Collur So Be It
It’s not everyday you interview an artist with as much drive and passion for their craft as the underground alternative rapper, COLLUR, and you can tell by the way he talks about his newly released debut album, SO BE IT. Whether you’re a fan or a futurefan, it’s hard to deny the impact that the man-behind-the-music, Landon Ungerman, has had on the Greeley hip-hop scene, and the local music scene as a whole. From college-town DIY spaces, to selling out his Bears R Back concert series, COLLUR has built a reputation for electrifying live shows, giving the people of Greeley something that maybe they didn’t even know they were missing.
COLLUR’s SO BE IT is his debut album, but it isn’t the first thing COLLUR has put out by any means. He already has almost enough singles on streaming platforms to make two entire LPs, so I knew when I saw he was dropping an album that this one was going to be special—and it is. The special “sauce” that COLLUR has been cooking up for the past three years in Greeley culminates in SO BE IT for a sonic experience you just have to hear for yourself. As good as it sounds, COLLUR’s intention behind the project almost makes the debut feel like a homecoming.
“I’m glad it took so long,” he told me, “I got to express so many
versions of myself on it.” The album took nearly three years to compile, and as such, the record almost mirrors the way COLLUR has grown in the past three years, personally and musically. He said, “I stopped trying to make a product for people and started trying to make art,” and this authenticity is something that kept coming up again and again in our interview. The name, SO BE IT is inspired in part by COLLUR’s Grandpa Bruce, whose guidance serves as an emotional anchor throughout the record. It was something he’d say in church growing up— some translation of “Amen.” SO BE IT is an “Amen,” and the prayer is contentment with the now; rejecting hustle culture, drug culture, toxic masculinity, and anything else that’s been holding him back—even his own brand and image. “I feel disassembled. The pressures of staying my course weigh on me every day. Choosing myself and my community is the most impactful thing I can do. To feel free is not to be free. Be free. Breathe. So be it.” – COLLUR.
So much of his earlier days, COLLUR says, were spent trying to “emulate” a form of music—but through sessions with mastermind producer/ engineer Adam Haag and underground staples DUBBO! and CHIEFBIGSMOKE, SO BE IT belongs entirely to COLLUR and the community that he cares about so much. SO BE IT is a raw and unfiltered deep dive into lost love, highs, lows, and the moments that force you to choose yourself before all else.
“The music finds its footing in the beautifully messy space between picture perfect and brutally candid.”
Celebrating the release, COLLUR will headline The Moxi Theater on April 19th to deliver one of his signature high-energy performances. SO BE IT by COLLUR is out now on streaming platforms everywhere.
Shane Loewe BandWagon Magazine
COLORADO SPRINGS!!!
CONGRATS ON GOING REC, COME PARTY!!
SOUTHERN AVENUE Family
For Memphis-based blues and soul band Southern Avenue, family is a value interwoven into the band’s past, present, and future together. On the band’s 4th studio album, Family, they proudly own their collective narrative and their powerful sound rooted in the musical life they have built together.
The band features Tierinii Jackson on lead vocals, Tikyra “T.K.” Jackson on drums and vocals, and Ava Jackson on violin, percussion and vocals. The
three sisters grew up performing together in their family’s church band, honing the harmonies of gospel music. On the other side of the world, guitarist Ori Naftaly grew up in Israel, immersing himself in American soul, roots, and blues music. A trip to Memphis in 2013 to represent his country in the International Blues Challenge felt like fate; following a move stateside, he was introduced to Tierinii. “The first time I saw her perform, I saw my entire future flash in front of me,” says Ori. Southern Avenue was born when T.K. joined on drums; sister Ava joined the band later after graduating from music school. In the decade since the band’s start, Tierinii and Ori have gotten married and had a baby together; meanwhile, the band has toured countless international destinations, received a GRAMMY nomination, has toured with musical giants like The Tedeschi Trucks Band and Sheryl Crow, and has appeared on Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Country tour.
