BandWagon Magazine - June 2021 - Ian Munsick by BandWagon Magazine

MUSIC reviews

BandWagon Magazine

Magic Beans PG. 4 D.C. Myers PG. 6 Tenth Mountain Division PG. 8

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For Life:

Emily Nelson On The Drums

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Magic Beans Slice Of Life

Valerie Vampola

BandWagon Magazine

Longtime fans of Magic Beans keep coming back for their staple rock-funk sound, filled with high energy grooves and invigorating rock organ. Their new album, Slice of Life, still has that, but those fans might also cock their head in confusion. The Denver fourpiece offer those same tight, funky grooves and tasty licks with the opening track “Sweet Thang.” And then, once they’ve

established that they remember who they are, things start to get a little weird. Tracks like “Grown Up” and “Superglue” still fit the aesthetic of the band, with the same high energy composing, but the singing style sounds like a Weird Al take on Blake Shelton, more than sprinkled with country and western tidbits. You could even say they go all-out country with “Footprints in the Rain,” which features pedal steel, banjo and western americana grooves heavy on the bluegrass. Furthermore, “To Hell We Ride” is a clear nod to Brooks & Dunn. Then, halfway along, the album takes a sharp left into electro-disco land with percussively rhythmic lyric delivery and spacy synths pulling them in the direction of Chromeo. “Sharon is Karen” features a quirky synth melody and the kind of octave-jumping basslines popular in disco

music. The disco continues with “Hello” and “Creatures Constellation.” Casual Magic Beans listeners might feel disoriented and confused as to what this album is about, but those who know the band well will recognize that everything about writing and recording the album was for the sake of having fun.

Slice of Life is a response, or better yet a “slice,” of how the

pandemic turned the band’s world upside down, from a fully booked calendar to “random and unplanned” days in the studio. The result is random pairings of musical styles no less crazy than life for all of us who survived our first and longest pandemic. Magic Beans play the Beanstalk Festival in Bond, Colorado June 24 - 26. More at magicbeansmusic.com

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D.C. Myers

Lighthouse Sessions Kevin Johnston

BandWagon Magazine

Lighthouse Sessions is the debut EP from Denver’s D.C. Meyers, and while it’s a dark catalogue of a sad man alone in a room with his electronics, it’s also one of the most engaging, smart and fun records to come out of Colorado in months. Meyers stands out in both the electronic music scene and the pop songwriting world. The descending / ascending chord progression in the bridge of “Blood For Blood” is a prime example of what he knows well: club music is at its best when good musicianship sneaks into the four-on-the-floor kicks. Stimulate the more sophisticated neurons of those goths and their black-leather-clad hips will follow onto the dancefloor. Top level production and arrangements aside, Myers himself provides the essential element to any great recording. Like it or not, every piece of

software and vintage gear in the world can’t compensate for a lead vocal that just isn’t there. Lucky for Miike Show and Depeche Mode fans, Meyers’ delivers a crisp, pointed tenor, boldly leading his synth-thick, eyelined army-ofone with accessible honesty. “Destined To Suffer” is the strongest nod to old-school stylings alá Pet Shop Boys, and it’s great fun. In contrast, “Cursed” stops the disco ball with a slogging, synth wash leaning towards Ramstein or the crossover theatricality of MUSE. It’s the first non-dancey moment on the EP, drenched in a synthesised choir drone and lyrics like “Can’t hear what I’m askin’ while I’m layed down in a casket.” (So goth!) Beautifully arranged backup vocals respond, and Myers’ signature, ear-catching chord progressions flesh out the drama. The synth syncopation on “Dear Departed” (the EP’s first single) exemplifies Myers’ musically subtle trickery. Sparse strums and staccato chugs of electric guitar follow, filling out the orchestration as Myers laments of shadows, death and lonely souls – somehow making your head bop to the beat. “Rapture” feels like latter day New Order, offering a proper closing to the EP. It sets a futuristic Tron-like landscape for Myers’ layered vocals to speed along, leaving neon light trails along the darkened dancefloor behind him.

