MUSICMARAUDERS

Words By J-man The self-titled debut album from Grant Farm could come at no better time. With the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom, spring overtakes Colorado with warmer days and longer nights. While many younger folks turn towards electronic music and DJ's, Grant Farm reminds us what it is to create music utilizing instrumentation and well-honed skills. "I Come From The Country," seems a perfect fit to open the album, eluding to the roots of Grant Farm. The track features Keith Moseley (String Cheese Incident) on bass and Andy Thorn (Emmitt-Nershi Band) on electric banjo. The band's characteristic "Cris-co" (country/disco) sound is enough to move even the novice string music fan. The next track, "The Times Have Changed," eludes to life lessons over a bright composition, before Tyler Grant dismantles the guitar. "Engineer" starts with the tempo and feel of a train song and unfolds with some great fills and vocal harmonies. "Tell Me, Te...

Words By Chris Pandolfi ( Infamous Stringdusters ) Just like that, Earl has moved on. As the music world (from NPR to Pitchfork) commemorates the endless accomplishments of this rare genius, it’s clear that we’ve lost a ‘once in a lifetime’ musical figure, and there is so much to be in awe of. But as I sit here blasting ‘Get In Line Brother’ on my home stereo, I’m just in awe of what it feels like to be a banjo player at this moment in time. It’s so heavy–sadness, celebration, gratitude, inspiration, amazement, etc. I literally have no idea what I would be doing with my life right now if it wasn’t for Earl Scruggs. It’s a powerful and humbling realization. So today I’m immersed in the beauty of his art and his influence, reveling in the joys of music and community, experiencing a newfound appreciation for what Earl’s done for me and for us all. I have always loved bluegrass and the banjo, but it’s just never looked quite like it does now. Earl was a living legend, long revered as the m...

Words By Nicholas Stock Dance powerhouse Euforquestra is at it again with their first live release entitled Let Us In . Comprised of recordings taken from their former home in Iowa City and Fort Collins where the band currently resides. The album consists of tracks handpicked by the members of the band. Let Us In is a great example of what I’ve come to expect seeing Euforquestra live, with songs that span the entirety of their catalog. It also contains some amazing covers thrown in for good measure. Opening with their now classic instrumental “Medicine Bow Run”, originally off their first album The Adventures Of Glen Devey , it is a spacey rendition bouncing between psychedelic funk and hard hitting breaks for the full twelve minute take. Without missing a beat the band seamlessly segues into a breezy version of The Beatles “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” that sees some smooth guitar work form Mike Tallman while bassist Ben Soltau holds it all down. They bring out the reggae...

Highland Tap & Burger Denver, CO Words By J-man Photos By Carly Marthis Audio Recording By Ed Simon Video By Ryan Garrett Textiles Live at Highland Tap & Burger on March 21, 2012. Set One: Spearhead à Jam à Spearhead, Grapplejack, Mindbank à Startin Somethin, Decepticon Set Two: National Anthem, Sloppy Secondline > Baccarat à Sloppy Secondline, Aesthetic Hypnosis, Roads (Portishead), Twin Peaks Theme, Signed Sealed Delivered, Suga Lumps, Outro The Highland Tap & Burger has become the home of free music on Wednesdays in Denver. Occupying most of those nights is typically The Garrett Sayers Trio, but when the GST is out if town, a house-sitter of sorts is brought in to watch over and captivate the consistent/loyal fans. Last Wednesday Pete Wall's Textiles made their debut at the Tap, bringing with them a four piece, a live painter and a plethora of gear. Excitement built as the magnitude of their production became evident. Not only was Textiles there to contribute to...

Words By Nicholas Stock Long before Jason Hann and even Kyle Hollingsworth called themselves members of String Cheese Incident, Michael Kang, Bill Nershi, Keith Moseley and Michael Travis were slogging it out in the Rocky Mountains. Formed in the far west town of Crested Butte, what began as a series of random musical encounters, has evolved into a jam institution. Not much is really known about the early days and what is written references their light gigging and playing mountainside shows for lift tickets. In fact, while I was working as a stock footage coordinator I came across some vintage footage from CBMR and put together a short video. In a 1998 interview with Keith, he states, “We were a four piece in the very beginning, started in Crested Butte, Colorado – where we were all ski bumming it… (We) started doing some après skis and happy hour stuff and we decided we might be able to make a career out of this if we got serious about it.” And that’s exactly what they did; over the n...

Words By J-man "What should I name this fucking thing?" I asked myself in the midst of a joint in my Upstate, NY apartment. "It's got to be something with just 'Music'in the title. Nothing more specific than that, as we'll be covering a wide variety of genres." One more drag on the joint yielded the memory of driving down Woodward Ave. in Detroit, listening to Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders. "MusicMarauders! That's it... It completely encompasses what we do in the sense the we are 'maraudering' or 'pillaging' for music," I thought as I stared out of the window at about three and a half feet of fresh Upstate snow. First things first, the domain had to be registered. "Do I have ten dollars in my account?" I thought to myself from a position of just scraping by. Pulling out my shiny, rarely used debit card, I put it to the test and was able to secure MusicMarauders.com. "What's next?" I ...

