Modern Suspects - 'Just Watch Me'

The new single from Modern Suspects is out today! Be sure to check out 'Just Watch Me' here on iTunes.

I'll be performing this song with the Suspects all around the Colorado area over the next few months and, hopefully, in the days to come, all across the planet. Be sure to tune-in to these guys, follow them on social media, and dig on their music as they continue to release it. And if you can catch us at a live show, I guarantee that you'll have a good time!

But, for now, here's to Garrett, Bart, and Tyler and the release of their new single!

My first night at the Gothic, a retrospective. OR, "Some Things Never Change".

"Alright, you ready?" I ask, looking at Garrett. He nods.

"You?" Looking over at Bart now, and then Tyler, and then Joel.

And with a nod of affirmation from all four bandmates, I press play on the backing tracks. Here goes nothing.

And there it is: the click track and electronic drumbeat that signals the beginning of 'Told You So', our first song of the night. Too distant for my taste, but our rushed get-the-other-band-off-and-get-our-own-stuff-on setup was just a step or two away from being a total nightmare and the tech wasn't thrilled about having to run our in-ear monitors, anyway. The tracks and click are quiet, but it's nothing I can't handle.

The band kicks after the requisite first four bars, and everything seems to be alright. Not great, but alright. And then, Garrett starts singing.

The prevailing theory post-show is that the monitor guy got his channels switched around and Garrett's mix was now coming in through my monitor line. Meaning, of course, that his voice was now screaming over everything else in my lame excuse for a hastily thrown together monitor mix.

I adjust my wireless pack's onboard volume. Garrett's voice drops, mercifully, but, so does the click track. Uh-oh. Time to dial-up the focus.

Nevermind that I can't really hear my kick drum (staying strong on my all-time top 5 pet peeves list) or even my toms from time to time. It feels like I'm playing with no real feel at all; no real sense of enjoyment of what I'm playing. I'm just kinda going through the motions, playing what I know needs to be played and trying to find a few spots to shine. It feels like I'm a noob up there, playing to a packed house at the Gothic Theatre for my very first time.

It's become obvious fairly soon into the set that this is definitely not going to be some of the most fun I've ever had playing drums.

But, half an hour later, almost everybody seems to have been really into it. Good crowd reaction (they have to tell me, because I wasn't really able to tell from behind the chaotic cacophony that was my in-ear mix). The guys from the other bands have nothing but nice things to say. And the Suspects themselves are psyched that our first show at the Gothic seems to have gone over really, really well.

Ain't that just the way of things.

I can't remember how many times I've come off the stage frustrated about this thing or that thing only to be told that the show as amazing. Just like I can't remember how many times (many, many fewer times, I assure you) I've been psyched about a performance, feeling like I was in the pocket and in command the entire time, only to hear crickets afterwards (aside from the perfunctory "Good show, man" that seems to be more of an acknowledgement that I made it out alive rather than anything related to my competency on the instrument).

Ah, well. Some things never change, I guess. I suppose it will probably forever and always be a quest of mine to finally play that show where both the crowd and the band feel like a show was all that it could be. Maybe one day. We'll see. Until then, I'll just rest contented with the facts that Modern Suspects' trajectory seems to be more-or-less consistently upward since I was asked to join and that I can now check the Gothic Theatre off of my list of Denver venues at which to perform. Not many more left until Red Rocks.

Here's hoping, anyway.

The Summer of Sound (Part I)

Summer 2015: the season that is.

In between the sometimes-gratifying, too-often-frustrating DIY home projects my wife and I have been getting ourselves into, the family wedding that now stands at less than a week away, and the numerable one-off gigs I've been able to be a part of, I've found myself neck deep in work with both Modern Suspects and Hillary Hand. As I've written about already, the Suspects have been crushing the summer festival scene here in Colorado, and we're not even close to finished with it yet. Hillary has put together a new band since releasing the EP we've been working on for the past few months, and I'm thrilled to report that our sound going forward - like the record itself - is definitely something of which people are going to want to take note. The work this season has been great. Busy and hectic, yes, but great. I am fortunate beyond words to get to work with the musicians I do.

