Although sometimes the work seems thankless, hidden, and for the most part, what happens is widely unknown, D.I.Y. music projects are often some of the most important contributors to a music scene. Denver is lucky to have plenty of do-it-yourself-ers whose projects may lie just beneath the surface, but the effect they have on local music goes well above and beyond. One of those such projects is Brass Tree Sessions, a homegrown concert and video recording series that has been tirelessly hosting local band after local band each month and is now entering its second season on PBS as a television show. They've been featured on this blog a couple times already, but the recording sessions are always worth checking out because of the quality and variety of the acts the bring in - such was the case this past weekend when Brass Tree Sessions hosted Raven & The Writing Desk, Tantric Picasso and Faceman.

A Brass Tree Sessions concert is essentially a house show, which affords a certain comfort and intimacy that isn't found in a more formal concert setting. Attendees can hang out in the back yard, basking in the sun with a beer in hand and food on the grill while a trio of amazing local bands set up shop in a dining room transformed into a performance studio. When it is time for the music to get going, people crowd into that small space, literally inches away from the performers as they play a set. The informal setting gives a sort of candid look at the people and personalities that are in each band, especially since the setting offers the chance to meet the performers face to face. It is a rare concert experience with incredible appeal to live music fans.

FaceMan

FaceMan was up first to kick off the afternoon. FaceMan performed as a trio that featured David Thomas Bailey (guitar), Dean Hirschfield (drums) and Faceman (vocals, guitar). Configured as a sort of power trio, FaceMan offered a sound that blended the punch of rock 'n' roll infused with the timelessness of folk/Americana. Forgoing a bass player, David Thomas Bailey used a seven string guitar to hold down the low end while simultaneously playing guitar. Dean Hirschfield showed off his accomplished drumming skills that included a number of creative approaches to percussive sound. Faceman played guitar and kept the band rooted with his powerful voice.

FaceMan

The great thing about attending a Brass Tree Sessions concert is you get to see an entire set, not just what ends up being recorded and edited into a music video. FaceMan got the crowd and themselves warmed up with a handful of songs mostly from their latest album FeedingTime. "TheBeast" approched energetic rock 'n' roll from an indie angle - loud but catchy and melodic. I was blown away by their performance of their new single "TheGospel" - with its beautiful melody, great instrumentation, poignant lyrics, and an ever building energy that seeped all the way into my bones. The songs they performed for their video shoot was great too, but I'm grateful I was able to catch both that and the unrecorded moments. The musical blend that FaceMan has was very well balanced and expertly delivered and they are definitely worth checking out.

Tantric Picasso

Next up was Tantric Picasso. This fearsome retro-influenced five-piece featured Jackson Boone (vocals, guitar), Marko Melnick (guitar, vocals), Pablo Cruz (bass), Matthew Tanner (drums), and Karl Rivers (keyboard, guitar). Tantric Picasso are contemporary revivalists of raw classic '70s style rock 'n' roll - the kind from the good ol' days that fused distortion, energy, attitude, blues and funk into a flamboyant melt-your-face-off package that put the hair on the chests of manly men. Although some of their recorded material (and from what I've seen performed before) has hints of psychedelic electronica in it, this set was all about rock 'n' roll.

Tantric Picasso

Tantric Picasso began their set the same way they start their new album, Make Your Love Bigger, with the lead-off track "Going To War". Midway through that first song, Pablo Cruz' bass malfunctioned, and attendees were a afforded a rare up close look at a couple things; what band members have to do when it comes to equipment failure and what it's like to sit in for a spontaneous jam session (as the rest of the band decided to keep playing music during the unexpected interlude). Seeing that occur was just as, if not more fulfilling than perhaps watching their set go off without a hitch. Moments later everything was back in full swing, and Tantric Picasso continued to rock the crowd's faces led by Jackson Boone's guttural wails, keeping the energy flowing all the way up through when they finished on the funked out single (and one of my favorites) "Strider". Be sure to check out Tantric Picasso, they will take you back in time while obliterating your eardrums - in the best way possible, of course.

Raven & The Writing Desk

Raven & The Writing Desk performed the final set of this session, and they began to impress even before they played a single note. Somehow, the six members of the band crammed themselves and all their gear into an approximately 15' x 15' space that could just barely contain them. Julia LiBassi (vocals, keyboard), Scott Conroy (guitar), Ryan Self (bass), Adrienne Short (violin, vocals), Neil Mitchell (marimba, melodica, percussion) and Matt Murphy (drums) all arranged themselves into the snug environment (the marimba alone took up nearly a third of the available space). The band began to play and with their performance they seemingly attempted to bring down the Brass Tree House walls with an enthralling set of their progressive baroque rock.