The Ogden Theatre Denver, CO Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock St. Patty’s Day, the drinkingest day of the year, was also night two of Galactic’s Paddy Gras run at The Ogden in Denver. Smeared shamrocks on the faces of the bleary-eyed patrons acted as the unofficial war paint for the evening, as the sea of green filled in for the sold out show. Shirts adorned with leprechauns, pot leafs and various shades of emerald were the informal jersey of the dance battle, which I was immediately confronted with upon entering. DJ Logic was on stage spinning his brand of jazzy funk-infused house music while kids were break dancing on the floor. Logic is an interesting cat; he is known for sitting in with numerous bands from the John Popper Project to Widespread Panic. He gained notoriety at the inaugural Bonnaroo by performing with over a dozen artists and filled the role of the DJ at large in a big way. Logic spun for close to an hour keeping fans happy as the show got underway. Los Angeles-bas...

The Ogden Theatre Denver, CO Words & Photos By J-man The stage was set for a celebration of music from a fantastic mix of talent! Two nights of Galactic at The Ogden Theatre would welcome a solid turn out boasting a wide variety of people! Old, young, white, black; it didn't matter, Galactic was in town. DJ Logic: I rotated around Logic from the floor as the venue filled in and people danced their Friday night away. His first set was fairly club-oriented and did little to interest or entice my musical palate. His second set however, as a tweener transitioning from ALO to Galactic was fantastic. Logic dug deep into his side bag of records to pull out some old school jazz, funk and soul. I found myself heavily entertained as I danced in the distance. www.djlogic.com Animal Liberation Orchestra: That night would mark my first time seeing ALO. From what I had heard prior, they seemed to blend alt rock with a little bit of fusion. What ALO brought that night was a straight pop-rock ...

Roseland Ballroom New York, NY Words By J-man The roar of the crowd is enough to send shivers down the spine of any Blind Melon fan and with the opening notes of "I wonder," our earthly thoughts disappear into thin air. Shannon Hoon's characteristically raspy vocals wailed, interrupted only by the sound of screaming women before the band took off. What followed was a quintisential rock show, featuring four chord rhythms intertwined with melodic oddities, intriguing hooks and lyrics that many youth could relate to directly. Blind Melon Live at Roseland Ballroom on February 17, 1994. Set: I Wonder, Tones of Home, Time, Holy Man, Deserted, Dear Ol' Dad, Change, No Rain, Seed to a Tree, Paper Scratcher, Walk, Candy Says "I only wanted to be 16... and free..." Shannon said, triggering an instrumental push that rides out to the end of the song. The band immediately went into fan favorite, "Tones of Home," with Shannon's voice shinning brightly. As w...

Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom Denver, CO Words By J-man Photos By J-man & Carly Marthis Video By Carly Marthis The festival scene's golden boy, Zach Deputy, returned to Denver for an odd opening set slot at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom. Prior to the show we met with Zach in his greenroom for an interview/unplugged session. Following the session I introduced Zach to Pete Wall (Textiles, Game 7) who would be sitting in on Zach's set. Shortly after the 9:00 hour, Zach took the stage to a moderate crowd. The set began with looping perfection. The production of what was coming off of the stage was fantastic. Not only was the quality great, but the fullness of what the crowd was hearing pleased them to no end. Cervantes quickly filled in with young folks dancing their asses off! About half way through the set Pete was called to the stage to sit in on one song, however, deep down, I knew it would be more. The jam eased in with Zach laying down the layers. Then slowly, Pete came...

October 6th, 1996 Mishawaka Amphitheatre Bellevue, CO Words By J-man Excitement runs rampant at MusicMarauders, but our previous excitement pails in comparison to how we feel about our newest column. For me personally, my first psychedelic experiences revolved around SCI and I met the love of my life at String Cheese Incident's three day Red Rocks 2010 run! Cheese runs through my veins and as I try to do this column justice, I think back to the beginning of the band, to a time that seems long past... String Cheese Incident Live at Mishawaka Amphitheatre on October 6, 1996. Set 1: Soundcheck Jam, Wake Up, Chili Dawg, Hold What You Got, Unconditional Love, Lester Had a Coconut, Lonesome Fiddle Blues, Take A Little Time, High on a Mountain Top, Remington Ride > Mouna Bowa > I Know You Rider Set 2: Unavailable This show properly reflects both the quirky humor and high energy levels of the early years and provides an interesting perspective as to how the band's name came to b...