Volume 3, Issue 16
August 1 - August 15, 2001

Music

GOING SOLO

Howard Booker Bridges II learns the secrets of DIY

D IY stands for Do It Yourself, and this mentality is permeating everything from home decorating to e-business. Denver native Howard Booker Bridges II released his debut recording grandafricantree under the same DIY umbrella. He wrote the songs, played all the instruments, produced the tracks and books himself for solo gigs on various stages all over town. Most recently he opened for Opie Gone Bad at the Gothic Theatre. “I always go so big,” Bridges said. “It’s kind of funny how big I think and how far I want to go. I’ve been in bands before and now it’s down to just me. I put out an album by myself and I’m still trying to go as big as possible.”

If grandafricantree is an indication of young Howard’s talents, he could go very big. He performs on acoustic guitar, djembe, didjerido, trombone and all vocal parts, including original spoken word. His record blends the light harmonies and rhythmic pulse of a lot of ethnic grassroots artists and lyrically speaks to those souls searching for meaning and spiritual connections throughout life. His voice is strong but soulful, complimenting the sparse instrumentation and thoughtful lyrics.

While this debut is impressive, Bridges is the first to admit how much he has to learn. “I feel like just a sprout right now ... I have to get out there and play as much as I can. There is so much to learn about getting yourself comfortable with everything. On stage, it’s just me and that’s new to me. I look at Ben Harper or Ani DiFranco or Michael Franti and just say, ‘Wow.’ They’ve done the work. You can see that immediately.”

Influences like Harper and DiFranco offer a path that Bridges hopes to make into a lifestyle, not a flash-in-the-pan pipe dream. Taking a grassroots path has its ups and downs. Bridges is learning to cope with the myriad of respon-sibilities he needs to cover in order to get known, get heard, and get paid. But being sole captain of his ship means whatever Bridges produces as an artist maintains an artistic integrity and authenticity he can call his own. Scary, but invigorating.

“I’m not going to find myself in a position where any manager or record label is telling me to do something that doesn’t feel right,” Bridges said. “Music shouldn’t be a popularity contest. I’ve seen other artists succeed on their own, and I think if I continue to come from the soul, get out in front of more people, go on the road and just learn from the pros, then I’ll be doing just as the word says ... grassroots ... it’ll root me in music. When the positive starts coming back to me after I’ve worked hard enough, then by then I’ll have deserved it.”.

—Judy B.

Find out more online at Bridges’ website: www.howardbridges.iuma.com

IMPRESSIONS

A look at Soma ’s DJ Kurt Yates

The DJ behind the ones and twos wears a shirt that says "fuck trance." After reading this shirt I notice Juliette, an up-and-coming West Coast trance DJ (with a brand new mix CD coming out from Soma and HardyMusic June 16), lug her record case up the stairs, calling it a night.

It's almost hard for me to believe this guy Kurt Yates is the same guy who knew who remixed the "Sesame Street" theme song when I asked for it at his workplace, Bart's CD Cellar.

"Oh yeah, that would be the Smart e's. That one's a classic." I remember him briskly thumbing through the breaks section and presenting the 12-inch single to me with a sly, verging-on-goofy grin.

Weeks later I recall passing by Bart's one night and reading a sign on the door--" Kurt Yates: Soma resident." It said he had the "skill" the "knowledge" and the "technique."

During my most recent visit to Bart's, a myriad of wannabe DJs with neon pink visors and record bags kept asking "Where's Kurt?" He obviously wasn't working that day. Customers politely asked how he was doing as if they were all his closest relatives.

In light of all this hubbub, I'd said big deal-- another hyped-up, intelligent-looking local DJ who's got that vibe. Yawn.

But after having several cheap libations this past Saturday night at my new weekend summer home, the Sundown Saloon, I waltzed over to Soma and paid no cover. I got my groove on and found myself desiring to rip someone's throat out. It was a good feeling. It was tech-house, tech-step, whatever, but compared to the Paul Oakenfold wannabes I've witnessed everywhere in Boulder lately, it was fresh air to my oppressed ears.

I watched Kurt comfortably beam his grins from behind the decks and instantly labeled what I was witnessing as genuine excitement. He gave his fans high fives and bounced around like a slightly more tactful and playful Austin Powers.

In a beat per minute I knew what this hubbub was all about. I wasn't just looking at a professional DJ-- I was looking at someone who loves to DJ. He slapped on a breakbeat remix of "New Year's Day" by U2, which resulted in whoops and stomps from the crowd. At the way-before-bedtime hour of 2 am, he closed his set, bending back a sample from one of the hardest techno tracks of the night. The phrase reiterated the mundane of the "everyday" all of us in the crowd would see once Monday approached again. He bowed to a standing ovation and his smile told us everything: all was right in the world, he would be going to work on Monday, too, but maybe some weekend soon we would all hang out again.

--Evan Hundhausen

Kurt Yates is a resident at Soma and plays every third Saturday of the month.