Raven & The Writing Desk

The explosion of sound began with "Wooden Lover" from their album Recidivist - an almost steampunk-like song that seemed to blend Victorian piano and vocal melody backed by powerful rock 'n' roll. As they performed songs from the The Bonedale EP, I was amazed by the creative use of atypical instruments, and how they all seamlessly worked together. Despite the large array of instruments, nothing was ever forced in there, and every instrument had a chance to shine. I loved the melodica and electric guitar featured in "Infancy Til' Death". I loved the violin solo at the beginning of "Tiny Terrors". The marimba was an instant crowd favorite, especially in the spontaneous interlude performance of "Under The Sea" from The Little Mermaid. I really didn't want them to stop playing, but alas bass trouble reared its ugly head again when a broken string forced an earlier end to their set. Hopefully they had enough good video footage to work with because this band needs to be seen to be believed. You can get the chance to see these guys this Wednesday, May 9 at the Hi-Dive, performing with Suckers and Young Man. I strongly recommend attending this show!

Brass Tree Sessions concerts are amazing on so many levels, and I think they are a must-see event if you truly love local music. They do a phenomenal job at selecting incredible local bands to perform. They offer an environment that'll offer a new perspective to viewing bands. They allow attendees to get up close and personal with these talented musicians. And you can always relive the moment, at least some of it, when the music videos from the sessions are released - not to mention the subsequent exposure a recording can give. D.I.Y. projects are fueled by the passion of the people behind them, but they thrive off of support from the community. Part of what has kept Brass Tree Sessions alive are donations, so be sure to not only stop by and see what it's all about, but help keep it moving forward in the future if you can - believe me, it is so worth it.

See more pictures from this show in the Facebook photo album. Like the Concerted Effort page to stay updated.

Brass Tree Sessions have been produced for Denver’s audio-visual pleasure for over a year now in an unassuming Victorian rental in the Baker area. The idea and energy behind the Brass Tree house is refreshing: local music fans benefit from volunteers who put on a free show and local bands get a free video recording from the free show put together by those same volunteers. Given the historic setting, I couldn’t help but find the Brass Tree house to be best described as kind of “steampunk” -- the conventions and style of historic Denver lend itself to the conveniences and artistry afforded by modernity’s technological advances What if the future of musical artistry was a residency of sorts where you learned video and audio production by living and working in a venue such as this one? That’s just me daydreaming, but make no mistake the house’s current tenants are professionals who know what they’re doing as their real-life professions offer them the sound, camera and recording expertise that gets these sessions included amongst Rocky Mountain PBS programming.

It was a busy Saturday afternoon on South Broadway. The warm weather brought out the masses to enjoy the sales, sun and Sweet Action (that sweet, sweet, ice-creamy goodness!). Walking up to the house, I was aware that I had been a little late as it had been advertised as starting at 2 PM it was already 2:45. Lucky for me, the first band was still plugging in their equipment, and only two or three standers-by were in attendance so far. Unlucky for me was that I hadn't planned to be at the house past 6:30 and so couldn't actually catch the end of the session, and so am not able to report not the Rubedo performance.





The Marrow did well in fitting themselves into the tight space with a myriad of instruments; the band's arrangement was not typical, to say the least. Another cool idea spawned while enjoying the Brass Tree home: invite musical guests to perform in a setting that has a challenge of some sort. The challenge was overcome by the Marrow, who fit two drum kits, two keyboards, an accordion and a wind chime doodad all in the same standing space as floor amps and the viewing public. The mystical wind chime instrument seemed to be just as much a pleasant decoration as anything.





The Marrow had a psychedelic-pop sound with a rock-n-roll attitude, accentuated by the bright colors of the bands instruments (a neon orange drum set stood out in particular) and the bright and happy demeanor of the band's ensemble. April, one of the two drummers for the band, provided an ample amount of upbeat attitude (she was in charge of the wind chime doodad, after all) and mentioned that anyone who shared a birthday with her next Friday April 27 would get into their Hi-Dive show happening that very night for free. This group only played six songs, and I'm sure you'd be in for a treat as they perform new songs from their latest EP being released this summer if you catch them play with the Munly, the Lupercalians and Rowboat next Friday night. At least there would be more room for all of their instruments.