But in addition to all of that stuff I've been doing myself, there's another aspect to this summer that can't go unmentioned (read: 'unblogged'). Summer is concert season, after all. And, given the number of performances I've been able to absorb lately, 2015 might just take its place as the single best year of live performances I've ever experienced.

Zac Brown Band @ Coors Field

My wife and I began our summer hijinks by attending the first-ever live music performance in the history of Denver's Coors Field (recognized more widely, of course, for being the home field of the Colorado Rockies). Now, granted, my wife didn't exactly know we were going to this show: I used it as an opportunity to surprise her for her birthday (which was a few days afterward). The Zac Brown Band brought its own unique and spectacular brand of country music to town that night, and given both the event's historical significance as well as it's taking place during Independence Day Weekend, the band delivered...

...and delivered seriously.

To put it mildly, these cats can play, and they've used the past few years to carve out an altogether unique identity for themselves in the midst of a genre that continues to grow ever more rote & generic. ZBB shows are packed with musicality, genuine patriotism, and an ever-so-unexpected set of cover tunes that all meet up to create a fast-paced and energetic roller coaster of a performance. It's hard to imagine that many other contemporary bands come close to this level of showmanship.

Rush lights up the audience @ Pepsi Center

A handful of days later saw Rush's R40 tour grace the Pepsi Center. In what is probably going to be the trio's final performance in Denver (as Neil Peart is starting to show symptoms of arthritis in his hands and elbows), the band delivered a true retrospective: beginning their show with selections from their most recent Clockwork Angels release and proceeding systematically backwards through their 40-year career, all the way to a final encore featuring the song Working Man, the band's first-ever single. As the show progressed backwards in time, the music, the stage setup, the instruments, and even the lights progressed with them: the songs from the '80s featured laser lighting, those from the '70s dry ice snaking across the stage. Even Peart's drum kit got a facelift during the intermission, and the second half showcased the legend on a set built to look like the one he played on records like Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves.

 

The Rush show served as a celebration of a four-decades-long career that has seen one of the most unique and masterful bands in rock 'n' roll not only survive, but thrive, despite their rejection by popular radio and print media. Rush has proved for more years than I've been alive that great music has staying power because people really do want to hear it. There are those who, despite the entrapment and allurements of mediocre & redundant pop culture, still want to be blown away by the music they choose to listen to.

And, to wrap up the first half of our summer concert series, my wife and I took in another performance by the great Bruce Hornsby at Denver' Botanic Gardens. The setting for shows like this is about as informal as it gets, with concertgoers situated all around the stage on a small amphitheater-style lawn. There are no significant stage elements to speak of (in terms of lights or pyrotechnics or what have you), so the music truly becomes the star of the show. And there are few artists more suited to headline such a show than Bruce Hornsby.

Hornsby's sets are notoriously casual & jazzy, with the man himself calling out tunes to the band as they go, signaling for solos and endings, and doing his best to put on a 100% unique performance each and every night. There are no set lists or predetermined arrangements, so whatever the audience is getting, they can rest assured it's a show like no other. The informal setting of the Botanic Gardens fit Hornsby's performance style perfectly, and, as always, he showcased his magnificent songwriting, virtuosic playing, and almost infinitely broad sense of musical appreciation in a way that leads one to think he might still be in his artistic prime.

Bruce Hornsby's stage @ Denver Botanic Gardens

It's a huge breath of fresh air for me to partake of performances like these. They serve not only as awe-inspiring experiences in and of themselves, but also as reminders that all is not lost when it comes to the condition of music in the 21st century (from either the standpoint of a musician or fan). To try a metaphor: in a world seemingly obsessed with novels written for 15-year-olds, it's good to know that we still have the work of  Neil Gaiman, Dennis Lehane, and Cormac McCarthy to read, appreciate, and celebrate.

It's good to see marvelous music still doing well amidst what seems like an overwhelming onslaught of petty & disingenuous pap. It's good to know that real musicians are still out there getting it done. It's good to know that there are other people still interested in hearing the best they can get their ears on.

So the summer of sound continues. There are more shows to play and more shows to attend coming up next month, and then...

....well, then, I'll be on a tour of my own.

But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, shall we?

~

The Most Important Thing To Remember About Playing FESTIVALS

....something's gonna go wrong.

Always. Without a doubt. Set your watch by it. Count on it. Take it to the bank.