Tenth Mountain Division Butte La Rose

Kevin Johnston

BandWagon Magazine

In the 70’s, artists like Joe Cocker and the Grateful Dead made a living (or a killing, frankly) out of fueling a party with a big band, booze, questionable substances and endless jams. Cocker scarcely needed original material to stoke that fire, relying on his exceptional voice and funky swagger of his band. The Dead did it by embedding relatable, folk-influenced storytelling in their shred-centric shows.

Today, on Butte La Rose, Colorado’s mountain-bred quintet Tenth Mountain Division find space between these extremes. They stamp a crisp modernity on top, incorporating styles as far reaching as the Rockies themselves. The jammy storytelling on “Hot Sweaty South” portrays a crazy, over-drinking, life on tour. “Sad Summer” gives us a polished Beach Boys vibe with electrotheramin, and a gentle synth, mandolin combo on “Highland Morning” frames a smoky male / female vocal duet. The instrumental “Spring Chicken” is lush pop featuring Campbell Thomas’ piano, crafting something akin to Explosions In The Sky. “Get Out Of My Head” does the opposite, with an a capella vocal dirge climaxing into classic blues rock. “Got Too Excited” is a highlight, bringing a mature swing with horns and bassist Andrew

Cooney’s relatable vocal rasp. Here, the band sounds like Saint Paul & The Broken Bones. “Drown You With The Bottle” continues in that vein, with Cooney’s voice and noodly bass at the lead, but also showcasing Tyler Gwynnt’s solid drumming. “Burning Heart” mimics Fleet Foxes with melodramatic lyrics, and “Big Blue Sky” closes out the record with frank, albeit morbid, musings about a tour bus which nearly crashed. These leaps in style may come as a shock, as the lead

vocalist usually defines any given band, but Tenth Mountain Division don’t fit such a mold. Writing and vocal duties are split between at least three members with distinct musical identities. Still, the band’s got chops, and though Butte La Rose might feel unpredictable, it’s surely a recipe for an interesting live show. Tenth Mountain Division release Butte La Rose on June 18 with a show at The Mishawaka Amphitheater in Bellvue, Colorado. Visit tmdtunes.com for more.

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Ron: Weekdays 6am - 10am Colorado Sound is again the Presenting radio sponsor for the Boulder International Film Festival June 24 - 27, featuring these music films this year! Check BIFF1.com for more. 1. Summer Of Soul – This Questlove-directed doc about the “Harlem Woodstock” in ’69 won’t get released until early July. We’ll see it first! 2. Under The Volcano – Like what Jim Guercio did with Caribou Ranch here in Colorado, Sir George Martin built the world-class AIR Studios on Montserrat Island in the Caribbean. This doc tells its story. 3. Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free – Using archival footage found last year and new interviews of his bandmates, friends & family, this film looks at Tom during 1993-95 and the recording of the Wildflowers album. 4. Elders Corner – When a London-based fan of Nigerian music learns that his musical heroes don’t own their songs, he goes to Lagos to re-record those artists & songs. Rare archival footage helps tell the full story. 5. Los Hermanos/The Brothers – Two virtuoso Afro-Cuban brothers, separated by miles and politics (Havana & NYC), are reunited by their music to perform together.

