the full-length album scheduled for release October 31. Kenny has played drums with more bands than one can shake a stick at, including George Clinton, The Samples and currently local band On Second Thought. With The Witching Hour, Kenny has the opportunity to present something that is all his own, not supporting someone else's musical creativity. Kenny plays a majority of the instruments himself, and for those he doesn't he turns the tables somewhat, using other musicians he has met along the way during his career as the session players now. Kenny sees The Witching Hour performing more than 45 minute bar band sets; he envisions more of a KISS, Alice Cooper '70's style overall concert experience, and from listening to some of the plans he is on the right track. Kenny is already promoting "Shocking" to radio and one of the groups he has recently played with, Rorschach Test, is releasing a cover of the song on their new album Peace Minus One. (How unusual to have a band cover a tune that is not yet released.) Kenny is also introducing his alter ego Stormy Chase to the musical world. Stormy is the "other" creator of The Witching Hour. To watch the evolution of The Witching Hour and meet its co-creator Stormy, log on to www.thewitchinghour.net.

Carolyn's Mother will see another change in its line-up with current drummer Andy Goodnow leaving to pursue career opportunities in L.A., and former drummer Jeff Gust returning. Fans of Carolyn's Mother would be wise to catch their June 30 show at Herman's Hideaway, as the band will be taking a break to write and work on a new single due out early August. The CD will consist of two new songs and previously unreleased material recorded live during some of their acoustic shows. Carolyn's Mother is slated to return to the club scene with the new CD and a live show at Herman's Hideaway on Aug 25.

Sigurdur Birkis hit the ground running as the new drummer for Tinker's Punishment. "Siggi" has been playing with the band for about two months now and seems to be keeping up with their increasingly hectic schedule admirably. Hailing from Atlanta, Siggi has been flying back and forth, continuing to work on studio projects in Atlanta while making a mark on the Denver music scene with Tinker's Punishment. With 400,000 frequent flyer miles and 15 years of experience playing drums behind him, Birkis has crisscrossed the country playing with numerous different groups before crossing paths one night with Frank Shultz, manager for Tinker's Punishment, at The Soiled Dove. Birkis will be hitting the road again over the next few weeks when Tinker's Punishment begins their inaugural tour into the Midwest, playing shows in Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa.

The 11th Annual Colorado Brewers' Festival will take place in Fort Collins the weekend of June 23 and 24 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, and will feature musical performances from local groups Brakeman Junction, Liz Barnez Union Break, Nina Storey, Zuet and Creighton Holley Band. The Downtown Business and AT&T are also sponsoring the downtown live concert series in Fort Collins. Local acts will be featured in Old Town Square each Thursday evening throughout the summer. Some of the musicians scheduled to perform are The Atoll, Cabaret Diosa, The Indulgers, Opie Gone Bad, and the Hazel Miller Band. For more information on these upcoming shows or the Brewer's Festival visit www.downtownfortcollins.com.

The inaugural season of Film on the Rocks is slated to begin July 11 with tickets to the various shows going on sale the last week in June. Each Tuesday night throughout the summer Red Rocks will host a pre-film concert featuring local music talent. The concerts are scheduled for 7 p.m. with the various films showing at 9 p.m. The season will kick off with a concert by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and a showing of the movie The Godfather on July 11 followed on July 18 with Opie Gone Bad and The Matrix. Other features include Selena with Cabaret Dose, Casablanca with the Hot Tomatoes, Goldfinger with Lannie Garrett, Priscilla Queen of the Desert with Hazel Miller and Star Trek with the Red Rocks Orchestra. For more information visit www.redrocksonline.com or call 303-640-2637.

The next meeting of the Colorado Music Association will be held June 25 at 6 p.m. at the Soiled Dove. Those wishing to be considered for positions as directors of the nonprofit will be presenting their platform statements for the elections to be held in July. A free songwriter's circle with Michael Smith, Richie Furay, Richard Dean and Preacherboy will be held after the meeting. Michael Smith will also be conducting a special songwriter's workshop on June 24 from 1-3 p.m. at Swallow Hill, 71 E. Yale Ave. There is a $40 fee for the workshop, which will be limited to 25 people. To reserve a spot contact Swallow Hill at 303-777-1003.

Blister 66 is scheduled to perform at the Warped Tour July 9 at the Adam's County Fairgrounds, and is holding a contest for two all access passes. Visit their web site www.blister66.com to enter. The person who can come up with the most creative promotional idea for the band will be joining them behind the scenes for a day of mayhem.

Congratulations to The Ryan Tracy Band on a successful CD release party, to Friends of Red Rocks on their second successful Rock the Rocks benefit concert and to Hapiskratch Records and Mishawaka Inn on a successful Father's Day Benefit Concert for the victims of the recent wildfires. Good Luck to Liz Clark and Rubber Planet on their upcoming CD release parties. Liz Clark's to be held June 21 at the Soiled Dove and Rubber Planet's to be held June23 at Cricket on the Hill.