KCSU Music

Who's Clownin' Around: A Look at Fools Fest

KCSU — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000

In this podcast we discuss the history and community behind Fools Fest, an annual local music show held by KCSU on CSU's campus.
Featuring the voices of: Asher Korn, Andrew Di Tirro Pat Mathews, Trey DuFauchard, Gideon Aigner, and Gus Arnold

For the Love of Local Music

KCSU — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 17:00:00 +0000

5 Local bands headline Lovers Fest at the Aggie Theater for Valentine's Day. Find out more as Ria and Mia from the KCSU music department interview members of Kevin?, Ember, Snow Day, Planet Claire, and Freaky Stella.

The Black Lips' Bassist Jared Swilley Chats With KCSU Before A Set at the Mission Ballroom

KCSU — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 16:00:00 +0000

KCSU music director Ria sat down with Jared Swilley of Black Lips ahead of their Dever show at the Mission Ballroom on October 28th, 2025. On this tour the band is supporting Viagra Boys whilst performing songs from their latest album “Season of the Peach”. The two discuss the excitement of touring, the juxtaposition of telling intense stories with a lighthearted sound, and how aliens might react to bird sounds.

Ria Janapati

We are here at the Mission Ballroom, October 2[7]th, [2025]. You are Jared of the Black Lips-

Jared Swilley

Jared, and you are?

Ria

I am Ria, Music Director of KCSU; I've got some questions.

Jared

Cool.

Ria

First one being: You've been doing this music thing for a hot minute now, are there things about being on the road specifically that change for you excitement level wise?

Jared

Oh sure, yeah. There's a different, like, excitement level. I've been touring since I was 16. We drove- the first like US tour we ever did was pretty miserable, but it was still the funnest thing; like, by my standards today, it would be pretty miserable, but I remember seeing the desert for the first time, and that's like, that excitement- I can remember the excitement I felt, like, the first time I saw a cactus. But like, now, you know, I slept on a pretty drive today because I've seen a lot of that stuff. So that changes. I still love being on stage and stuff. But yeah, I mean, just like, anything you do forever, things get boring.

Ria

Are there any cities that you visited a first time and you, like, couldn't wait to go back? Or maybe the opposite, you were really excited, but it wasn't your fav.

Jared

Oh, I won't mention any cities I didn't like, because I figure it's best not to say negative things about people or places. But there's... like, yeah, a lot of cities. I mean, talk about [the] excitement of being someplace. I remember the feeling of the first time we went to Europe to play; I couldn't believe it, like, because it was, it felt really cool. And I wanted to go back to all those cities, and I have been back to pretty much all of them. Or, like, you know, like Tokyo, like going there, I was like, "I have to come back here. It's awesome." So most, most places I would like, I, you know, there's, there's very few places I'd be like, “I never want to go there again.” So, yeah, I like most places.

Ria

I've seen that you guys have come to be known for pulling some antics during live shows, especially more in the DIY spaces. Has there been anything you've really wanted to do during a live show that would just be like a fun little act that no one saw coming?

Jared

There is one that we've been talking about doing... because we've done, like, all sorts of crazy stuff, and we're, like, older now, so I'm not trying to, like, make anyone upset anymore, like, do anything crazy. But like, have you ever seen the Wizard of Oz?

Ria

Absolutely.

Jared

So you know, like, when the Munchkins, like those guys come out as, like, the lollipop... the old guys? We want to- I guess I'm spilling the beans here, but it'll surprise people when we do it. But like, we kind of, like… We have this song that's about eating candy on our new record, and we want to just like, stop in the middle, hopefully, at a really huge show, like something like this [Mission Ballroom], or at a big festival, and, like, drop our instruments and go into the lollipop guild dance and then just start playing again. That's kind of like what we want to do.

Ria

Nice. A little surprise, a little dance break.

Jared

Yeah

Ria

Yeah, awesome. You just have to get the choreography down.

Jared

Yeah.

Ria

And then your newest album, Season of the Peach, I noticed it takes on a lot of different genre influences. There's some rockabilly sound, there's some 60s stuff, some folk stuff going on, just all over the place. So when you're taking inspiration to create something new like that, where do you find yourself looking?

Jared

I'm always looking in the past, and that's just for me. Fortunately, in this band, like all five members [contribute equally], right? So that's why it can kind of seem like it's all over the place, like musically. But, I mean, I only listen to, like, very old music, so that's kind of really what I'm pulling from; I listen to, like, old country and doo-wop and rockabilly and blues and stuff like that, so that's usually... I'm just trying to recreate stuff in a kind of, like, not as good way as the stuff I really like.

Ria

Back on your 2020 album, there's a song called "Angola Rodeo", and that song really interested me in the storytelling of it. It seemed like a bit of a silly take on, like, real life events. So-

Jared

Yeah

Ria

When you're going about doing that. Where do you draw the line between like, not taking yourself too seriously?

