Eva Rose King After Tale
On After Tale, singersongwriter Eva Rose King acts as a masterful narrator recalling and reclaiming her own story of loss, loneliness, and connection. It’s a quiet yet powerful listen that’s perfect for your own introspection, and a great companion album for a long walk in the woods.
King worked in tandem with producer Courtney Hartman - a powerhouse collaborator in the indie folk world - to bring this collection of songs to fruition. “I wanted a female producer who could really honor the softness and vulnerability of these songs,” says Eva. “I reached out to [Courtney] and showed her what I thought would be my album. She agreed to work with me but sent me home with an assignment: write 20 more songs.” Most of After Tale is the result of these newer songs workshopped with Hartman.
The album was recorded at Hive Studio in Eau Claire, WI, where Hartman arranged a prolific lineup of session musicians from the region’s scene: Ben Lester (pedal steel, piano, keys), Sean Carey (drums, piano), Jeremy Boettcher (upright and electric bass), and Hartman herself on guitar. “The musicians had a wonderful intuition for how each
song should feel,” recalls Eva. “The fact that each song was recorded in a matter of just a few hours added a freshness that you can hear in the recordings.”
The sonic universe feels controlled but alive; there’s an organic quality that breathes throughout the record. The performers showcase a restraint that puts King’s lyrics in the spotlight. Her rich alto-register vocals deliver the songs’ confessional qualities without ever tipping into the saccharine. King’s music could be compared to other celebrated modern songwriters in the folk scene - Waxahatchee, Gregory Alan Isakov - but the soulful character in her voice is a unique trademark inviting repeat listens.
After Tale is the songwriter’s reflection on a journey to find and create connection. Eva recalls, “Between the ages of 18 and 23, I lived in five states and four different counties, barely staying longer than 6 months in any location. While this time in my life was fun and exciting in the moment, I ultimately realized that I had severed my connection to my friends and family, especially my sister. In these songs, I grapple with this lifestyle and wonder if it was worth it.” The first half of the album mourns the costs of this uprooting; the second half finds King changing the narrative and building a new home. “At the time in my life, I was making a new home for myself in Colorado and falling in love with the person who I am excited to soon marry,” says Eva. “I end the album on a lullaby, ‘Sweet Dreams,’ where I talk about the joy of creating a new home with and within a loved one.”
Wherever listeners may be on their own journey of leaving or returning home, After Tale is a deep well with the potential to reflect some of our most vulnerable human experiences.
Briana Harris BandWagon Magazine
This sandwich once beat up an entire thanksgiving dinner.
That’s right, the BBQ Bacon Sam ain’t screwin’ around—a Sammie so big, you’ll have to book a flight just to get both hands around it. Ya see, not a lot of folks know this, but Guy Fieri is actually just three BBQ Bacon Sams in a trench coat. Stacked high with delicious BBQ Tendies, crispy onions, jalapeños, and bacon—it’s big enough to kick your hunger in the teeth.
‘MASS HYSTERIA’ EP REVIEW
For generations, heavy music has served as a worthy and efficient means to disconnect from the mundane and often harsh, debilitating, and unwanted advances of everyday life.
Sitting and listening to a record that causes one to involuntarily clench one’s fists and headbang from the sheer energy and passion is an experience that metalheads know all too well and quite frankly, an experience that non-metalheads could likely benefit from.
One of the newest bands to supply this specialized form of therapy hails from Colorado and not only do they pay sufficient homage to those that came before them, but they do it in a fresh, modern, and absolutely crushing way
BY NATE WILDE
that spares not a single ounce of brutality.
The city of Greeley has once again continued the tradition of pushing out remarkable heavy metal bands with Kaoticus, a skull-crushing outfit consisting of guitarists Adrian Bolton and Nathan Muraguri, drummer Matthew Alexander, and bassist Tali “Talimitus” Jorge.
Kaoticus will be releasing their debut EP, ‘Mass Hysteria’ on March 14, 2025, but have meanwhile been generous enough to release numerous tracks from the upcoming release to the general public in preparation.
The record kicks off with the group’s namesake track, ‘Kaoticus,’ which serves as a fitting introduction to the band both musically and lyrically. It’s here that we’re given the first taste of the band’s ferocity which consists of fast-paced chugging and often dueling guitars, vocals from numerous members that range from black metal-style high pitched screeching to low death metal-style growling, and a racing drum section with double kicks so fast that it’s a challenge for the average listener’s brain to keep up.
Bassist Talimitus is also showcased on the track via a tasty slap and pop line, as are virtuosic lead guitar sec-
tions reminiscent of Slayer’s Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell and Zakk Wylde; a mind-melting theme that persists through the disc.
Speaking of Slayer, the influence from the San Francisco thrash giants on Kaoticus is undeniable, but make no mistake: the Greeley band is nothing short of original and is able to pay significant homage while creating their own brand of ‘heavy.’
