2013 UMS Band Interviews #9

Atomga Afrobeat Denver

Where/ When are you playing for the UMS?
We are playing Brendan’s 404 Friday, July 19th at 7:00 p.m.







In twenty-five words or less, describe what somebody who has never heard of your band might expect from your performance at UMS this year.
We could talk all day about hypnotic rhythms, horns, and percussion, but for now, we will just tell you that we play dance music.

(that gets your ass shaking)

What was the first music you remember using your own money to buy?
On my way to Colorado Honor Band in high school, I would ALWAYS stop at the old Twist & Shout location or Tower records and peruse music. Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe - The Bridge is a memorable one because it was one of the first albums I bought that dabbled in jazz, funk, afrobeat, and jam elements, which is probably the majority of stuff I listen to these days.

What has been your favorite album of 2013 so far?
It may sound generic, but Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience and Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories crush!

Do you have any advice for new bands?
Be your own biggest advocate.

Have you planned out who you want to see at UMS this year? Who are some of your highlights?
We’re definitely planning on checking out Go Star, Jaden Carlson, Paa Kow’s By All Means Band, Pink Hawks and Trichome, but we’re definitely excited to walk around and see who we randomly discover at the festival.

If you've been to UMS before, what three words would you use to describe it?
Eclectic, inspiring, ridiculous.

What has been your most memorable experience at UMS to date?
After moving from Greeley/Fort Collins to Denver, the UMS was overwhelming (in the best of ways) to see how vibrant Denver’s music scene is and begin making connections with all of the bands down this way. Saying we have a good thing going on in Colorado is an understatement.

Any tips you'd like to give the novices for making the UMS experience even better?
Go with the flow and have a damn good time!

Is there any place you're looking forward to eating during UMS?
There’s never a bad time to stop for a slice at Famous Pizza. Yum.

What is your favorite shop on South Broadway?
We can’t name just one favorite--walking around and stopping in random shops is pretty awesome. I’m definitely partial to old book stores and antique stores.

Who is your all time favorite Colorado band?
There are so many--The Motet and Big Gigantic definitely have it going on and big local shout outs go to Kinetix, Trichome, Hamhock, Abstract Collective and so many others!

You're working the counter at Twist & Shout, and a customer is interested in expanding his music collection. What three albums would you recommend?
Umphrey’s McGee (any live album or complilation)

Steely Dan - Aja
Femi Kuti - Africa for Africa

Bud Bronson & The Good Timers

Where/ When are you playing for the UMS?
They put us with the rock & roll die-hards of Denver up at Brendan's 404, formerly Denver Wheel Club, on Thursday night. We play with Warhawk, Blood Boilers, The Matildas and our pals the Kinky Fingers.



We go on second-to-last at 11:00 PM. The fires of hell are gunna consume Brendan's 404 by the time we're all done.

In twenty-five words or less, describe what somebody who has never heard of your band might expect from your performance at UMS this year.
We are the next-door neighbors who help mow your lawn before turning your garage into an inferno of six-string-stars-and-bars rock & roll carnage.

What was the first music you remember using your own money to buy?
Brian's was Surrender by the Chemical Brothers. Luke's was Master of Puppets by Metallica. Andrew's was probably something by The Impossibles and Austen's was the radio-edit version of Enema of the State by Blink 182.

What has been your favorite album of 2013 so far?
Brian's is Illumination Ritual by the Appleseed Cast, Austen’s is How Did I End Up Here? by ScaTTer GaTHer, Luke’s is Fly by Lettuce and Andrew didn’t respond to the e-mail.

Do you have any advice for new bands?
Join us or die.

Have you planned out who you want to see at UMS this year? Who are some of your highlights?
Dirty Few + Party Hard at the Hi-Dive on Friday night is going to be hell on Earth.

If you've been to UMS before, what three words would you use to describe it?
Golfing with dad

Is there any place you're looking forward to eating during UMS?
Famous Pizza.

Who is your all time favorite Colorado band?
John Denver is the easy choice, but we gotta go with Liberty because Luke's dad played pedal steel for them before getting kicked out for being too much of a loose cannon.

You're working the counter at Twist & Shout, and a customer is interested in expanding his music collection. What three albums would you recommend?
The Snake, The Cross & the Crown: Cotton Teeth

Titus Andronicus: The Monitor
D’Angelo: Ultimate

Is there anything we forgot to ask you about the UMS that you think people need to know?
This is the best festival in Colorado because we own it! For us, by us! Sponsored by FUBU. Come out and support it and be a part of it. We need you like water in our lungs. Denver is awesome and we're all lucky to be here. The UMS proves that civic pride is alive and well in 2013.