Jared

Well, you want to like, not like... or at least with me, I want to be like, if I'm talking about something very serious, and that's a very serious thing... Do you know the story of, like, the Angola rodeo?

Ria

Yeah, it's a prison rodeo.

Jared

Yeah, prison rodeo, and we actually went to it. I'd always wanted to go, and we went, and it's like, you know, it's pretty controversial. I happen to be in favor of it, just because it's like, if you're doing life in prison, or if you're on death row, like, it's the best day of your life when you get to do... They actually do it for like, a few months of the year. But you know, you don't want to be too preachy or too sappy, so you got to have your tongue firmly in cheek. My theory has always been, if you have, like, a really sad subject matter, make it a very poppy sounding song. And if you have really happy sounding stuff, it should be like, darker. That's kind of like how I like to do things.

Ria

Yeah, just flip them on their head.

Jared

And it's still, like... The lyrics are still like, kind of serious; but it's like a fun kind of sounding song. But you know, the Angola Prison is, like, one of the darkest places in the United States. It's pretty rough there.

Ria

I just thought that was really interesting, because on a first listen, if you're not really paying attention, it'll just be like, "Oh, this is a fun little tune-

Jared

There is, like, a big, like, stark contrast when you go to that rodeo, because you are in this just incredibly dark place. You drive in and you see death row, and you see the fields they're all working in, but then you go in there, and it's like, a really happy environment; like the prisoners... It's like, all guys on best behavior, but they've been working; like, they sell their arts and crafts that day. Their families are allowed to come in. They can actually have like, conjugal visits with their family in there. So it's like, it's super dark, ...

Ria and Mia Return for the 2025-2026 School Year With a Mixed Bag of Summer Favorites

KCSU — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 09:00:00 +0000

KCSU Music Directors Ria Janapati and Mia Templien return to the station for their first podcast of the 2025-2026 school year! Although our music team was on break over the summer, their love of music never took a vacation; Listen as Ria and Mia break down their favorite songs, albums, and artists of the summer. With picks including but not limited to new releases like Clipse's Let God Sort Em' Out and Joey Valence & Brae's Hyperyouth as well as pre-1996 gems like 10cc's Bloody Tourists and (The London) Suede's Coming Up.

Austin, TX Band Grocery Bag Pens Nonsense Lyrics and Were Peer Pressured to Keep Their Last-Minute Name

KCSU — Fri, 02 May 2025 21:55:28 +0000

Hailing from Austin, Texas, Grocery Bag is a ragtag group consisting of Bella Martinez, Jimmy Mercado, Dillon Aitala, and Logan Kerman. Each member had a unique upbringing with music: Martinez played in bands or various genres, including a church band; Aitala picked up guitar in high school and kept at it after COVID-19 hit; Mercado's dad played drums while he was growing up, so he picked up a pair of drumsticks; and Kerman's mother threw a guitar into his lap when he was just 2 years old, sparking a new passion. Mercado and Aitala went to high school together, Mercado being a part of multiple bands at the same time while Aitala admired from the sidelines, wanting to join in. The two met Martinez and Kerman through some of Mercado's projects; Martinez booked a show and didn't have a band, so she asked the other three to hop in. Martinez's father has a bunch of vintage signs in his garage, and when the band played a house show at his house, Martinez looked up at a sign that said "Grocery Bag", and the rest is history. Grocery Bag have been best friends forever, hanging out every day when Aitala and Mercado were still in high school, driving around to malls and guitar stores. They pen nonsense lyrics and emphasize on the guitar riff as their basis for songs. They opened for Psychedelic Porn Crumpets April 28th at The Aggie Theatre, and their next show is at Third Man Records Cass Corridor on May 18th.

"We Were Made For This Show": Dynamic Duo Hot Boyz Opening for Soulja Boy, Making Music Completely Their Own

KCSU — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 22:22:52 +0000

"Hot Boyz" is a duo hip hop/rap group consisting of DvNeHppy and JG. DvNeHppy hails from southern Louisiana and JG from Denver, the two meeting when they "opened" for rapper Twista in 2022; Twista was a no show, so the two performed anyway and were dazzled by each other's sets. The two began collaborating not long after, even starting their own respective production companies all the while: W.O.A.H Network by DvNe, and Prolific Posse by JG. Hot Boyz is always trying new things and making their money's worth as independent artists. They want to make music that they want to listen to, and if they gain an audience through that, it's just a bonus. Hot Boyz works hard at the events they play at, saying they're like art curations, providing people with experience they won't forget. They find inspiration from artists like Childish Gambino, KAYTRANADA, Potatohead People, Kendrick Lamar, and many more artists. Opening for their first sold-out show with Soulja Boy on April 17th, DvNeHppy and JG are prepared to show you what they can do. Hot Boyz will also play at FoCoMX at Wolverine Farm at 11pm on April 18th, and are playing The Black Buzzard in Denver on May 23rd.