BEAT DIET

ON FIRE

The air outside was slightly chilly, as it was 1 am, and the sun had been down for hours. After stopping by the table to clear my entrance into Quest 4: A: Fire, the Pureform Atmospheres party, I made my way through one of the many entrance doors to the City Auditorium in Colorado Springs. The familiar rush of hot, humid rave air and the smell of sweaty bodies, cigarette smoke, and fog machines welcomed me. As I looked around in the crowded lobby, it seemed as though everyone bore a happy ear-to-ear grin that you couldn't help but catch. Now sporting my own happy smile I wandered my way through the lobby and into the auditorium itself. It was packed. Jon Bishop was on, playing U. K. hard house. The air inside was even hotter and more humid, and everyone was shining with perspiration. One thing I noticed about this event-- which set it apart from recent events in Denver-- was that most everyone was dancing. From the front of the room right next to the speakers all the way to the back at the entrance doors, people were dancing.

The production quality of this event was nothing short of phenomenal. There were six huge white balloons hanging from the high ceiling. Intelligent lighting beamed from every corner, as well as from the center platform, on which was mounted the trademark huge silver lotus flower that has become standard at every Pureform event. In the center of the flower was an artificial flame made from a fan, some fabric, and orange lights. On either side of the stacks of speakers were tall people made of parachute material who were also powered by a fan under one leg, making it flow and snap, seem-ing to dance with the rest of the crowd. On the stage, four tubes were mounted pointing up and out at the crowd, and as each DJ was announced, the tubes would shoot out glitter and confetti into the air. Behind the DJ was a huge screen onto which some great visuals were projected, including shots of the current DJ. Although the promised laser show was damaged on the flight to Colorado, the overall presentation for this event was incredible.

All night the music was astonishing. Boasting a huge line-up of Donald Glaude, George Acosta, Jon Bishop, vicious VIC, and Mystre, the main room was filled with bangingU. K. hard house and hard progressive trance. Local talent included Etain, Alan Endorfun, Jason Syn, Beekay, Quay, DJ Dragon, Chris Irvin, DJ X-Static, A-Tak with Echo Cybele, MaSheen, and DJ Dagen; most of them performed in the small second room. Apart from some technical difficulties with the microphone (" give it up for Ge... osta!"), and the event date being moved back two weeks, the event seemed to go off without a glitch. With an attendance in the thousands, it is the first event in Colorado in months that can be called successful. Extremely successful. Pureform has announced plans for their next event, Quest 5: A: the unexplained element. For more information you can visit the website at www.pureform.com the info line at 303-575-1231.

BEAT DIET SIDE DISHES

Local production company ColoradoRave.com, founders of the very popular website by the same name, has lost two of its resident DJs. Hard house DJs Dubois and Bombay have decided to terminate their residency with the crew and backed out of their booked 2x4 performance on July 27.

House of Syn Wednesdays presented by Synesthesia Productions is cancelled temporarily while the crew searches out a new venue. The previous venue, The Roxy, proved itself unreliable when it double-booked the venue numerous times and sometimes did not even show up for Synesthesia's weekly event. Keep your eyes open for the new and improved House of Syn Wednesdays by checking out the website at www.houseofsyn.com or calling 303-658-3181.

Together Productions, having recently taken its production efforts to weekly club venues, has announced it will be returning to the rave world with its yearly event, Skylab, September 8. This year's event promises to be nothing short of the last one, with rumored talent to be Danny Tenaglia, Sasha & Digweed, Ak1200 vs. Kenny Ken with MC Navigator & Fearless, Danny Howells & Sander Kleinenberg and Frankie Knuckles. This event promises to be in the tradition of previous Skylab events, and will not dissapoint. Stay tuned to the info-line at 303-575-1149 for details.

Roofless Productions, having also pulled out of the rave style events, will be making a return as well this summer when it presents its yearly massive event, The Sun Festival. Founded in 1998 when it started a series of events each named after one of the planets, the journey worked its way through the solar system, with the final destination being the sun. Each year The Sun Festival has been bigger, and this year will surely promise no less. The date is set for September 22, and the lineup is yet to be released. Stay tuned to the infoline as the date grows nearer: 303-267-2067.

ORANGE PEEL

If you were given the opportunity to compose a wish list of the people and/or things you would most like to see at your ideal party, who or what would make the cut? Ball pits, Pete the Shaker Bones, Doran, bouncing castles, Robert Oleysyck, velcro walls, Digital Assassins, Tilz, foam, Moda, bungee running, a shitload of local DJs catering to nearly every single imaginable electronic music tastebud? Congratulations, you're in luck.

Fun Factory, voted best party of 2000 by the Colorado Electronic Music Association, will return August 4 in finer form than ever before. Synesthesia has joined forces with Weeded Productions for the third year in a row to bring you 12 full hours of the sickest techno nourishment your system can handle. In addition to the specific headliners listed above, local choose-their-own musical adventurists that promise to satisfy everyone from househeads to hardcore junglists include Dagan, Diabolic, Fevah, Evenflo, Isatope, Little Mike, Raja, Ty Tek, Alan Endorfun, Basil, Brian E, Chris Irvin, Jason Syn, Mad Wax, Red Eighty-Eight, Timmay, Xelement, Xraystar, Carbon Monoxide, Gel-O, X-static, A-tak, Baloo, Belz, Canon, Daisho, Ecco, Fury, Jon, Kid Metric, Pepper, Pressure, Sten Martin, as well as MCs Dino, KC, and Curious.