This legacy becomes the
meta-narrative of Family, where the band masterfully references their own shared journey as well as the musical crossroads of Memphis, where blues, soul, rock, and gospel all authentically meet. The musicians of Southern Avenue are more than just torch bearers for roots music tradition; they forge a sound and style that feels like it uniquely belongs to them. One of the highlights of the album is the strength of the songs themselves: joyfully crafted and masterfully arranged earworms that playfully pull from a palette of American popular music. The laid-back groove and mellow chorus of “So Much Love” could live alongside George Benson’s “Breezin”. The ripping slide guitar on “Flying” evokes blues and rock heroes like Muddy Waters. “Rum Boogie,” driven by honky tonk piano and soulful tambourine, is two-stepping ear candy that
feels like it would work just as well with modern pop production as it does here with its twangy setting.
The band’s flexibility and range shines through the album, but it never muddies the clear message of these songs: music is a hopeful and uplifting force that connects this musical family to each other and to their audiences. “Because we write and create this music together, it bonds us as a family in a way that transcends bloodlines,” shares Tierinii. “When our listeners connect with our music, they become a part of our healing journey, making them family too.” Family is out everywhere on April 25. Southern Avenue is currently on tour throughout the United States, with upcoming Colorado dates in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Steamboat Springs.
Briana Harris BandWagon Magazine
NOT THE LEGACY
INTHEWHALE THE END OF AN ERA, BUT
BY NATE WILDE
Like stereotypes, tired old cliches like, “all good things must come to an end” exist for a reason. In the case of Colorado’s INTHEWHALE, one of the best things to come out of the state’s local music scene in the past 15 years is doing just that, but not before leaving behind a massive, impressive, legacy.
Consisting of guitarist/vocalist Nate Valdez and drummer/vocalist Eric Riley, INTHEWHALE is likely the loudest two-man operation you’ve ever laid eyes, or perhaps, ears, on.
A HUNGER FOR FORBIDDEN FRUIT
Valdez’s musical journey began in the tiny farm town of Las Animas, Colorado where, as a boy, his insatiable hunger for something other than mainstream country and Christian rock saw him sneaking forbidden fruit from artists like Minutemen, Fugazi, Dead Kennedys, and Local H into his discman while covertly teaching himself to play his brother’s guitar when no one was looking.
However, a move from the eastern plains to attend college in Greeley would serve as the catalyst for a partnership with a magnitude greater than could ever be predicted.
STOP FOLKING AROUND
It’s the noughties, Northern Colorado’s music scene is dominated by the “stomp clap hey” phenomenon, and a budding friendship between Nate Valdez and Eric Riley was getting ready to give birth to something completely different.
The pair, who had been in their own, separate bands at the time, discovered a mutual feeling of, as Valdez puts it, being “on the treadmill too much” and decided to join forces to create something to sonically “pick a fight with something.”
FOR THE BIRDS
INTHEWHALE began as a two-man, experimental outfit playing instrumentals with bird sounds that quickly morphed into a raucous punk rock band with fun, tonguein-cheek songs that complimented the DIY college keggers at which they frequently appeared.
PHOTOS: SADIE SCHWARZ
As the band gained local notoriety, Valdez and Riley were soon overtaken by the desire to say more with their music, to mature as a band, and to delve into more serious topics lyrically. While early fans weren’t initially the most receptive to the shift, the newfound passion would prove to be the Tabasco that took INTHEWHALE to an unprecedented next level.
A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
The undeniable chemistry between Valdez and Riley, the shared belief in what they were doing, the sheer passion in both music and lyrics, the resourcefulness in utilizing every tool in the toolbox to produce a massive sound from only two performers, a shared relentless drive, and perhaps even a cosmic phenomenon of stars aligning, all played a role in the band’s meteoric rise to an unprecedented level of punk rock success. In fact, the band’s first-ever tour saw them sharing a bill with ‘90s favorite The Presidents of the United States of America.
The hometown heroes later found themselves touring with big names like Jane’s Addiction, Gogol Bordello, The Offspring, Local H, Fu Manchu, The Darkness, Authority Zero, Anti-Flag, Middle Class Rut, Toadies, Reverend Horton Heat, The Living End, Slash, Electric Six, P.O.D., Papa Roach, Falling in Reverse, Descendents, Poison the Well, Supersuckers, 10 Years, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Green Jelly, Jello Biafra, Badflower, Lit, Pennywise, and more.