Franz Ferdinand and Telescreens rock Boulder Theatre to its core on April Fool’s Day

KCSU — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 17:22:49 +0000

https://kcsufm.com/2025/04/franz-ferdinand-and-telescreens-rock-boulder-theatre-to-its-core-on-april-fools-day/

FOOLS FEST '25: "Loud Was Always In Our Veins", Slag Praises the DIY Scene

KCSU — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 18:22:12 +0000

Fools Fest is KCSU's annual punk festival, always set to happen around April Fools Day! Every year, KCSU gathers local punk and punk-adjacent bands to play on Colorado State University's campus, creating a unique and exciting event for all to enjoy. KCSU's music directors, Mia Templien and Ria Janapati, had the opportunity to sit down with a few of the bands performing for some in-depth interviews.

Slag got their name from an unhoused man repeating the word "slag" as he walked by Clay Childress at The Atrium; after having a conversation with him, Childress decided it was fate. This spacey/shoe gaze/noise rock/indie band consists of twins Clay and Coleman Childress, Caleb Shaver, and Andrew Jussila. Much of their inspiration comes from the DIY scene, with bands like Duster, Fugazi, and Built To Spill being some of their favorites. Slag's next show will be at the FoCoMX music festival at the Art Lab at 8pm on 4/19.

FOOLS FEST '25: Dry Ice May Not Play Their "Limp Biskit Nickelback-Core" Music as a Prank

KCSU — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 18:20:59 +0000

Dry Ice is a project that started when Pierre Booth and Ethan Rovno were in high school; Booth watched "School Of Rock" and was hooked instantly. Mazzy Madeira and Catherine joined a few years ago, making the band what it is today. Dry Ice is described with a wide variety of genres, but the ones that stick out are riot grrrl, punk, and "Limp Biskit Nickelback-Core". Many of their inspirations include bands in metal and punk bands like Hole and Destiny Bond, a local band from Denver. Dry Ice is going on an East Coast tour starting in May, and has new music coming out soon!

FOOLS FEST '25: College Kids Just Wanting To Play Music, Snow Day Knows Too Many Good Pranks

KCSU — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 23:47:19 +0000

The amalgamation of kids wanting to play in a band but not finding the right people is what created Snow Day. Consisting of Grace Murch, Jack DeStefano, Kenny Barnes, and Bradley Brungardt, Snow Day is a hodgepodge of alternative rock, punk, noise rock, and much more. Murch had never played bass before, DeStefano snagged Barned from Denver, and Brungardt got a call from Snow Day's old drummer, asking him to fill in. They find inspiration in bands like Sonic Youth, Nettspend, and Xaviersobased, and are ready to rock CSU's socks off!

FOOLS FEST '25: Choam Nomsky Knows Karate and Wants To Catch People in a Giant Mousetrap

KCSU — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 23:44:09 +0000

Getting their name from their the anarchist Noam Chomsky, Choam Nomsky consists of Joe Wing, Jaden Auer, and Hank Hatten. Since middle school, Wing and Auer have dreamed of being in a band, and when they found Hatten, also the bassist for local band Major Flavor, their dreams started to become reality. Getting inspiration from the hair metal genre and Bon Jovi, Choam Nomsky's post-punk/hardcore sound is set to debut five to seven new songs at Fools Fest.

FOOLS FEST '25: "A Country Band Plumb Gone Wrong", Plastic Forearm Loves Kelly Clarkson and Yelling in Record Stores

KCSU — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 23:41:35 +0000

Plastic Forearm started in the middle of a record store in Orlando, Florida; Boone "Mud" Gonzales found R Cooper Long through the odd method of asking everyone in the store if they play music. Not long after, the pair opened Casey Taylor Brock's old band, and they all decided to stick together. Moving to Colorado on terms of fate, Plastic Forearm is a high-energy dynamic trio, or "a country band plumb gone wrong". They find inspiration in noise rock and free jazz, but also finds their variety from artists like Frankie Cosmos and The Dead Milkmen. Their debut album "Plastic Forearm Loves The Earth" is set to drop on April 25th, 2025, with their album release show on April 26th at the Swing Station in Laporte.

Are the Music Directors Oracles? Mia and Ria's Recent Spins and What They Got Right About The Grammys

KCSU — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 18:22:52 +0000

Happy Valentine's Day from the KCSU Music Directors! Mia and Ria break down their recent favorites in music, including trip hop bands like Massive, Portishead, and Wagon Christ, other artists like Blondie, FKA twigs, Leonard Cohen, and, of course, Talking Heads. The two then move on to the results of the 67th Grammy Awards, sharing their excitement and disappointment for who won. They celebrate Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us", Beyonce's first win in Album of the Year, Chappell Roan winning Best New Artist, and Doechii getting Best Rap Album. Ria shares some hot takes about Best Remixed Recording and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and Mia independently cheers for The Beatles' win for Best Rock Performance.

