17 September 2010:

They had just played an amazing set at the Bluebird Theatre and we waited while they packed up all their gear.  It’s quite a bit, considering the more-than-average instrumentation of the band.  I thought about how I had come to love this band so quickly in so short a time.  I had only first been exposed to them a few months before, but they were already one of my current favorites.  I keep telling everyone I know about Hey Rosetta – not because I’m some kind of music promoter – but probably because I think they write some of the most genuine and unique music I’ve ever experienced.  Each song tells a story, beautiful and heartfelt, perfectly orchestrated and never rushed – they seem to put an amazing amount of emotion into each one.

A few minutes of walking found us in front of a complete stranger’s house on a dark side-street.  The bricks bordering the sidewalk were a perfect spot for a band to sit down and offer their music to the sounds of the night.  We were only able to capture one song that night, a slow one, but one of my favorites for sure.  It was quite surreal, and an off-stage short I’ll never forget.  Enjoy a brief taste of Hey Rosetta! from a sidewalk in Denver, CO.  Photos from that night’s show are below.

“Red Song” from the Red Songs EP

For more of Hey Rosetta’s greatness, check out their website here.  I highly recommend seeing them live, and adding their music to your collection.  It’s well deserved.

It was a busy day.  I was shooting The Ataris that evening, and they had asked me to consider shooting Gasoline Heart while I was there.  On a quick listen to GH beforehand, I thought it was good, so I agreed.  I’m so incredibly glad I did.  I ended up making three of my favorite recordings ever, and meeting one of my new favorite artists.  Easily one of the best bands I’ve discovered in the past year, I just can’t get enough of Louis DeFabrizio’s voice, lyrics, and songwriting.  As a huge Foo Fighters fan, I found comfort in Louis’ vocals (though he says he’s more keen of Eddie Vedder), and his writing weaves heartfelt lovelorn stories of joy, pain, love, and loss.  Regardless of the subject or setting, Louis proves he can hold his own – which he did – not only in the performances seen here, but in his mostly solo set on stage.  I think I even remember a Springsteen cover in there somewhere that was utterly amazing.

Also, a special thanks to Louis for enlightening us to the comedic genius of the HBO series East Bound and Down. As he flawlessly performed the opening monologue from the show to hundreds of clueless concertgoers, a few of us in the know could simply not stop laughing.  I’ve never seen someone pull off a performance with such reckless disregard for whether or not the audience understood what was going on.  And I loved it, it was perfect.  Never change.

I’d love to see the whole band one day, and I hope to god Louis DeFabrizio keeps making music, because I for one will be enjoying his music for a long time to come.  Enjoy these three songs from Louis DeFabrizio of Gasoline Heart.  Photos from that night’s show can be found below.

“Never Been Better” from Nostalgia Ain’t What It Used To Be

“Armadillo” from Nostalgia Ain’t What It Used To Be

“Yellowbelly”

Photos from that night’s show:

Be sure to check out GasolineHeart.com for tour dates, more info, and music downloads.

23 July 2010:

Sure, it’s just a short sidewalk concert from Kristopher Roe (the soul behind the Ataris).  But it was really great to finally catch one of my long-time influences in action.  I remember buying So Long, Astoria from the record store back in high school.  It wasn’t long before I was driving with the windows down, singing along to every song on that album.  It was one of those albums that stuck with me forever.  As I started writing my own music and playing in bands, my songs always had a similar element or two drawn from The Ataris.  It seemed to all be deeply rooted in me forever.

Then, Welcome the Night came out, and blew me away.  I was always amazed how unnoticed it was in the mainstream, even though I thought it was an incredibly powerful album.  I felt like the Ataris had invented a new genre.  Don’t ask me to name it, cause I can’t.  It was and still is one of my favorite albums.  Can’t wait to hear Graveyard of the Atlantic next year, and really happy to be able to feature an acoustic rendition of the title-track.

Enjoy these 3 songs from the Ataris, filmed outside the Marquis Theater in Denver, July 23rd, 2010.  Photos from that night’s show can be seen below.