Margot: Weekdays 10am - 3pm Road trip time is here! What are your favorite songs about hitting the road? Let us know at coloradosound.org then listen to The Colorado Sound at the end of the month as we count down your Top 20 songs about hitting the road! Here are mine: 1. “Into The Great Wide Open” - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Not technically about a road trip, this Petty song nonetheless captures the spirit of hitting the open road. 2. “The Passenger” - Iggy Pop - Iggy Pop wrote this after his travels in Europe with David Bowie. If you end up being the passenger rather than the driver on your road trip, this one is for you. 3. “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66” - Nat King Cole – Written in 1946, songwriter Bobby Troup got the idea for the song on a

cross-country drive from Pennsylvania to California. This ode to the most famous road in America has become a standard but the first recording came from Nat King Cole in 1946. 4. “Looking At The World Through A Windshield” - Son Volt – Not only does Jay Farrar of Son Volt have the perfect voice for a road trip song, he can craft a great tune about being on the road. This is just one of many Son Volt songs perfect for a road trip. 5. “Wagon Wheel” - Old Crow Medicine Show - Old Crow Medicine Show took an unfinished Bob Dylan song, added more lyrics and created a road trip classic. Though the song gets some geography wrong, it’s so catchy, you’re hard pressed to pick up the errors.

Stacy: Weekdays 3pm - 7pm Live music at outdoor venues commences!

1. Mishawaka Amphitheatre - This historic site started as a music hall in 1916! Reinvigorated in 2010, this stunning riverside spot is home to great food, terrific hummingbird viewing and intimate shows like Daniel Rodriguez, Satsang, Flobots, The Burroughs and the free Sunday Summer Concert Series! themishawaka.com

Benji: Weekdays 7pm - 10pm 1. Yola – “Diamond Studded Shoes” – For her sophomore release, Yola once again teamed up with Dan Auerbach to see if lightning can strike twice. Based on the strength of this first single, I think it can 2. Delvon Lamar Organ Trio – “Hole In One” – Delvon Lamar Organ Trio is destined for greatness. Their 2015 debut album was number one on the Contemporary Jazz chart. Their new album is just as strong and contains this wonderful gem. 3. Shannon McNally – “I Ain’t Living Long Like This” – Shannon McNally has come a long way from her days as a busker. Her latest effort displays the right amount of sass and sauce. 4. Window Swap – This website is a complete wormhole. Every time you click on the page a new window opens somewhere in the world. One minute you’re in China, the next you may be in the Ukraine. Be warned, this is addicting. window-swap.com 5. The Playoffs – Both the Nuggets and Avs have had great seasons. It would be nice to see another championship comeback to Colorado!

2. Chautauqua – On the National Register of Historic Places, Chautauqua opened in 1898. This summer features a variety of classical shows as well as Keb Mo, The Jayhawks, Steep Canyon Rangers, The Steeldrivers, and Woodbelly. You can even reserve a cabin at chautaqua.com! 3. Dillon Amphitheater – Sitting on the shore of Lake Dillon, this amphitheater is one of the most beautiful places to see a show in Colorado! New announcements to come, but don’t miss: Shakey Graves and Black Pumas in August and Ween in 2022! dillonamphitheater.com 4. Sculpture Park - “Get your downtown on” at this unique outdoor venue at the Arts Complex in downtown Denver. Just look for the 60-foothigh sculpture by Jonathan Borofsky. Catch their Chamber Music Series, three nights with Goose, and much more. artscomplex.com/events 5. Levitt Pavilion – Every year they offer a free concert series plus programs connecting kids to music education and artists with development opportunities. Levitt is a venue and community resource! This summer: The Flobots, Cool Vibes Reggae Fest, Steel Panther and Melissa Etheridge. levittdenver.org.

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hen he’s reminded that he will open for Dwight Yoakam, who was country before country was hip the way it is now, Ian Munsick’s reflexive response is exactly what you’d expect from a rising young star: “Oh, man, that’s gonna be awesome.” But then he pauses and chuckles when asked how he thinks the crowd will respond to him. Are those nerves?

country fans at the Greeley Stampede just ready to see Yoakam. He has roots.

