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PG.18
PG.12
COLLUR MUSIC review
PG.7
Plasma Canvas
BANDWAGMAG.COM Publisher
ELY CORLISS
art director
CARTER KERNS
Editor
BANDWAGON STAFF
CONTRIBUTORS
NATE WILDE LANDON UNGERMAN GABE ALLEN
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Plasma Canvas Dusk
Nate Wilde
BandWagon Magazine
showcasing the band’s range through top-notch songwriting doused in a refined yet brutal punk rock attitude. The album starts off with "Hymn," a delicate ballad about losing a loved one, but the delicacy is quickly shoved aside as if it’s been thrown into a circle pit. The record ebbs and flows while consistently maintaining catchy melodies, blistering intensity, and subjects that give the listeners a wide-open window into Ash’s very soul.
If you’ve kept up with the rock scene in Northern Colorado for the past several years, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Plasma Canvas. And, if you’ve happened to be fortunate enough, you’ve had the outfit rock you to your bones live on stage in one iteration or another. Now, with their newly-born full-length debut "Dusk" out in the wild, the energy and sheer brilliance of Plasma Canvas have been unleashed upon the world in a big way. Plasma Canvas is the brainchild of vocalist, guitarist, and chief songwriter Adrienne Rae Ash and according to Ash herself, ‘Dusk’ is nothing short of a culmination of her “life’s work.” Released on February 17th, "Dusk" takes listeners on a journey through grief, hope, heartache, joy, and to quote Ash, “rigorous honesty,” all while
Recorded at the legendary Blasting Room in Fort Collins, "Dusk" was not only a long time in the making, but the band was put to the test via a series of obstacles and, according to Ash, “suffered for this art.” The album feels like a movie, with a definite beginning, middle, and end. Listeners see the film’s metaphorical main character see a light at the end of the tunnel with "Blistered World," experience a sweaty mosh with "Need," and the story comes to a roaring climax with the title track, a building magnum opus 10 years in the making that clocks in at over eight minutes. With this latest album, it’s more than apparent that Plasma Canvas is a band that has had something burning inside, desperate to be released, and with "Dusk," it not only has, but something feels like this is only the beginning.
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BOTB WINNER
IS ON A MISSION TO SPREAD INTERGALACTIC LOVE BY GABE ALLEN
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ot so long ago in a galaxy somewhere nearby, an alien empress walked down a boulevard lined with her adoring subjects on her coronation day. Before she could reach the dias, a deafening, hollow sound from above silenced the reverie, and a black cloud spread across the sky. It was the void, an intergalactic nomadic race of formless beings hell-bent on consuming everything and everyone in their path. The empress fled her planet with a small group of survivors. To this day she travels from star to star, one step ahead of the void. She is building a coalition, planet by planet, through diplomacy and kindness. One day, she will stop running, turn around and fight the dark forces that took her people from her. Here on earth, the empress’ message is heralded by five friendly metalheads from Colorado Springs. Their band is called Ovira, and their music is in service to the intergalactic resistance against the void. Or so the story — as imagined by drummer Brandon Grimes — goes.
the Moxi Theater in Greeley on the 25th. No matter who you are, the band wants you in the pit.
“No matter what age, color, creed, religion, we want you there,” vocalist Brandon Windley-Simpson told BandWagon. “As long as you love metal music.” Among the band’s many talents, Ovira is excellent at riling up a crowd. Brandon, who has a background in theater, moves around the stage constantly and locks eyes with crowd members as he delivers alternating screams and melodic vocals. Guitarists Chase Hunt and Caleb Delladio have a habit of standing on monitors during breakdowns. Backstage, the band members are best-described as a group of loveable nerds. Onstage they transform into a show-boating metal juggernaut. “We always want our shows to be an experience,” Windley-Simpson said.
Perhaps due to its higher calling, Ovira is gaining momentum fast. In December, the band rose to the top of the 16 bands competing in BandWagon’s own Battle of the Bands. The crowd chose Ovira as the undisputed victor after the band rocked the house with a frenetic set in the final round. Since then, the band members have kept up a steady pace of touring and recording, all while holding down day jobs back in their hometown.
Their antics, in some part, stem from the music. Though each member contributes to the writing process, Ovira’s songs have a remarkably consistent sound. Ominous syncopated riffs and screaming during verses and breakdowns give way to hooky choruses with arpeggiated guitars and clean vocals. The lyrics touch on depression, anxiety and despair, but, most of the time, they end on a call-to-action.
