MUSIC AND ET CETERA

02 April 2010

Tall City

There is a fine line separating insanity and genius, though I do not know where we will find Chris Bullock.

Initially, I could not find any reason to listen to more than 20 seconds of Colorado Springs'/Manitou Springs' Tall City. That was two years ago, what can I say? I was naive.

His monotone vocal delivery, seemingly repetitive chord progressions and strumming patterns, and deceptively brash lyrics, undoubtedly alienate some of Tall City's unsuspecting listeners. It should come to no surprise that he is notorious for clearing a room, including the headlining artist. Though, if Riskay can sing about 'smelling dick' and draw a crowd, then Chris should surely be able to sing blasphemes prose about Mother Mary without losing his audience.

If his magical autoharp is just too much for you, try sampling his tracks 'Soft Sunlight,' 'Headlights in the Driveway,' or 'Motel Room Mirror,' where Chris creates an interesting fusion with electronic sounds and beats and his urban-cowboy poetics. If you have never heard any electronic-western-folk-pop before then here's your chance.

But if you can't find yourself tapping a toe, nodding your head, or doing an artsy interpretative dance, do not fret - you are not alone; Tall City creates many love/hate relationships with his audience. Though, maybe you should, because chances are you listen to Chris Brown and Lil' Wayne, or Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus.

Having had the pleasure of playing with Tall City several times at various venues in the downtown area, I must say that I never fail to imagine myself sitting at a camp fire, with a can of beans, in Wyoming, listening to coyotes howl and the echo-ing strum of an autoharp.



Casiotone For the Painfully Alone, Bright Eyes, WHY?, Joanna Newsom, The Robot Ate Me

Paleo

Paleo, the moniker of David Strackany - a folk musician who has no home, travels America writing and playing songs, and has for a very long time. I was lucky enough to catch him in Colorado Springs at The Piano Warehouse on April 1st.

Strackany, credited with writing and recording a song every day for a year (you can download all 365 tracks from his website), was very pleasant and modest in person. He started his set out by having everyone in the room sit behind a piano and play a note in the key of F for the entirety of his first song.

As his set progressed, it was easy to see that this man was an accomplished guitar player. He also had an amazing voice, comparable to new-folk/freak folk artist
Devendra Banhart and former Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman Alec Ounsworth.

His performance had an astonishing amount of creativity surrounding the lyrics and music that presented story after story and feeling after feeling to his audience.

Check out his website with his chronological song diary or his MySpace page if you're looking to get a sample of his music, and if he's ever running through your town make sure you stop, listen, and give him some gas money.



The Conjugal Visits

From the rockin' and rollin' minds of The Nicotine Fits comes another outfit that makes Colorado Springs anything but ashamed to call its own - The Conjugal Visits.

Their yells, yips, banter, and lo-fi beats and riffs create a nostalgic, trashy, rock and roll throw-down that makes alcohol taste like candy, the girl next to you ten times prettier, and your feet and body spasm involuntarily.

Witnessing the turnout to their March 16th show at Rubbish Art Gallery (w/ Boulder's Thee Goochi Boiz and Oakland's NOBUNNY) gave me hope
that Colorado Springs could become a burgeoning hub for fast strumming, jungle beating, high energy rock and roll. We just need bands to stop covering circa 90s alt-rock, and to start harnessing their desire to play loud, fast, and to fuck shit up.

I wish I had a demo to share with you (illegally and without consent of The Conjugal Visits , of course) but I do not. For now, check out their MySpace and go to their next show.




Radio Pete, The Gories, The Mummies, Volcano Suns, The Seeds, The Ravers