While the amount of fun to be had at most other parties is often in serious question until the actual night of the event, there is no question about the fun in this factory. The name of the party says it all.

--orange peel moses

CD Review

ESOVAE: PAINTED

The latest EP from local three-piece Esovae smacks of the dreamy, dark and edgy sound that many Goth and emo-punk bands search for without being either Goth or punk ... using steady and plentiful guitar work, tasty drum fills, and sweet and sultry lead vocals, Esovae seems determined to sound familiar without being a copycat. It's a band that took its time making this record. Songs breathe. It works.

Singer Marilyn Taylor's voice moves effortlessly between a whisper and a bellow, and the overdubbed harmonies work really well, reminiscent of Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson's tightly woven vocal lines. This is old rock with an ear for new ideas.

"Painted" is a straight rocker with an updated '80s flair. More impressive is "Everything," both lyrically and musically. It starts as a small flutter in the ear of the listener and gradually builds to a gentle roar. Taylor delivers the message well, taunting the listener and leading the musical swell: "You have no idea, no clue/ You'll know my plan/ You'll know exactly where you stand/ You'll know everything."

Assuming the band is as tight on stage as on the record, Esovae is ready to offer an exciting live show. Along with Taylor is Bill Travis (percussion) and Brett Walston (guitars). The band is currently searching for a serious bass player to complete the lineup. When that day finally comes, don't miss the first show back, or any show thereafter. A --Judy B.

CD Review

GLENN TILBROOK: THE INCOMPLETE GLENN TILBROOK

One of the best things about contemporary pop music is that it has the power to capture you with a simple hook that will stay in your head hours after the song has played on the radio. And the best pop will still be with you like an old friend even years after it has fallen from the Billboard charts and heavy radio rotation.

The Incomplete Glenn Tilbrook, the newest release from the Squeeze alumnus, has the aspirations of becoming a solid pop album, but unfortunately never realizes its full potential. And that's a shame because I was really in the mood for a good disc of catchy, meaningless tunes.

One of my more eloquent friends would have described the tunes on this disc as 'mayonnaise' music. Which, by his refined musical standards, is music without soul-- just a big plain, white gloppy mess meant for people who like listening to music played in elevators or on insurance company hold lines. And that's not to say all the songs on this disc are mayonnaise. There are some diamonds in the rough here, like the first track, "This is Where You Ain't," which is so 1986, I'm right back at the Frankie Goes to Hollywood gig at Red Rocks with my friend Shovel Man Pete slammin' Jungle Juice out of a bota bag and getting so twisted that we spent an hour looking for our car and another hour trying to remember how to get home. Don't ask me why we called him Shovel Man. That's a complicated story and space and fairness to Glenn Tilbrook won't allow it.

Like the best of Squeeze, the songs are tuneful and polished, but don't really break any new ground. Instead they come off as unobtrusive background music. Other tracks on this disc, like the funky "G.S.O.H. Essential" and the Crowded House flavored "Parallel World," break up the monotony and provide some spark in this otherwise lifeless excursion into pop music's past. D --Matthew Davis

CD Review

ROGUE: SUBLIMINAL

Heavy metal doesn't get as much attention as it used to. The biggest sign of this is that Tool is considered the hardest band on hard rock stations; while Tool can certainly thrash, let's face it, Tool isn't metal ... it's prog rock with angry musicians. Rogue, on the other hand, is metal. And because the local four piece fronted by Bill Terrell just signed a recording deal with national label Saturn records, it's time Coloradans sat up and took notice.

Subliminal, Rogue's latest (and final) independent release, will thrash your skull, whether you like it or not. Terrell's voice is a guttural rasp from Hell, combining the all-out assault of a scream with carefully modulated tones and vibrato. That's right, vibrato in a metal singer's voice. While this aspect lends Rogue its unique sound in a field of white noise, the contributions of Devon Kimzey (drums), John Bollack (guitar and backing vocals), and E. A. Schuster (bass) shouldn't be overlooked. Though Rogue might cringe at this comparison, its music harkens to the early days of Metallica and Megadeth, before those two monsters of metal became mere misfits with money.

So, you non-metalheads (generally defined as the few of you who haven't yet attended a Rogue concert) might ask yourselves, "Why should I care about heavy metal? Didn't it die in 1987?" No: like all musical styles, metal never died, it just went underground and local. After years of holding down the Denver metal scene, Rogue's in position to lead a new charge of metal back into mainstream, a nice counterpoint to the über-pop and rap-rock domination of the turn-of-the-millennium. Like fashion, music comes and goes in 15-to 20-year cycles. Metal is due, and Rogue is Metal. A --Chris J. Magyar