You can catch the band at the Black Sheep in Colorado Springs on the 11th, at the Black Buzzard in Denver on the 18th and at
“Give yourself power, hold tight to your worth, no one can steal it from you,” Windley-Simpson screams on “New Birth.”
The lyrics betray the bands’ vision for the fanbase they want to foster. “Essentially we try to be a beacon of light,” Grimes said. “We want to create a community of acceptance that people can come to in their darkest moments and really just meet in a vulnerable space.” The desire for a scene that both acknowledges negative emotions and provides relief from them is a message that many metal bands espouse. But, unlike some, Ovira really walks the walk. You can see it in how they treat each other — no ideas are off limits and everyone gets respect and kindness. “I feel like my friends, and the band specifically, are the people that I reach out to whenever I feel the darkest,” Grimes said. “I just really want to share that with other people through our shows and music.” Ovira’s strong values even seep into their compositions. Though the band’s genre is probably closest to metalcore, its members sport a wide variety of genre preferences. Grimes is a prog and yacht-rock junky while Windley-Simpson is a soul and R&B fan. The rest of the members are, unsurprisingly, different flavors of metalhead. But, together the band coalesces into a sound that is unmistakable Ovira. This is only possible because the band members are excellent at listening to each other. “We don’t try to emulate any sounds,” Hunt said. “We just get together and play music that we enjoy and makes us connect as a band and as friends.”
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NEW TO THE SCENE
AN INTERVIEW WITH EMERGING ARTIST,
COLLUR BY BANDWAGON STAFF
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n the heart of Colorado's music scene, COLLUR, an alternative artist and college student, has been making noise with his genre-defying sound. In this exclusive interview, COLLUR takes us on a journey through his evolving music career, discussing the challenges and opportunities of being both a student and an independent musician. We delve into the diverse range of musical styles explored in recent hits like "DON'T TRIP!" and get a sneak peek into upcoming releases. Plus, we'll explore how he overcame the unique challenges of building a fan base in the college town of Greeley by throwing the biggest party of the year. Get ready for an inside look at COLLUR, where he's been, and where he's headed.
It is so nice to be sitting here talking with you today. BandWagon has worked with you a number of times on shows, but we finally get to meet you off stage. Welcome! COLLUR: Thank you; I appreciate you having me.
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Before we get into the interview, let’s start with the name, COLLUR. Where’d that come from? COLLUR: People rarely get this right the first time, but it’s just pronounced “color.” For as long as I can remember, my friends in Aurora would call me “Big Red” because I’d get sunburnt after long days outside in the summer. So, I wanted to just use that, but it was already taken. While on the theme of colors, I kind of just decided to call myself COLLUR, but I used my initials, LLU, in the spelling. It’s sort of gained new meaning since then, but yeah, that’s how it started.
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What does COLLUR mean to you now? COLLUR: Now, COLLUR is sort of this mission to always be creating. I have an intro in my song called WATERCOLOR where I break it down. I use “color” in my music to denote individuality, which, to me, is perceiving the world in your own way and looking within to create, rather than replicating what’s popular. I guess it means just being "you," as corny as that sounds.
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Can you take us through COLLUR’s early days, and some of the pivotal moments that have shaped your artistry into what it is today? COLLUR: I started the whole COLLUR thing when I was a junior in high school, and with the help of some fans on TikTok, my first few releases really took off. I think my first song, RESTART, has somewhere around 40,000 plays on Soundcloud today. It honestly started off as a “clout” thing, but it didn’t take long before I started pouring more time and effort into the music. I've just pushed myself to learn what it means to be an artist. There isn’t
really a key moment when you’re constantly learning and growing, but one thing that has helped my music evolve is listening to everything. I’m talking hyper-pop, classic rock, cloud rap, acid jazz – everything. It’s so important to the evolution of any artist.
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What do you find yourself listening to the most for inspiration, and what does your music usually get compared to? COLLUR: Two of my favorite artists are Smino and Dro Kenji. They’re both underground artists but they just push the boundaries of genres so masterfully, which I aim to do with my songs as well. The artist I get compared to the most is The Kid Laroi, but I think people who say that aren’t really listening to the music. Comparisons are lame though; I’m just COLLUR, ya know.