Something's not going to work. Something's going to break. Something's not going to get checked. Something won't sound right. Somebody won't hear everything. Everybody won't hear something.

Something.

Something's going to go wrong.

Unless you're fortunate enough to be the headliner of the event and you happen to get that nice, cozy sound check 7 hours before you even take the stage to perform, just plan on everything not quite functioning at 100%.

Festivals are cool events. Loads of people come out (potential fans), there are usually a ton of sponsors at the event (people to network with), there are other cool bands playing (more people to network with), and all the extracurricular activities are usually pretty great, too (I just had one of the absolute best Philly cheesesteak sandwiches I've ever had... and if you know me, you know that means something).

Bart gettin' it with Modern Suspects.

But, inevitably, with so many bands, so much gear, a tight schedule, and so many things that could potentially go wrong, something will almost certainly actually go wrong.

Such is the lesson I've been learning recently playing with the guys in Modern Suspects. They've booked their summer solid with awesome festival gigs up and down the front range here in Colorado, but getting to play so many great events carries with it the unenviable price tag of festival participation: having to expect the unexpected and to perform in less-than-optimal conditions, 'cause something's about to go nutty.

Our crowd at the Taste of Ft. Collins festival

Thankfully, the guys in the band know the set well enough that they can still throw down pretty hard in the midst of the distractions and frustrations. This past weekend at the Taste of Ft. Collins festival stands as another example of this timeless lesson. As always, the show must go on, and it did, and it ended up being a pretty great afternoon for us. We only had to cut a song or two from our planned set list (unlike our previous festival experience at the Denver Day of Rock where, due to inclement weather and abnormally hefty traffic density in downtown Denver, we only got to perform 50% of our set), and I'm pretty sure the FOH (front of house) sound tech was able to get everything running through the system that needed to be there. Of course, there was no line check on the drums (which means that I had to play the whole gig without being able to really hear my kick drum... definitely in the top ten of my pet peeves), but I still managed to have a great time with the rest of the guys.

So make sure to get yourself out to one of the festival performances they've got lined up over the course of the next few months.

The Westword Music Showcase is next up (this weekend), and I'm sure something technical will go haywire there, too. (And you know you don't want to miss the opportunity to see what it happens this time.)

~

Stuff Goin' On

So, as should be the case with blogs like this, I feel compelled to inform everyone about what I've got going on these days. Musically, that is. (After all, this is supposed to be a music blog, right?)

Truth be told, I've got several irons in the fire that I am really excited about, so I'm gonna take some time to let you all in on them.

First of all, the incomparable Hillary Hand has an EP coming out in about a week that I can't wait for everyone to hear. We've been working on it for several months now (well, Hillary and her producer have been working on it for months... I basically just jumped in & out whenever I was needed) and the finished product is something truly great. It's definitely one of my favorite projects that I've ever been a part of: the songs are awesome, the arrangements & instrumentation are awesome, and getting the opportunity to form a rhythm section with the legendary Matt Bissonette is all kinds of awesome. I'll definitely be posting all about it both here and on my Fbook when the EP drops, so be ready. There are some other exciting things coming up for Hillary in the near future, as well, so stay tuned-in to everything she's got going on.

I've also been performing along with one of the Colorado music scene's most notable up-and-coming bands, Modern Suspects. They recently released an EP of their own and sought me out to help them perform the songs live. (I know, I know.... what in the world could they have been thinking?) Truthfully, though, this
has been a great experience already in the first couple months that I've been working with the guys and we've got a slew of shows & festivals coming up all across the front range. If you're in the area, be sure to connect with them and come out to a show. The Suspects have been getting some radio play here, too, and are really close to cracking into some of those larger markets, so it probably won't be long before you're hearing their stuff all over the place.

Oh, yeah... there's also this.

The North American dates haven't been posted yet and I haven't gotten the call to go to Europe, but... come September, I will be on the road for at least some of Alex G's first solo tour. So, please, make sure you come and check out a show. Especially if you happen to live in places like Canada or San Diego or anywhere on the east coast. It's been too long since I've gotten to play for all of you.

Anyway... that's what's going on these days and I'm going to try to keep things nice 'n' updated here on the blog. Keep tuning in, my friends. I'm hoping to see every last one of you very, very soon.

~