Not only are a variety of influences heard on Mass Hysteria, but the band explores numerous lyrical themes as well. One of the most notable comes from the track, ‘Die Thylamide,’ a title that plays on the scientific name for the hallucinogenic drug LSD, lysergic acid diethylamide. Kaoticus combines a cool, heavy soundtrack to a lyrical narrative that speaks on nefarious topics like the MKUltra project of the 1950s.
From the spooky clean guitar intros to the virtuosic lead sections, the high-pitched vocal screams to the lowpitched growls, backed up by a rhythm section that can be described as nothing short of bombastic, Kaoticus has proven themselves as not only one of Colorado’s premiere metal bands right from the beginning, but a force that will no doubt be one to be reckoned with in the future.
PREPARE FOR A NIGHT OF PURE INTENSITY—KAOTICUS IS BRINGING THE CHAOS TO THE MOXI THEATER ON FRIDAY, MARCH 14TH. DON’T MISS OUT.
MUSICIAN AND SURFER
DONAVON FRANKENREITER
EMBRACES THE WAVES
BY BRIANA HARRIS
Donavon Frankenreiter is no stranger to the ebb and flow of the music industry.
The veteran singer and guitarist’s latest album Get Outta Your Mind was released in September 2024, which coincided with the twenty-year anniversary of his debut self-titled release in 2004. Over the past two decades, he’s toured the globe, collaborated with legendary musicians including Mavis Staples and Devon Allman, and has navigated a constantly changing musical landscape.
Before his career as a musician, Donavon was a professional surfer, a background he shared with friend and collaborator Jack Johnson. Johnson’s label Brushfire Records signed Frankenreiter for his debut album, and Johnson was featured as a guest on the hit track “Free.” Frankenreiter continued to build momentum opening for some larger acts of the era, including Dave Matthews Band and Warren Haynes. “It means a lot when people let you get a foot in the door in their world for a moment, and to play for their audiences” he says. “It’s lifechanging.”
It’s an understatement to say the record industry has greatly shifted since the early 2000s. “To get a record deal and get distributed all over the world was a huge hurdle. And now I tell somebody I have a new record out and they’re like, ‘So what? So does my Grandma,’” Frankenreiter jokes. But he keeps a healthy perspective. “You have to just adapt. I don’t even try to overanalyze the situation. Let’s go and do the best we can.”
The adaptive mindset is something Frankenreiter learned from surfing. “Surfing is a lot like music,” he ex-
plains. “It’s forever changing, and you never catch the same wave twice; you’re never going to have the same gig again. That’s what keeps me addicted to both of those things.” It’s also an activity where he’s able to practice the mantra of his latest album. Get Out of Your Mind is about abandoning overthinking, and focusing on enjoying the moment.
“The biggest killer to creativity is comparison,”
says Frankenreiter. In the past five years, he noticed social media becoming a bigger distraction, particularly as musicians were forced to move many operations online during the pandemic. Eventually he outsourced all his social media operations to other team members; “I have absolutely no social media on my phone anymore,” he explains. Both surfing and live performance provide spaces untethered to devices, which
is something he relishes. “They’re two things I do in my life that are a real ‘get out of your mind’ moment. You aren’t connected to your phone, and you feel so free.”
Frankenreiter has continued to expand his latest collection of songs with a version of his album featuring a lineup of superstar collaborators, including Susan Tedeschi, Joe Bonamassa, Midland, and more. “I couldn’t believe it while it was happening, because I just love all those people so much,” he shares.
Frankenreiter’s tour for his latest album features stops across the U.S., including five dates in Colorado. “It’s a spot that’s got great energy, and it’s a really eclectic group of people from Telluride to Boulder,” he says of the state. His sets will include selections from Get Outta Your Mind as well as his deep catalogue of songs. “I have eleven records out, so it’s fun performing in the sense that you have a lot of songs to pick from. Sometimes somebody yells out a song and it’s like, let’s try it! That’s the beauty of playing liveit’s always different.”
Through the highs and lows of a life in music, Frankenreiter tries to avoid the stasis that can come from overthinking. “I forget who it was- maybe a guitar player- but someone told me ‘hey, if you think, you’re gonna sink.’ My best shows are the ones where I didn’t even realize what I was doing. I didn’t second-guess.” It’s another tie back to a life as a surfer, working with the motion of the waves. “You just gotta keep moving,” Frakenreiter says.
RIDE THE WAVE WITH DONAVON FRANKENREITER LIVE AT THE MOXI THEATER ON FRIDAY, MARCH 7TH. EXPECT SOULFUL TUNES, LAID-BACK ENERGY, AND A SET FULL OF CLASSICS AND NEW FAVORITES.
BANDWAGON PHOTO OF THE MONTH | PHOTO: RIGHT EYE MEDIA GANNON FREMIN & THE CCRV | MOXI THEATER | GREELEY, CO | 2/ 8 / 25