Munsick grew up playing traditional bluegrass and country with his brothers and his fiddle-playing father. He was so young at his first gig, “It’ll be interesting,” Munsick tells he doesn’t even remember it. BandWagon. And his music reflects that as Munsick, after all, is doing what well. he can to push the music beyond “I think if you can combine the the traditional sound that made contemporary with originality, Yoakam and others like him a you’ll be able to have your own legend. Munsick has a hip-hop lane in country music,” he tells beat on “She Was Right,” one of the BandWagon. “That’s what I try tracks from this year’s album Coyote to do. Even if there’s a hip-hop Cry, and “Mountain Time” could beat on a song, there will also be almost fit on Imagine Dragons’ latest some banjo or fiddle on it.” album. He even covers “Dreams,” In fact, Munsick isn’t sure he’d the Fleetwood Mac tune, which has blown up like dynamite on social be able to show his love for media (he swears he first played Eminem and, yes, Blink 182 if “Dreams” in 2018 before the days country music hadn’t already of TikTok). Even his more traditional laid the groundwork for the numbers, like his breakthrough ultra-contemporary direction “Horses Are Faster,” reveal a twinge in which it’s headed. He does of Blink 182 in his voice, which makes that in small doses, but the him laugh now because he believes pop influence is still definitely he’s matured since then. But Munsick there on Coyote Cry. His father, has something in his back pocket he said, didn’t care what he that may soothe all those traditional played, although deep down,

Munsick believes, his father wanted him to play country. He thinks he did too.

“At the end of the day, that’s the music that takes me home,” he says of country.

Home, for Munsick, is in Wyoming, where he grew up on a ranch. His father was a rancher by day and a musician by night. He brought his sons on stage with his band at an age when they could barely lift a pitchfork. Munsick doesn’t think his father was preparing him for a career in music — he even discouraged it at times, saying music should be an outlet, not a job — but his father also seemed to want that for his sons, Munsick said, even if he knew how hard it would be for them. It must have worked: Munsick’s brothers also have careers in music. “As a Dad, that’s the highlight of his life: being able to play with his boys on stage,” Munsick said. ‘That’s really why he did it. That’s about as special as it gets.”

Munsick loves Wyoming and bemoans the fact that he can think of only one country music star, Chris LeDoux, in the last 20 years who came from the Rocky Mountain region. He calls the region the most underrepresented in country music. “There’s not a lot of places more country than the Rocky Mountains, and yet we don’t have anyone representing it in mainstream radio,” he said. “There’s not a lot of tunes about the landscape or the lifestyle we live out here. That’s been my goal – to bring a piece of Wyoming with me. That region has given me tons of love the last few years.” So he may be buoyed by an enthusiastic Rocky Mountain crowd at the 99th annual Greeley Stampede this year, but even if that’s not the case, Munsick believes he can win them over.

“I do feel like just having the instrumentation that I do, the fiddle and banjo, I think that naturally draws an older crowd because those were the instruments of traditional country music. Honestly I think it’ll be great,” Munsick says. “Totally.”

Ian Munsick opens for Dwight Yoakam on July 1 at the 99th Annual Greeley Stampede, one of five concerts during the Stampede’s SuperStars Concert Series. The series runs from June 26 - July 4 at Island Grove Arena in Greeley. Other headlining acts include 3 Doors Down, TobyMac, Dylan Scott and Hardy with Lauren Alaina. Go to greeleystampede.org for more information and tickets

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Flobots:

Our Patriotism is Future-Facing BY GABE ALLEN

s footage of the capitol riots circulated online, Jamie Laurie, aka Jonny 5, watched with a unique kind of discomfort. A discomfort that stemmed from familiarity. Some of the rioters looked like they could have been at a Flobots concert circa 2008 — an era where the band’s merch was decorated with stars and stripes and their music was the soundtrack to protests against the Iraq war. Not one to stay silent during trying times, Laurie took to the band’s blog. “When we put on flag bandanas and declare ourselves new American insurgents, we are appealing to a very specific American lineage - to a path paved by abolitionists, suffragettes, freedom riders, labor unions, and movements of marginalized peoples building solidarity based in compassion.”