“In this Diary” from So Long, Astoria

“The Graveyard of the Atlantic” from The Graveyard of the Atlantic

“Broken Promise Ring” from Blue Skies, Broken Hearts…Next 12 Exits

Find out more about The Ataris current tour dates and the upcoming album by visiting facebook.com/theataris or myspace.com/theataris.

20 May 2010:

Last time it was about 15 degrees.  We huddled in the back of a running tour bus, sitting in a dark parking lot.  This time, nothing but sunshine, warm summer air, barking dogs and singing birds.  The seasons are part of Colorado’s charm, I suppose.  This marks the second time we’ve filmed Andrew Belle, but if you give me the chance, I’ll take you up on it every time.  Simply put, the guy does not disappoint.

Andrew was in town for a quick show and we met beforehand to capture one of our favorite songs:  All Those Pretty Lights.

Photos from that night’s show can be seen here.

Andrew is on tour right now!  Check out his website (AndrewBelle.com) for more information.

1 February 2010:

The concept behind French pop band Nouvelle Vague is genius in its simplicity.  They take classic punk / rock / cult hits, and reinvent them as new wave (or ‘nouvelle vague’ in French) songs.  Sometimes it’s more of a bossa nova, sometimes it’s completely undefinable.  It’s more than a cover, though, as they almost seem to conjure the song up from the ethereal void that songs materialize from without inducing an eye-roll from even the most cynical music lover.  What I mean to say is, hearing these songs in such a different light leaves one with a refreshing hint of the song they used to know, like a distant memory; like the original songs were a distant memory for these musicians too, and they let it flow through them again in this form.

Started by producer/arrangers Olivier Libaux and Marc Collin (who you’ll see playing guitar and melodica, respectively, in this video), the songs are sung by a revolving cast of unfailingly gorgeous women.  On this tour, they’re lucky enough to enlist the talents of Karina Zeviani (international model and singer for Thievery Corporation), and Helena Noguerra (beloved French singer and actress).  Onstage, these two truly captivate the attention of the entire room.  Actually, it doesn’t matter what room they’re in, you can’t miss them.

Enjoy Nouvelle Vague performing the cult classic “Blister in the Sun” backstage, just moments before walking onstage to a packed room of fans.

Thanks to Marc, Olivier, manager Christophe, drummer Spencer Cohen, the lovely Helena, and the stunning Karina, for performing for Ecce.  Nous adorons les Nouvelles Vagues!

Check out a few concert photos and freeze-frames from that night here.

For more info on Nouvelle Vague, including current U.S. tour dates, check out nouvellesvagues.com.

10 December 2009:

You know what they say: There’s no place more intimate than the back of a tour bus.  So no better a place for us to get in from the cold and up close with Andrew Belle and two of his songs.

Andrew had recently joined Ten out of Tenn on a short Christmas tour.  Ten out of Tenn is a wonderful group of songwriters that rotate during their show performing a couple of their own songs while the others help with accompaniment.  This results is an entire set of smart, beautifully written songs.  If you like indie songwriters, it’s like getting a taste test of 10 brand new ice cream flavors (and then you go out and get 10 new albums after you end up loving them all).  Anyway, I highly suggest checking out each and every musician in Ten out of Tenn.

Alright, back to Andrew.  So we had planned on having Andrew perform under a street light near the Bluebird Theater.  It was in the 30s though, and low-light shooting isn’t always as wonderful as you think it will be in your mind, so I was happy when Andrew invited us to do it on the Ten out of Tenn tour bus.  We shrugged off generator noise and fairly low lighting in the back of the bus as a trade off for an intimate performance most fans only dream of.

On “Static Waves” Andrew is joined by Katie Herzig, Matthew Perryman Jones, and Andy Davis. “Ladder” features Jeremy Lister, Matthew Perryman Jones, and Andy Davis.  Click on the pictures to launch the streaming HD player for each song.

By the way, if you’re ever asked onto a band’s tour bus as a guest, don’t accidentally steal one of their coats when packing up your equipment.  Now I have to reset the “__ days without stealing a coat” counter on my wall.

Photos from the Ten out of Tenn show that evening can be seen here.