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You recently released 4 singles – "RUBIX," "OCULUS," "DON'T TRIP!" and "BUBBA," and each song felt like a totally new rendition of you. Can you speak at all on your exploration of different styles and genres? COLLUR: This summer I challenged myself with releasing a new song every other week for 10 weeks, and these 4 songs were a result of that. Between the four of them, you can hear New York drill, melodic rap, trap, Jersey club, and pop elements. The way I see it, this great era of trap music that I grew up on is on its way out because it became stale, but at the same time it’s turning into other things. I think good artists go through this sort of reformation naturally. We just change as people and it reflects in what or how we create. On another note, I am obsessed with melodies, so every rap song I make inherently becomes something else by the time I’m done with it.
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You also recently had your first headline show. What did that mean to you? COLLUR: That was a dream come true honestly, and I did everything I could to make the most of that moment. It was at The Moxi in Greeley, where I’ve performed many times, but the biggest struggle has always been getting all the college kids at UNC to come out. There’s a huge disconnect between the
UNC students and the rest of Greeley, but I was able to fill the room by putting together this huge party. All I could think while everybody was dancing and laughing was, “I really did this.”
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Talk a bit about being both a college student and an independent musician. Have the two helped or worked against each other at all? COLLUR: There have obviously been times where I have to pull back on one or the other because of time or finances or whatever it may be, but I think this is a very important part of so many people’s lives, and I’m glad that I’m capturing that through what I create. There’s a lot more pressure on people my age than there used to be, so I write about it. I think young people sort of see themselves in some of my lyrics. So yeah, having the perspective of some normal kid in college has influenced my musicality in many ways.
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We’re all very eager to know what we can expect next from COLLUR. COLLUR: In terms of music, I have three singles ready to roll out before the end of the year. I’m super excited about these tracks because I can hear myself in the music more than I ever have before. Expect authenticity. I want to start working on a statewide tour soon too. That’s sort of my next big goal.
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Thank you for the time today, COLLUR. COLLUR: Thank you! It's been a pleasure.
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10am-5pm
11/25 HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE
Enjoy this annual holiday experience on Small Business Saturday to celebrate and support small businesses. Pick up a bingo card at any participating downtown business, fill it out, and you can win one of 3 downtown gift baskets! Enjoy holiday crafts, treats, music, and more.
5:30pm
LIGHT UP LINCOLN!
Join the holiday lighting display countdown in Lincoln Park, featuring an extravagant expanded tree lighting. Enjoy the carolers, hot chocolate, sweet treats, and entertainment– and Santa Claus himself! Wander around and enjoy the many dazzled downtown windows.
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12/9
5:30-8:30pm
HOLIDAY LANE DOWNTOWN
Walk the Downtown Greeley 8th and 9th Street plazas and surrounding areas to view various community business and organizational displays full of lights and holiday themes to enjoy. In addition to the displays, there will also be performances from local dance companies, marching bands, and more. Free to attend!
10am-4pm
MAKERS’ WORKSHOPS
Join the fun at any of the many Maker Workshops throughout the day. Create cards, ornaments, decorations, drinks, food and more! Bring your holiday greeting cards down to be stamped with a unique Greeley holiday image and drop your letters to Santa off at our North Pole Mailbox!
5:30-8:30pm
HOLIDAY LANE AT ISLAND GROVE
Pack the family in the car and, for a small fee, drive through Island Grove Regional Park to view delightful lighting displays from the comfort and warmth of your vehicle.
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34th Annual Festival of Trees Presented by the City of Greeley and the Greeley Philharmonic Guild
This year’s signature events include:
WHOVILLE HOLIDAY
A morning full of “Who-larious” activities!
SATURDAY|NOV 25|9 - 11:30 a.m.
WHISKEY WONDERLAND and other Spirits of the Season
• Whiskey Giveaways • Featuring Local Distilleries • Viewing of the Trees • Heavy hor d’oeuvres
WATERCOLOR
SATURDAY|NOV 25 7 - 9 p.m. • Watercolor painting project illustrated by Nationally Renowned Artist, Colette Pitcher • Two glasses of wine per guest • Heavy hor d’oeuvres
WEDNESDAY|NOV 29|6 - 8 p.m. To purchase tickets UCSTARS.COM | (970) 356-5000
Presented by
UNION COLONY CIVIC CENTER • 701 10TH AVE. • GREELEY, CO 22
BANDWAGON PHOTO OF THE MONTH | PHOTO BY: RIGHT EYE PHOTOGRAPHY UNLIKELY CANDIDATES | MOXI THEATER - DOWNTOWN GREELEY | 9/28/23
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