Pythian Whispers
Where/ When are you playing for the UMS?
At Eslinger Gallery (118 S. Broadway), 9PM, Saturday.

In twenty-five words or less, describe what somebody who has never heard of your band might expect from your performance at UMS this year.
Dark, atmospheric mostly instrumental music and visuals that resonate well with weird horror and science fiction movies. We will be playing entirely material for our new album.

What was the first music you remember using your own money to buy?
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

What has been your favorite album of 2013 so far?

Flaming Lips - The Terror. Or Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest.

Do you have any advice for new bands?

Follow the path of your inspiration even if what you do kinda sucks for a while. Most great things didn't start off great out the gates. Explore where you creativity takes you and don't aim for being in some genre or trying to be commercial or trying to be weird. Do what you do. If that means you write very catchy, poppy music, and it comes naturally from you, great. If you do something that alienates most people but it makes you happy? Great. But be willing to take feedback gracefully and in context meaning consider the source and the possibility that person may be in a great mood. Play shows with artists that aren't like you but that you like. Nothing's more boring than a music scene where everyone that is in a certain realm of music only goes to see and supports a related style of music.

Have you planned out who you want to see at UMS this year? Who are some of your highlights?
The line-up is so overwhelmingly vast that I will decide day of the events except for Saturday at Eslinger gallery from 3PM onward. That all looks great. Also, 2PM on July 20, the final Vicious Women show. Wouldn't want to miss that. Or Emerald Siam and Pale Sun on July 21st.

If you've been to UMS before, what three words would you use to describe it?

Comprehensive local festival.

What has been your most memorable experience at UMS to date?

Seeing Wheelchair Sports Camp at Compound Basix in 2012. And Shabazz Palaces.

Any tips you'd like to give the novices for making the UMS experience even better?

Bring water. Check out a bit of everything. Make an effort to see things you've never heard of or have never seen. Even if you end up not liking it at least you took a chance and no learning or finding out about something new and interesting happens without taking that risk.

Is there any place you're looking forward to eating during UMS?

There won't be time to think about this too much. Possibly that hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant east of Broadway on Ellsworth.

What is your favorite shop on South Broadway? 

Mutiny Now.

Who is your all time favorite Colorado band?

Ye Olde Skuel: The Fluid. The 90s: Twice Wilted. Turn of Century Decade: Bright Channel. Das Neu Skool: Echo Beds. It's really hard to choose.

You're working the counter at Twist & Shout, and a customer is interested in expanding his music collection.  What three albums would you recommend?

20 Jazz Funk Greats by Throbbing Gristle. Jazz in Silhouette by Sun Ra. Red State by Gowns.

Is there anything we forgot to ask you about the UMS that you think people need to know?

It's a great festival where people have taken the time out to put together something that really does encompass a broad spectrum of what is happening in Denver. Not to mention excellent out of town bands. If you want to, you can discover something you'll love somewhere at this festival some time if you do your homework a little because the venues and what's going on there wasn't accidental.



Samuel Lee
Where/ When are you playing for the UMS?
I'll be playing at the Hornet at midnight on thursday night!

In twenty-five words or less, describe what somebody who has never heard of your band might expect from your performance at UMS this year.

A modern take on classic style American rock'n'roll. Anthemic choruses, soulful melodies, folksy charm and a lot of Sam Lee sweat.

What was the first music you remember using your own money to buy?

If memory serves, it was either disc two (album sides 3 & 4) of The Grateful Dead's Steal Your Face, or it was Lynyrd Skynyrd's greatest hits Skynyrd's Innyrds. With a few exceptions, I really didn't get into music that was made after I was born until after I graduated high school.

What has been your favorite album of 2013 so far?
Sam Lee's Raise Your Flag is beyond a shadow of a doubt this year's biggest musical haymaker!
Seriously though, I haven't yet found a record that I've latched on to this year. I did listen to Hanson's new one the other day though, and it's pretty spectacular.

Do you have any advice for new bands?

The silver bullet is gone. What I mean by that is that, the days when getting discovered, signed to a label, and subsequently skyrocketing into the celebrity stratosphere are over. Write a lot of songs, craft a memorable live show, engage with your fans at every turn, put together the very best sounding record that you possibly can, and become a brand that is attractive both in its grandeur and in its authenticity.

