Face the musicWhat does 2009 hold for our favorite local musicians?
by Dave Kirby
As we exit 2008, soiled and exhausted and clinging to promises of “change” in the new year, we thought we would check in with some of our favorite local musicians to see how last year treated them, how the tanking economy is hurting (or helping) their trade, and how their plans for global domination in 2009 are shaping up.
Trace Bundy Bundy traded a promising career as an engineer and CU educator for the life of a (usually) solo acoustic guitarist and composer a few years ago, and his spectacularly inventive fingerstyle technique has won him accolades from music rags, perplexed frustration from aspiring guitarists, and scary-sudden YouTube superstardom.
What was the high point(s) of your year in 2008 (new music, tours, festivals, band changes, etc.)?
I had some great tours in 2008. I went on my first Asia tour in the fall, and made return trips to Central America, Africa, France and Canada. I also released a new studio CD and DVD (Missile Bell). But the highlight of 2008 was probably being named Most Promising New Talent of the Year, and tying for 3rd Best Fingerstyle Guitarist of the Year by Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
Is the lousy economy taking a bite out of your current work or anticipated work?
When gas prices skyrocketed, I definitely noticed a decrease in fans driving longer distances to shows. But overall, my concert attendance and CD sales have grown over the course of the year, so it doesn’t really seem to have affected me much.
What do you have on deck for 2009 (recordings, collaborations, touring, special events, etc.)?
I’m looking forward to some more international touring in 2009. I look forward to playing in the All Star Guitar Night at the NAMM conference this January. I’m also planning to take some much-needed time off in February to have a bit of a writing sabbatical.
Jon Snodgrass Reports of Ft. Collins alt-country-rock Drag the River’s untimely demise proved premature, as songwriter Jon Snodgrass teamed up again with Chad Price and toured behind a new release, to the relief of their devoted local following.
What was the high point(s) of your year in 2008 (new music, tours, festivals, band changes, etc.)?
All the Drag the River shows were AWESOME. Some just me and Chad, and some with the whole band. And the Revival Tour was just about the most fun I’ve ever had.
Is the lousy economy taking a bite out of your current work or anticipated work?
Not really.
What do you have on deck for 2009? (recordings, collaborations, touring, special events, etc.)?
I have a new record out in February. And I have shows booked through May here and in Europe... I’m pretty excited to go over there and just got my passport. I look kinda scketchy in the picture, so I hope they let me in.
Holden Young Guitarist/songwriter Holden Young’s music slides comfortably through icy guitar-driven funk, psy-scrambled instrumental workouts and various flavors of reggae and other global cuisine, both in special projects and his trio, HY3.
What was the high point(s) of your year in 2008 (new music, tours, festivals, band changes, etc.)?
The high points for HY3 in 2008 were the Experience Festival at Mishawaka, opening for the Motet at the Fox Theatre and opening for Michael Franti in Steamboat. 2008 was also the first year that people noticed and associated the Holden Young name with the funk/rock/psychedelic sound that we create.
Is the lousy economy taking a bite out of your current work or anticipated work?
Ha! The life of a musician is about constantly looking for work and ways to cut costs along the way. I think music, especially live-music, will only blossom in these times.
What do you have on deck for 2009 (recordings, collaborations, touring, special events, etc.)?
HY3 will be recording their second full-length record in 2009. Most of the material is already being performed live, so we’ll be excited to get it on disc. We look forward to touring throughout the 2009 summer. I’m excited to see the changes this country is going through and how they manifest in our personal and artistic lives.
Nathaniel Motte After a few years of woodshedding and copping the odd weekday night gig, Boulder natives 3OH!3 (Nathaniel Motte and Sean Foreman) fairly face-planted onto the national scene in 2008, with their massive-beats, high-octane hip-hop skronk and razor-sharp satire delivered via their debut CD, Want.
What was the high point(s) of your year in 2008 (new music, tours, festivals, band changes, etc.)?
Whew... there have been so many amazing developments this year! Let’s see, we started touring nationally this summer on the Warped Tour, and that couldn’t have gone better. We got signed to Photo Finish Records previous to that. We made another album in April. We made another video in August. We went out on a headlining tour, and it was a couple of the most rewarding months of our lives.
Is the lousy economy taking a bite out of your current work or anticipated work?
We have tried to be savvy about the situation, and we have been doing really well. We made sure to keep the ticket prices on our recent tour really low ($10-12), so that it wouldn’t be a tremendous burden for people to come to our shows. A lot of tours are tanking right now, in part because of higher-than-fair ticket prices and bands being too greedy.
What do you have on deck for 2009 (recordings, collaborations, touring, special events, etc.)?
Europe! AP tour in the spring in the States, then another big tour in the summer. We have a lot of fun stuff planned, but we are sworn to double-MI6-CIA-KGB secrecy... you know how it goes.
Vince Herman Co-founder of Leftover Salmon and now singer/songwriter in the rambling Americana outfit Great American Taxi, Herman has been a pillar of the Boulder groove ’n’ grass gestalt for two decades, a songwriter of unique craft and someone who’s thankfully been around long enough to remember when Boulder was still weird.
What was the high point(s) of your year in 2008 (new music, tours, festivals, band changes, etc.)?
2008 has been a great year for Taxi. We played some really fun festivals, toured the country several times, and made my favorite record ever at the end of the year. Look for that to be out late March or so. It’s also been a great year for watching my son Silas turn into an amazing guitarist.
Is the lousy economy taking a bite out of your current work or anticipated work?
The economy has definitely affected the festival scene, especially the smaller, independent fests. The big boys seemed to do all right, just like big oil did this year. It remains to be seen what next year will be like, but I think there may be some contraction of the biz.
What do you have on deck for 2009 (recordings, collaborations, touring, special events, etc.)?
2009 starts with Leftover playing Jam Cruise, then I head to Hawaii with the David Nelson Band before Taxi fires up again in February.
Dave Watts Founder, drummer and overall majordomo for The Motet and countless related/side projects, Watts’ limber drumming, ceaselessly restless musical instincts and tireless community building have all been a foundation of the Boulder music scene for nearly two decades.
What was the high point(s) of your year in 2008 (new music, tours, festivals, band changes, etc.)?
I know this is not really part of the question, but the excitement of watching Barack Obama win the election dwarfed anything that happened to me musically in 2008. I edited down his acceptance speech and we sometimes improvise to it during our shows.
Is the lousy economy taking a bite out of your current work or anticipated work?
No, and with the price of gas now it’s actually getting better. I once heard Ahmad Jamal speak about how musicians during the Great Depression didn’t really feel the brunt of the economic downturn. In hard times, it seems people have an even stronger desire to experience music... knock on wood.
What do you have on deck for 2009 (recordings, collaborations, touring, special events, etc.)?
I am looking forward to putting out a couple of albums, The Motet and our side-project Juno What?! Now, exactly how we will put them out is another question. I predict that in a few years CDs will “go the way of the dodo.” Hmmmm, that’s a pretty good album title...
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