The band would live to tell tales of traveling through horrifying blizzards and hurricanes, sleeping with bed bugs in Canada, and a night in the filthiest motel room in Arkansas where the housekeeping staff couldn’t be bothered to clean up the blood splatters, dog poo, and dried-up bodily fluids left by previous guests.
However, INTHEWHALE’s time on the road wasn’t all dog poo and bodily fluids, as among the experiences Valdez will never forget are three instances of being attacked on stage at three different shows by three different assailants, the most remarkable of which involved an intoxicated woman who high-kicked the vocalist in the head in Canada, leaving him with a chipped tooth that he wasn’t able to get fixed until the band returned to the states.
After playing in 45 states, 12 countries, big festivals like Lollapalooza, Riot Fest, and Austin City Limits, multiple tours of the UK and even a homecoming show at Red Rocks, it appeared that INTHEWHALE was nothing short of unstoppable. That is, until a global pandemic changed the world forever.
AN AMICABLE DECISION
“Early on when we first started, when we were first doing that experimental music, we made a pact with each other that if we ever got to a point where either we plateaued, or
it’s not inspiring us anymore, that we were just gonna do the dignity of calling it quits.”
- Nate Valdez
INTHEWHALE had achieved the ultimate goal - watching the fruits of the hard work, dedication, blood splatters, sweat and tears that the duo had endured for over a decade truly pay off, when in the blink of an eye, everything changed.
The band had just finished recording at Dave Grohl’s 606 Studios in Los Angeles and were driving back to Denver when their management informed them that some sort of flu might affect some of the tour dates they’d had on the books. Not thinking too much into it, Valdez and Riley arrived home only to find out that the COVID-19 pandemic had derailed all touring plans that had been previously set up.
While the band doesn’t place all the blame on COVID, the pandemic certainly put a damper on much of the momentum that INTHEWHALE had built up to that point and ultimately saw a need for the duo to pause and reflect on the state of things both professionally and personally, prompting the necessity for a big decision to be made.
Ultimately, Valdez and Riley came to an amicable decision that the time to mark the final chapter of the juggernaut they’d created had come.
THE FINAL CHAPTER
There’s no doubt that INTHEWHALE’s 15year tenure as one of Colorado’s most beloved and successful heavy rock bands will forever be the thing of legends and while the outfit’s fate has been set in stone by its creators, it’s not quite over yet.
INTHEWHALE plans to go out in a blaze of glory with a handful of farewell concerts in Colorado including a stop at The Moxi Theater in Greeley on May 2nd, a stop at Denver’s Oriental Theater on May 16, followed directly by a show at The Mesa Theater in Grand Junction May 17th, and a final show in Fort Collins at a date that is yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, Valdez is keeping plenty busy acting as tour manager for numerous bands, creating artwork for artists, running a studio out of his home, and has even taken up lap steel guitar. In addition, be sure to check out a new project featuring both Valdez and Riley called Graveyard Choir, as well as an ‘80s-themed project inspired by Valdez’s love for The Smiths.
INTHEWHALE may be hanging it up for good this year, but the music, the memories, and the legacy will undoubtedly serve as a prominent section in the library which contains the annals of Colorado’s musical history books.
INTHEWHALE INTHEWHALE INTHEWHALE INTHEWHALE
FIND YOUR NEW FAVORITE BAND AT
BY BRIANA HARRIS
April in Fort Collins brings one of Northern Colorado’s most beloved music traditions: thousands of music fans flowing in and out of Old Town venues, musicians hugging on the street as they hustle to a set, and unexpected shows happening from 11am to 1am. It’s FoCoMX: the Fort Collins Music Experiment. Headed into year 17, the annual music festival has gained a reputation for prioritizing music discovery, with grassroots community at the heart of festival history and operations.
