New West MVP Events
The Return Of Dr. Octagon
The first time I head Dr. Octagon (AKA Kool Keith) I was living in Laramie, Wyoming and going to the University of Wyoming. I had been invited to a party that night that a friend of a friend was putting on. I always hate those parties because you end up only knowing one person there and they usually leave early. So there I was sitting by the stereo like always shuffling through this random person’s CD collection. That’s where I found the Doctor. [more]
Local Music Sound Off
Love Me Destroyer’s “Things Around Us Burn”
Love Me Destroyer has been one of Denver's leading punk groups for several years, and on January 30 the band will release its second album, The Things Around Us Burn, on local label Suburban Home Records. The band has a number of shows scheduled for the coming weeks in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, including a CD release show at the Marquis Theater in Denver on February 17.
Love Me Destroyer has offered New West readers the title track from the new album. Click here to listen to "The Things Around Us Burn."
Local Music Sound Off
Constellations’ “Necrogeister”Denver band Constellations recently released the three-song disc, Necrogeister, a densly-layered electronic opus that was their first recording in their own studio. Click here to listen to "Necrogeister."
Constellations will open for The Album Leaf at the Larimer Lounge on Tuesday, January 23 (21+).
Local Music Sound Off
Zilla’s “Milk Man”
Now that The String Cheese Incident has announced its breakup, fans of the band will have to look for the SCI experience elsewhere, and there's probably no better place for them to start than with some of the group's longstanding side projects. Zilla features former SCI keyboardist/drummer Michael Travis alongside multi-instrumentalists Jamie Janover and Aaron Holstien, and the band will kick off its winter tour from its home base of Colorado this weekend. Zilla headlines the Fox Theatre in Boulder tonight (January 12, 8 p.m., $15) before heading to Steamboat and then Utah.
Although Zilla's emphasis has always been on improvisation, a few months ago the band released its first studio album, all iZ on Sci Fidelity Records. True to the band's tradition of working without a plan, the double-disc was culled from hours of studio improvisation. The band has offered New West readers a track from all iZ. Click here to listen to "Milk Man."
Local Music Sound Off
DeVotchKa’s “The Last Beat of My Heart”
DeVotchKa recently learned that its music for the movie Little Miss Sunshine is a finalist for a Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack, a distinction earned by few Colorado-based Latin-tinged Slavic polka bands with theremin and sousaphone players. So DeVotchKa should be in a particularly celebratory mood at its two end-of-year shows at the Ogden Theatre on December 30 and 31 (8 p.m., $21.25-$41.25). Andrew Bird will open and The Oracle Slavic Sisterhood will perform acrobatics both nights.
DeVotchKa has offered New West readers a track from its 2006 covers EP, Curse Your Little Heart. Click here to listen to DeVotchKa's cover of Siouxsie & The Banshees' "The Last Beat of My Heart."
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Local Music Sound Off
Nina Storey’s “Be With You Tonight”
This week's local MP3 features a longtime Boulder favorite, Nina Storey. She will headline the Fox Theatre on Friday, December 22 (8 p.m., all ages). All attendees of the show are encouraged to bring clothing that will be donated to the Boulder Center for the Homeless. Everyone who donates an article of clothing will be entered in a raffle to win tickets to an upcoming Fox Theatre show.
Nina Storey is known for her powerful pipes, and her music has been featured on several television shows (including ABC's "Alias" and the CW network's "Girlfriends.") Storey explores a variety of genres in her music, including blues, rock, and R&B, and she has offered New West readers a gospel-tinged track from her 2001 self-titled disc. Click here to listen to "Be With You Tonight."
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Local Music Sound Off
A Song by Rabbit is A Sphere
Rabbit Is a Sphere is a Denver band whose name is apparently an oblique reference to the Poincaré conjecture. The quartet has honed its unusual sound for two years now, and will celebrate the release of its debut CD, Laps in the Sleep Saloon on Saturday, December 2 at the Hi-Dive in Denver. The members of the coed band trade off vocal duties, and its sound ranges from raucous punk to muted indie melodies.
Rabbit Is a Sphere has offered New West readers a lovely song from their debut CD that is the perfect accompaniment to a snowy winter afternoon. Click here to listen to "Cough and Convince You."
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Local Music Sound Off
Dave Beegle’s “Estatico”
Colorado guitarist Dave Beegle will celebrate the release of a new CD/DVD, Acoustic Mayhem at Denver's Walnut Room on Saturday, November 18. Over several decades as a musician, Beegle has performed solo and with a number of bands, including Fourth Estate, The Beegle-Olson-Quist Trio, and his current group, the Dave Beegle Acoustic Band.
Beegle has offered New West readers a flamenco-flavored track from his new album. Click here to listen to "Ecstatico."
Local Music Sound Off
Cabaret Diosa’s “Comet Samba”
This Thursday and Friday, a Boulder institution will play its final shows: Cabaret Diosa, which has entertained Colorado audiences with its Latin big-band antics for over a decade, is calling it quits. The group has splintered in recent years, with members moving to other states, reuniting only for its elaborate Halloween shows. This year's theme is "Willy Juanka & the Cha Cha Factory," and as an added twist, the band claims its Thursday show at the Boulder Theater will be "Rated R" and the Friday show will be "Rated NC-17." For the full scoop on the band's breakup, see Greg Glasgow's recent article in the Daily Camera.
Cabaret Diosa has offered New West readers a track from its last album, Voodoo Piñata, to remember it by. Click here to listen to "Comet Samba."
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Local Music Sound Off
Kan’Nal’s “Desert Flower”
Kan'Nal is a Boulder-based band that has a rather exotic creation story: vocalist Tzol was traveling in Guatemala when he met guitarist Tierro in the village of San Marcos. The duo recorded material in Toronto, then headed back to Guatemala, where the band expanded to four members. Now seven members strong, Kan'Nal produces what it describes as "shamanic rock," a driving, Mayan mysticism-steeped blend of electric guitars and traditional instruments such as the didgeridoo.
Kan'Nal headlines the Boulder Theater Friday, October 20 for a special Halloween event: the "Journey to the Underworld Masquerade Ball." The band has offered New West readers an MP3 for home enjoyment. Click here to listen to "Desert Flower."
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