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Flobots’ music has always been political, but it’s not divisive. Instead of didactically dissecting a specific issue, the band taps into the emotional experiences that come along with it — shared trauma, competition, love. Take their platinum-selling single, “Handlebars.” The song that started it all, at its core, is a meditation on human potential.

“I can lead a nation with a microphone... and I can split the atom of a molecule.” But, in this political moment, Laurie felt that he needed to clarify something: Flobots did NOT stand for this. What do they stand for? When BandWagon caught up with the band, Stephen Brackett, aka Brer Rabbit, laid out the band’s most fundamental shared values. “Brass tax – everybody is human. Everybody should have access to love,” Brackett said. “If you’re going to insist on the humanity of all people then you will most likely make sure that you’re advocating for the people who’ve been excluded.” It is this philosophy that has cemented Flobots’ place in the pantheon of protest bands. They have sustained through the end of the Bush era, the Occupy movement and two major waves in the Black Lives Matter movement. Still, their music is relevant. This summer, Flobots will return to the stage after a winter of sparse, restricted concerts. On Saturday, June 5th, the band will give a

free concert at the Levitt Pavilion in Denver, and on Saturday, July 3rd, they will play their first ever show at the Mishawaka Amphitheatre in Bellvue. For Brackett, the prospect of stepping back into the spotlight is both nerve-wracking and electrifying. “The role that music can play is really amplified right now, because people are really realizing how much they miss it,” he said. “When people have that kind of longing, you have to make that connection happen. Which means, we have to step it up even more than before.” These shows will also be the testing ground for the new music that the band has put together over the past year. Their latest single “Me & You (Happy 2gether)” is an old crowd favorite cover/sample of The Turtles’ song with undeniable energy. In April they released “Roshni,” a call to action that features the words “together we rise” in more than a dozen languages. On the same day as Joe Biden’s inauguration, the band leaked a demo of “We Win the Day,” a hooky track about the collective power of people working towards change — however small each individual action might feel. “When every movement is digital, you could be fooled into thinking that you could be at the front lines of every movement every day. Especially during quarantine, that temptation felt strong,” Laurie said. “I would love for anyone who might feel overwhelmed or conflicted or confused right now to say, ‘Well, what is your role? What is your set of tools?’”

During the second year of his two-year term, he hopes to expand the concept of “music response teams,” throughout Colorado. The trial run of the program brought mental health professionals, peer mentors and bands together to combat the increased risk of suicide for teens during the pandemic in Brush, Colorado.

“We were able to use music as a delivery method for something that is very much needed right now,” Brackett said. “With the remainder of my tenure as the ambassador, I’m looking to put more of those systems in place.” After years of raising their voices publicly and marching in the streets, this is the kind of activism Flobots are most interested in now. As important as it is to fight for change, sometimes it is more important to create it. Brackett described the band’s maturing perspective by invoking Langston Hughes.

America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath— America will be!

Turning a phrase of his own, Brackett says: “Our patriotism is future-facing.”

For Flobots, it’s clear. Their “set of tools” is music. The band’s members co-founded Youth On Record, a nonprofit that connects at-risk youth with music education in Denver, in 2008. Last year, on the same day that Colorado’s stayat-home order went into effect, Brackett was appointed as the state’s music ambassador.

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For Life: Emily Nelson On The Drums

BY DAN ENGLAND mily Nelson made space in her life. She had a feeling the universe had something in mind.