Go Star played a short set that was not unlike a polished explosion of sound. After the first pause in between songs, the trumpeter (Joshua Trinidad) asked the tenants if they were ready to start recording, seemingly unaware of the crowd that had amassed to see what this trumpet quartet was all about. It was loud; so loud that I couldn't help but wonder if any commotion was being stirred amongst the neighbors. The unpredictable nature of the band’s music gripped me in rapt attention.



The four members of Go Star are all professionals with a unique and deft ear for pure musicality. Timing was superb: the drummer (Sean Merell) and bassist (Enoc Terroca) were in sync for the duration of the performance but the transitions and rhythms were varied so that every song remained listenable in the midst of the fury of sound. Having Trujillo’s trumpet, equipped with it’s own sound effect pedal, gives the performance a jazz-y feel but in an unexpected way; there are no abundant trumpet solos, it just seems to fit perfectly with the structured pop-rock songs designed by the rest of the band.

106 Irvington is much more than a house with floor amps. The home’s tenants donate their time, their living space and basically work for free to make these shows a reality. I met Ben, Tyler and Leighton who live and run the Brass Tree operation and all of whom deserve some donation love. I myself plan to be prepared for the next recording I attend.

At the end of August, I had the chance to go to the Brass Tree House and check out the filming of one of their episodes. Session #7 had three more great local bands in attendance and the Brass Tree Sessions crew have released the music videos of the bands they filmed that day. You can read my write-up on the filming of this episode here, and check out the resulting videos below. Check out more episodes at the Brass Tree Sessions website.

Amazing Twin performing a brand new song.

Episode 7 - Amazing Twin, ManCub, & Accordion Crimes (1/3) from Brass Tree Sessions on Vimeo.

ManCub performing "Summer Rain"

Episode 7 - Amazing Twin, ManCub, & Accordion Crimes (2/3) from Brass Tree Sessions on Vimeo.

Accordion Crimes performing "Drive"

Episode 7 - Amazing Twin, ManCub, & Accordion Crimes (3/3) from Brass Tree Sessions on Vimeo.

Although I haven't been doing this blogging thing for very long, I hadn't gone a day without at least one post before this Saturday. That came about because of two reasons: 1) It was a little more work than I anticipated trying to cover a festival as opposed to a regular show. There is a lot more going on, a lot more bands, and way more pictures to process at the end. 2) I was going to spend Saturday afternoon putting the review together, but then I found out about something else I had to cover. I had just woken up from the long night before and was greeted by a message telling me ManCub was playing Brass Tree Sessions Saturday afternoon, so I grabbed my gear and headed out the door.

For those of you that don't know, Brass Tree Sessions is a special once a month live music event featuring local bands. The bands play in a house off South Broadway and people can attend for free. What makes the event special, is each band gets to choose a couple songs to have recorded in HD video. The Brass Tree Sessions crew will capture the performance and turn the footage into a music video. You can see the past six episodes and future sessions at the Brass Tree Sessions web site.

I left Capitol Hill shortly before two o'clock and walked through the hot afternoon sun towards the South Broadway neighborhood. Beads of sweat started to run down my brow as I turned the last corner and saw a welcome sight; a group of people gathered on the porch of the fabled house sharing conversations and cold beer. Alex Anderson of ManCub was lounging on the steps, and he was surrounded by people there for the show and some of the Brass Tree crew. I cracked open a beer, sat down in the shade, made myself comfortable, met those around me and readied my camera. I could hear the first band getting ready to perform, the echoes of their sound check pouring out into the street. As I got to the end of my beer, everyone started to make their way inside to catch the first session.

Amazing Twin

Amazing Twin played first, and they began to perform in the house's makeshift stage area - the dining room centrally located within the house. The four members were crammed in the no bigger than 15' x 15' space, with as many onlookers as would fit inside, the rest spilling out either side packing the kitchen or the living room. Before Saturday, I hadn't heard of Amazing Twin, and it turns out they are made up of members of another local Denver rock band, Hindershot. Amazing Twin started playing their brand of shoegaze inspired indie rock to the delight of the crowd.

Patrick Kelly of Amazing Twin

Amazing Twin is Patrick Kelly on vocals/guitar/keyboard, Lucas Johannes on guitar, Stuart Confer on bass, and Chris Durant on drums. Together they produce an impressive range of sounds. Their songs vary musically from one to the next using varying tempos, beat structures and hints of other music styles. Patrick Kelly's vocals are the glue that holds it all together and makes all their songs cohesive. It was an awesome set, and I can't wait to see the resulting video, especially for "Time Capsule In Reverse", the song that stuck with me well after the performance.