If you like what you hear, make sure to check out 10outoftenn.com and andrewbelle.com!

I met Sam Bradley at the Fox Theatre when he was finishing up his sound check for that night’s show.  It was below freezing and not really all that welcoming of a night.  Colorado usually has very mild winters (though I keep telling visitors this, they don’t believe me).

With the cold limiting our desire to be outside, we ventured to Pearl Street Mall (the nightlife of Boulder) to find some spots for Sam to play.  We quickly found a deserted patio behind a restaurant, complete with a fireplace to warm our hands and some intimate mood lighting.  We got comfortable and chose a corner of the patio.  My crew had never heard Sam play before, so they were really surprised when he poured out his heart with the emotional song “Too Far Gone”.  Sam’s genuine performance was punctuated by the cold and emptiness of the space.  Beautiful, serene, intimate.  It all just… fit.

Next we ventured around the corner and into the basement of a bar to find a warmer space to play the next song.  An old brick dart room in the back corner provided the perfect setting for “No One and Me”.  Hundreds of people had left their mark on the walls of this room, written with chalk or dart-tips.  Sam left his own mark with a heartfelt private performance that we are more than happy to share with you.

Lastly we headed back out into the cold onto the nearly deserted Pearl Street Mall for “Passport”, a fun song complete with strip clubs and “lines of confidence” (you’ll see what I mean).  There were a few brave souls out in the cold, and a small crowd gathered to enjoy the performance with us.  It was great to finish up our Off-Stage Shorts with some traditional buskering (minus the panhandle, of course), and wonderful to hear a song I’d never heard before, belted out into the thin Colorado air by a talented musician.

Click the buttons below to launch each segment in streaming HD video:

That night after filming, we were lucky to be able to see Sam Bradley’s show and take a few photographs.  With his full band backing him up, they gave a polished and energetic set that was a pleasure to witness.  Sam showed us his introspective and emotional side, as well as his fun and lighthearted side.  We’re very grateful to Sam Bradley for sharing a piece of himself and his music with all of us.  Thanks for coming out, Sam!  If you have a chance to see him live, don’t pass it up!

Photos from the show are here!

Be sure to check out sambradley.com!

17 November 2009:

It was a frigid late November day when Elizabeth & the Catapult contacted me and said they wanted to go up Mt. Sanitas trail to play some music.  A few hours later, we were trudging through the mud and snow carrying instruments and camera equipment.  A short hike led to a clearing with a great view of the city below.  We rushed to set up and make use of the fading daylight (the sun passes behind the mountain at about 3:30pm at this time of the year).  What followed was three great performances in the brisk mountain air from Elizabeth & the Catapult, a Brooklyn-based indie pop band featuring the wonderful voice of Elizabeth Ziman.

“Race You” is a catchy, quick song with a strong hook (you’ll have it stuck in your head for days).  It really shows what a fun band they are.  “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” is a charming Tom Waits cover that far, FAR outdoes the original (IMHO), and “Porcelain Lady” is a serene duet between Elizabeth and drummer Dan Molad on guitar.  Here you’ll find Elizabeth’s voice really shines.

Click the buttons below to launch each HD streaming video:

All in all, it was a great shoot, and despite a malfunctioning camera, new audio recorder, and bitter cold temperatures, we managed to chronicle these beautiful early winter performances.  Later, we caught up with them at their show that night at the Fox Theatre, and enjoyed it thoroughly.  Thanks to the band for an unforgettable performance up in the snow as well as in the theatre down below.  If they’re coming to a town near you, GO.  You won’t regret it.

Photos from the show can be seen here.

Be sure to check out elizabethandthecatapult.com!

After catching Dead Confederate on stage at the Fox (see that video here), I was able to coax them outside into the warm windy night to try their hand at an acoustic song.  It was the last show of the tour and they were understandably exhausted at this point, so I was happy with whatever they decided to play.  When a stranger named Kippie unexpectedly joined in for the song, things got interesting.

All in all, it was short, sweet, and entirely in the moment.  But that’s all we ask for in an Off-Stage Short.  I hope to do many more of these pieces with musicians in the future.