Have you planned out who you want to see at UMS this year? Who are some of your highlights?
Here's a tentative itinerary:
Thursday: Input & Bonnie and the Beard. I play at 11:59 at the Hornet
Friday: The Raven and the Writing Desk (missed them last year), The Knew, The Yawpers & Bop Skizzum.
Saturday: Katey Laurel, Jaden Carlson Band, Holly Lovell, Roniit, Attic Attack, iZCALLI, Sarah and the Meanies, The Epilogues, Dan Tedesco, The Dendrites, Chris Heckman & The Hate
Sunday: Medic, Megan Burtt, Sean Waldron, Rachel and the Kings, Brave Song Circle, Eldren, Reviving Cecilia, Sarah Slaton, Baywood, Foxfield Four, Caleb Slade, In The Whale, Petals of Spain, Rob Drabkin, Born in the Flood, Monroe Monroe, Post Paradise, John Common, Places & The Foot

If you've been to UMS before, what three words would you use to describe it?

Exhausting, Supportive, ignominious (it's ok, you can look that last one up)

What has been your most memorable experience at UMS to date?
Watching Chris Heckman of the Epilogues demolish a water-logged guitar on the main stage two years ago.

Any tips you'd like to give the novices for making the UMS experience even better?
Wear good walking shoes, don't try to see every band you want to see, stay hydrated, come watch Sam Lee.

Is there any place you're looking forward to eating during UMS?
El Diablo. To hell with fire code.

What is your favorite shop on South Broadway?
I think the only place I've ever made a purchase at on south broadway is Goodwill, and the t-shirt didn't end up fitting me.

Who is your all time favorite Colorado band?
God save The Heyday

You're working the counter at Twist & Shout, and a customer is interested in expanding his music collection.  What three albums would you recommend?
You guys keep setting me up for this. I'd tell him to by Sam Lee's Raise Your Flag three times, and then I'd disappear in puff of smoke.

Is there anything we forgot to ask you about the UMS that you think people need to know?
As you pound the South Broadway pavement, find out what Kendall Smith, Will Dupree, and James Irvine look like. When you see them, give them a piece of candy, tell them to chill out, shake their hand and thank them for putting on a great event.



Everai
Where/ When are you playing for the UMS?
Compound Basix, Saturday at 7

 In twenty-five words or less, describe what somebody who has never heard of your band might expect from your performance at UMS this year.

Lyrical, melody driven hip hop with a whole bunch of influences and bounce. I like playing with language and expectations (genre, image, cultural, etc)

What was the first music you remember using your own money to buy?

The first two cds I bought on my own were Kris Kross and this Alvin and the Chipmunks cd, which had the dopest version of “Puff the Magic Dragon” in the history of ever.

What has been your favorite album of 2013 so far?

If I can count Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City in this cycle, that one.  He has an incredible command of language.

Do you have any advice for new bands?

I’m still really new on the scene here.  But what I’ve learned, especially in a creative place like Denver, is surround yourself with people who are also working to accomplish what you’re working to accomplish.  And perform all the time and be practiced.  When an opportunity comes up, you need to be ready to go.  Being out of practice and not having a game plan will derail your forward motion quickly.

Have you planned out who you want to see at UMS this year? Who are some of your highlights?

I just talked about game plan in the last question.  But with festivals like UMS, I know wherever I go, there are going to be incredible talents.  So I’m going with where my intuition pulls me.

If you've been to UMS before, what three words would you use to describe it?

So necessary.

What has been your most memorable experience at UMS to date?

Last year, UMS with 3Two was the first big showcase I’ve ever done, probably the biggest show I’d done to that point.  I had taken some time off to get my head straight and shift gears in my music.  We had written “Elevate” about a month before but hadn’t performed it.  And then everything that happened that weekend, it was kind of surreal.  Doing “Elevate” at UMS was the first time we really performed a song together on stage, and it meshed really well.  In my mind, I was hoping that the song would uplift the crowd.  It lifted my spirits to perform it, and at that moment in the history of CO and my own career.

Any tips you'd like to give the novices for making the UMS experience even better?

Just go everywhere, especially to the names you don’t know.

Is there any place you're looking forward to eating during UMS?

Pizza is my weakness, particularly after performing.  So you’ll probably see me smashing on some pizza.

What is your favorite shop on South Broadway?

Buffalo Exchange.  I need new gear, though.

Who is your all time favorite Colorado band?

I’m gonna say Wheelchair Sports Camp, 3Two, Joshua Trinidad (Go Star), Soul Daddy...  All of these artists have played a big role in pointing me toward opportunities and I really appreciate that.  So shouts to all them looking out.

You're working the counter at Twist & Shout, and a customer is interested in expanding his music collection. What three albums would you recommend?

I’d have to throw in a Yes album, probably either Close to the Edge or Fragile.  Big fan of Yes.  Then Jamie XX and Gil Scott-Herron We’re New Here.  And top it off with Late Registration, Kanye.

Is there anything we forgot to ask you about the UMS that you think people need to know?

Nah, just get ready for great music.