Skip to main content

Springdale Quartet "Heist"


Words By Brad Yeakel (Opti Mystic Outlooks)

Boulder's Springdale Quartet have been one of my favorite bands in Colorado since the first time I saw them. Their blend of sophisticated jazz-funk had more muscle than other similar acts. Months ago, I heard they were recording an album with Soulive's Alan Evans as producer and I was anxious to hear the results. "Heist" began with the title track, guitarist Ben Waligoske and key player Chase Terzian began laying down a groove that felt a little reserved to me at first. Waligoske's guitar normally soared a little more than the tune acknowledged, though by the end of the song, the tension had built, and the action picked up.

"Anniversary" has been a part of their live shows over the last year, and featured the first glimpse of Waligoske's shredding. The combination of searing tone and rapid playing created an explosive energy that was relentless. "Charlee Jean" had the feel of a sigh of relief as a grooving bass line sat below sparse keys. The Guitar soared like a base jumper. One big step and it was off amongst the clouds. From the aerial view, the dance-provoking jazz accompaniment dropped sonic landscapes of texture and tone below. "Norg (Underwater)" had a mellow groove that rolled in waves of energy bursts. At certain points the guitar would lead the way to lofty peaks as the organ laid in psychedelic backdrops. The jam was slightly murky and had echo/reverb effects that were serene, aquatic, and visceral... The overall effect, that of "funk to snorkel by."

"IBM 22" was a favorite track of mine. I'd heard it live on a few occasions, and have always loved Jordan Roos' disco-funk bass groove. It was old school and funkalicious. The explosive bursts of guitar in this song were more reminiscent of the energy spikes in a live performance by the Quartet than the rest of the album. "Cubicons" reminded me a lot of Medeski, Scofield, Martin, and Wood at times. The progressions in this song seemed to be relatively tame by SQ's standards, but the track added to the big picture by providing some contrast to the plethora of progressive jazz mania that dominated the record.

"Boomer" jumped from the gate and Ben's guitar once again took command, leading the band through part jazz, part rock, part haunting territory as they made their way back to the hook. The haunting section had the vibe of an incredibly innovative and viscious jam that may have been my favorite part of the album. "Say It Ain't So" wasn't a surprise to Springdale's regular crowd, as their instrumental take has been a crowd favorite for a while, but it was nice to hear a polished and mastered recording of the classic. Chase's organ work laid the foundation of their version, and once again Benny crushed it when it counted.

"Escape" was the denouement, and gently let me down as Heist faded into the night like a whisper in the wind. The falling action was needed after such a dynamic album. It also helped solidify the concept. From it's timid beginning to it's airy ending, the album could have been just like a real heist. Quietly sneaking into the museum, taking out the guards, lifting famous paintings, and slipping away quietly, never to be caught. From cryptic song titles to action-packed musical themes, Heist had excellent continuity. Alan Evans did a fantastic job of bringing some of his soul to the project and highlighting the Quartet's talents. Pick up a copy of Heist, and listen to the Quartet getting away with it.

www.springdalequartet.net

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Livetronica Sampler 3.22.11

Words by Greg Molitor ( ReMIND Photography ) Ozric Tentacles This British group has proven innovative throughout the years offering a space-rock meets psytrance sound that remains alive to this day. Though never having a major record label, Ozric Tentacles has produced 28 albums of diverse psychedelia throughout its career. The band met at the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1983 and truly fathered livetronica music with its use of sequencers and synthesizers. Simply put, there would be no livetronica without Ozric Tentacles. www.ozrics.com Octopus Nebula Colorado’s Octopus Nebula has certainly hit its stride as of late with its constant touring and increased festival interest. The group expands on the deep sounds of highly regarded acts such as STS9 and Shpongle but also carves a path of its own with its fresh takes on synthesizer tones and sampling in the live setting. Octopus Nebula Live at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom on March 26, 2010. <--- Direct Archive Link www.octopus

Buckethead: Gimmick or Guitar God?

Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock ( phatphlogblog.blogspot.com ) At what point does the gimmick overshadow the performance? The obvious answer is Buckethead. The man is an amazing guitarist but something is not right in this world. The idea a performer who dons a KFC chicken bucket on his head for a concert has always intrigued me, and some of his side projects such as Colonel Claypool’s Bernie Bucket of Brains have been huge successes. However his performance last weekend in Fort Collins simply left me perplexed. From his robotic dancing, to his nunchuck display, to the fact the he performed with an iPod rather than a band all added to my confusion. Going into the show I was ready to be blown away, despite rumblings of disgruntled fans from the previous night’s show at The Gothic. Buckethead had had some sound issues and some missed cues in Denver but I was still trying to be positive for the show in Fort Collins. It did go off without a hitch technically but that was the least

The Origin of MusicMarauders

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