One of the best things about Brass Tree Sessions is the casual atmosphere. Amazing Twin finished their set and there was a good sized gap in time before ManCub went on, allowing everyone there to meet each other and meet the bands. Aside from the bands performing, I also ran into a few members of other local bands while hanging out between sets. Sammi from Sauna and Victoria from Nipples-n-Dimes were around that afternoon. Both of their bands had been previously featured on Brass Tree Sessions. (Sauna was on Episode #1, Nipples-n-Dimes on Episode #2) I also ran into Claire Connoly of Number Station and Nate Adelmann of Shaky Molars. If you really want to know local Denver music, the Brass Tree house is a great way to hear it and meet the people behind it all.

ManCub

After meeting more people and sharing some more cold beer, I went back inside as ManCub was finishing setting up their gear. I've covered ManCub a lot, but I definitely don't get tired of doing it. They always manage to do something different every time I see them, yet consistently blow away whatever crowd they play for. Thanks to the informal setting of the Brass Tree house, ManCub treated a few onlookers to an impromptu song that offered a small window into how their songs are created. After a loud sneeze, Alex recorded the phrase "T'was a violent sneeze" into the microphone and immediately started playing it back, messing with filters to change the sound. Alex Anderson and James Wayne then began to lay down various beats, and Alex knocked out a quick melody on his keyboard. Within a minute they had something resembling a song - although I don't think they'll be performing "T'was a Violent Sneeze" anytime soon. Still, it was cool watching a song take shape freestyle right before your eyes.

Alex Anderson of ManCub

Soon, more people packed into the house and ManCub began their set. They played much of what they did the night before at Denver After Dark, but this time to a crowd of mostly fresh faces. By the time "Post Modern War" and "Mt. Rushmore" came on, hardly anyone in the house was standing still. People went particularly crazy this time for "Sound", and they ended with "Summer Rain", getting everyone in the house nice and sweaty. I overheard people coming up to ManCub after the set who had just heard ManCub's music for the first time, praising them for doing something a little different with electronic music that still hits hard but is an alternative to dubstep. I would have to strongly agree. I've said it before but I'll keep saying it - if you haven't heard ManCub yet, check them out!

Accordion Crimes

Finally it was time for Accordion Crimes to hold their session, and I was excited to hear another new-to-me local band. Accordion Crimes is Bryon Parker on vocals/guitar, Brian Feuchtinger on bass, and Dave Sprague on drums. Together, they produce some sweet indie post-punk/hardcore noise rock that completely blew me away. My first thought was they were a less random but just as awesome version of At The Drive-In, with a similar amount of energy and similar vocal register. The Brass Tree house is a very old Victorian house, and by the end of Accordion Crime's set, I thought it might be wise to check the place for structural damage.

Bryon Parker of Accordion Crimes

It was the first time I heard Accordion Crimes, so it was tough to pick out individual songs as opposed to getting an idea of the band as a whole. Still, two songs stuck out to me in their set. The first was the easiest to remember because Accordion Crimes announced they'd be playing a cover song. I wasn't familiar with Shellac at the time, but Accordion Crimes did a fine job of covering their song "Song of the Minerals". I went back and checked out the original (and learned about a new band) and they were very true to Shellac's version, and it is now evident where some of Accordion Crimes' influence came from. The other song that stuck with me was "Forecast". My jaw hit the floor when they played this song and I was scrambling through the rest of the session trying to gather it back to my face. Those looking for a high energy band need to look no further than Accordion Crimes. Check them out and keep your eyes open for their videos on the next Brass Tree Sessions release.

The Brass Tree House

Brass Tree Sessions was an amazing experience, and all you have to do to be a part of the next one is keep your eyes open. There is no more intimate way to listen to music than experiencing it less than a yard away from you in a small room of a house, and no better way to connect to bands than sharing beers and conversations with them on a summer afternoon in and around a home of music. The Denver music scene isn't just the bands that make all the awesome music; it's the people that help host bands and spread the word like the Brass Tree crew, and all the people that come out to support the music by being there when the bands perform live. We're all in this together, and the bands can't take it any further without people coming out and being a part of the music community. The more people come out and see what's happening, the greater and more prosperous the scene will become. Come on in, the door's wide open.

Check out more pictures from the sessions in the Facebook photo album. Like the Concerted Effort page and stay up to date!