After a divorce and years of running a chiropractic clinic, she enrolled at UNC, took a required ceramics class, and it clicked. Now she owns three kilns. Five years later, she had a double mastectomy. While regaining the use of her body at UNC’s cancer rehabilitation center, she went to her basement to play the drums again. She’s played music since she was 10. First piano, then self-taught drums in junior high and at Foursquare Community Church for years. During the marriage, she stashed her drums in the basement, along with her music career, and ran the clinic to make life work. Post-surgery seemed like a good time to play again, strengthening her soul as well as her body. She was in her mid-40s, and needed music to bring her back to life. “Music is life for me. I need to breathe,” Nelson says, preparing for a Greeley Blues Jam appearance with the Cast Iron Queens, an allwoman band founded by Denver blues diva Erica Brown. She met Brown, in fact, at a jam session sponsored by the Blues Jam people at the Moxi Theater. By then, she’d played the Greeley Arts Picnic with Alison Hamling, freed up her calendar and was back in the scene. She approached Brown that night and asked, or, really, demanded to jam with her - just because she was a fan of Brown’s. But as they did, Brown had something else in mind. “I didn’t know her from Adam’s housecat,” said Brown, who peppers her vocabulary with phrases like that, “but I turned around and just stared at her as she was playing the drums.” Brown then invited her to rehearse and Nelson knew that this was what the universe had in mind. “The drums were just an easy thing, a fun way to get healthy again,” Nelson said, “and a year later, Erica was there.” She thought: “I’m gonna kick ass, and I can now.”

Girl Power It probably wasn’t just Nelson’s drumming that got Brown’s attention. Her hair, a flurry of tight curls, reflect a little adorableness and a lot of unleashed fury. “I have a feminine spirit,” Nelson said. “There’s an energy. People tell me that all the time. By me being who I am supposed to be – more authentic with myself – it oozes that.” Feminine energy is probably what Brown sought for the Cast Iron Queens, and to her, fate has a lot to do with it – even the name. She heard the words “cast iron” and “queen” at a photoshoot and trademarked right away. “I was 15 kinds of shocked when I heard no one had tried to copyright it,” Brown said. “But it’s mine now – another thing telling me I’m on the right track.” The band has its own sound and they’ve written originals together, but everything Brown does is steeped in the blues. She has a Colorado Blues Society Lifetime Achievement Award. “I bring my blues sensibility to [the band] but we aren’t scared of anything,” Brown says, stating it’s as much fun as it is hard work. “This may sound pretentious, but no one will work as hard as I do,” said Brown, who still has a full-time job. “What I want is people who are willing to work as hard as I do. So we work like gangbusters.” Everyone in the band plays more than one instrument. Brown, in fact, will play snare drum for the first time at this year’s Blues Jam and broke out her flute for the first time in 40 years. Her daughter, MJ, sings with them too. The pandemic hit three months after

The Greeley Blues Jam starts with a downtown Greeley Friday Fest jam on June 4 and the all-day jam on June 5 at Island Grove. Visit greeleybluesjam.org for tickets and details.

Photo: Peggy Dyer

their first gig (a sold-out show at Dazzle) but they got some widespread exposure as a result of streaming opportunities and wrote new material. ‘’We have a couple songs no one’s ever heard yet,” Brown said, “and they are GOOD.”

Feminine Energy Nelson felt a groove like never before at that sold-out Dazzle show, describing it in an “R-rated” way, dropping several F-bombs to capture the raw, electric empowerment she felt. So the COVID shut-down was a bummer, but it made her realize that the band was more than a way to express herself: It was a family. And she needed one. Nelson lost her mother to COVID. “Just the way they were,” Nelson said through tears. “So supportive. I’m so grateful to have Erica in my life. She is a mother figure to me and there’s something to that feminine energy. It’s a beautiful combination. We are all so different, and Erica can be intimidating in the best way, but we are a band of just – fierce females.” Nelson has banished the touch of imposter syndrome she felt playing with seasoned musicians. The cancer, or perhaps the universe, helped her. “I would like to think I would have been able to jam with Erica that night anyway,” Nelson said. “But cancer gave me a reason not to be paralyzed by perfectionism. I could just fucking get out there and do it.” She internalized stress for years, literally making her sick. Now she releases it through music. She calls it feeding your soul, and having a heart space, but she hopes others call it inspiring. “I feel like we all do that in different ways,” Nelson said of inspiration. “For me, it’s: ‘Is it perfect? No.’ But is it possible? Yes. It’s never too late.”