FoCoMX was born from the efforts of local musicians to build a better music scene. Festival co-founder Greta Cornett recounts the state of the Fort
Collins music scene in the early 2000s, when she was performing and touring with ska band 12 Cents for Marvin.
“There was a period of time in Fort Collins music history when a ton of our local venues shut down,” Cornett shares. With a gap in the market to serve local bands, Cornett began booking local acts at Road 34, a bicycle shop and bar.
“A LOT OF OUR LOCAL SCENES STARTED COMING TO ROAD 34 ALL THE TIME FOR MUSIC, AND ORGANICALLY WE ALL STARTED TALKING ABOUT THE CHALLENGES WE WERE FACING,” SAYS CORNETT. THE BAR BECAME THE UNOFFICIAL MEETING SITE FOR WHAT WOULD EVENTUAL-
LY BE THE FORT COLLINS MUSICIANS ASSOCIATION, A GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION FORMED TO UPLIFT THE LOCAL MUSIC SCENE. “IN THOSE EARLY MEETINGS WE DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE GOING TO BE A NONPROFIT, BUT WE STARTED DOING OUTREACH IN THE COMMUNITY. SOME OF THAT LOOKED LIKE EDUCATION PANELS, SOME OF IT LOOKED LIKE NEW TALENT SHOWCASES. IT JUST LOOKED LIKE A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE THAT CARED ABOUT THE LOCAL MUSIC SCENE.”
The organization hosted their first official event in 2008, the FoCoMA Peer Awards, inspired by the Westword Mu-
sic Awards in Denver. From that grew a spark to launch a hyper-local music festival, and the first year of FoCoMX was born in 2009. “We put our own money into the festival, and we even printed our own tickets,” recounts Cornett. “We went to Office Max and bought matching neon wristbands and paper, and we handmade every single ticket. We called it musician arts and crafts. I think every band in town helped us make those tickets that first year.”
The inaugural festival hosted 114 bands across 12 venues, and it sold a couple thousand tickets. Since then, the organization has continued to grow, pivot, and constantly evolve. The inclusion of "experiment" in the festival name was a harbinger for the fest’s unique positioning centered on local music discov-
body's like, ‘Hey, should we try this?’ Why not?”
Several features distinguish FoCoMX from the often crowded Colorado music festival landscape. “One of the biggest intentions we set from year one is it's a festival for musicians, by musicians,” states Cornett. The festival prioritizes connection between musicians across genres and generations, from the strategy used to curate lineups to the green room amenities. “There's a networking that can happen in a really comfortable way that doesn't happen for musicians year-round,” shares Peggy Lyle, Executive Director of FoCoMA. “We can have all of the musicians together. They can catch each others’ sets. They can find new bandmates. Everyone is here because they want to be here.” The festi-
The FoCoMX lineup philosophy centers around presenting the widest possible range of musical genres and styles, and it ditches traditional hierarchies of headlining and opening slots. Instead of potential audiences funneling to one or two big stages at the end of the night, festival-goers are pushed to show up for both established and emerging acts all weekend, throughout large and small venues. “We wanted to flip the mindset that audiences only go out to see big nighttime shows, or that huge bands are only going to play the last set of the night at the biggest venue,” says Cornett. This results in festival magic for fans and bands: a seasoned rock band shredding an afternoon patio set, an experimental jazz group followed by an indie songwriter, an EDM audience rubbing elbows with the hardcore scene. “We want you to come find your new favorite band,” shares Lyle.
FOCOMX WILL TAKE PLACE IN DOWNTOWN FORT COLLINS ON FRIDAY, APRIL 18TH AND SATURDAY, APRIL 19TH. THE FESTIVAL WILL FEATURE 420 LIVE PERFORMANCES ON NEARLY 40 STAGES. FOR THE FULL FESTIVAL SCHEDULE, TICKETS, AND VOLUNTEER INFORMATION, VISIT FOCOMX.ORG.
PHOTOS: BACKSTAGE FLASH
BANDWAGON PHOTO OF THE MONTH | PHOTO: SILA SUNGUR @PICSBYSILA FLIPTURN | THE MISSION BALLROOM | DENVER, CO | 3/ 15 / 25