~The More You Know~: DJ-Athon Repeat Spins and Grammy Predictions, Mia and Ria's Infinite Music Knowledge

KCSU — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 18:33:34 +0000

Happy November from KCSU's Music Directors! For this podcast, Mia and Ria reflect about DJ-Athon, KCSU's biannual fundraiser, and which songs DJs were playing the most; some artists include Charli xcx, Magdalena Bay, Chappell Roan, Billy Joel, and A Tribe Called Quest. The two flex their music knowledge regarding the connection between Blondie and Fab 5 Freddy, and Talking Heads records. Then they look over the 67th Grammy Awards and made predictions for multiple categories, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance, and much more.

Frayne Vibez Talks "Taking it Easy" and Provides the Vibez to KCSU

Euan Peart — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 22:27:34 +0000

Euan Peart, KCSU's Station Manager, got the opportunity to chat with R&B pop artist Frayne Vibez before his show at Washington's on Friday, October 18th as one of Lupe Fiasco's opening acts on his Samurai tour. In an interview focused on Vibez' career and experience as an young artist, the two talk about Frayne's musical inspirations, including Joji and Don Toliver, his favorite parts of the tour, and Spider-Man.

Find Frayne Vibez new single 'Take it Easy' on all streaming platforms and find him on socials @fraynevibez.

Listen to more KCSU podcasts and interviews on kcsufm.com, our Spotify at KCSUFM, and anywhere else you find podcasts.

Mia and Ria Bring You Spooky Music: Halloween Movie Soundtrack Classics, Eerie New Wave, and the Music Directors' First Podcast Together

KCSU — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 20:49:52 +0000

KCSU’s Music Directors Mia Templien and Ritika/Ria Janapati know good music. Whether it be 70s folk rock or experimental pop, Mia and Ria are in the crowd dancing along. Their podcast navigates their wide variety of taste and how music from decades past is still relevant today. Join them during their journey in the music department here at KCSU.
Happy October, and happy almost Halloween! The KCSU Music Directors are ecstatic to be beginning their podcast for the 2024-25 school year, and they decided with autumn sneaking in, it's time for some spooky music recommendations. Mia and Ria breakdown some of their favorite Halloween/eerie music and soundtracks they've loved over the years, including Chyna Anne McClain, Oingo Boingo, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Silence of the Lambs.

Speed Run Interview with Sitting On Stacy, Alternative Rock Friends Since High School

KCSU — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 19:32:42 +0000

Currently on tour with Sublime and Rome, Sitting On Stacy hopped into KCSU's studio for an on-air interview with local music director Riley Hilbert.

"A Folk alt-j", Eli Waltz Pulls Inspiration from Traditional Chinese Music and Pens Meditative Lyrics

KCSU — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 17:57:45 +0000

On September 7th, music directors Mia Templien and Ritika Janapati interviewed itinerant artist Eli Waltz before his show at The Roxy on Broadway in Denver. Waltz discusses his life on the road as a solo artist and his inspirations for his music.

From Australia to Milwaukee, psychedelic rock and R&B bring danceability to KCSU

KCSU — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 17:47:28 +0000

The folk girls dominate this week’s Gems: Adrianne Lenker, to Lizzy McAlpine, and Maggie Rogers

KCSU — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 17:45:56 +0000

A Summer 24’ spins recap with Mia and Ria

KCSU — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 17:42:40 +0000

Medium Build, Bob Vylan, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Bidding Ado to the Music Directors

KCSU — Wed, 01 May 2024 19:20:43 +0000

Happy end of the school year! Jalen and Paris wrap up their time here at KCSU with an April recap.

A Devastating Month of February: Natalie Joachim, Mannequin P*ssy, Middle Satyr, The Last Dinner Party

KCSU — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 19:20:25 +0000

KCSU’s Music Directors Jalen Thompson and Paris Huckaby are the destination for eccentric and eclectic music tastes within the CSU community. Their podcast maneuvers the world of music through their eyes including new releases, pop culture, interviewing other music connoisseurs, and the links that bring the two together <3. Come hang out and jam with KCSU’s hottest musical takes.

Jalen and Paris are a bit late, but their February recap is here! Follow along their devastating journey of new music and favorite albums dropped.

Amy Parsons Finds Her Energy as a Guest DJ on 90.5 KCSU

KCSU — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 17:49:30 +0000

Colorado State University President Amy Parsons is no stranger to music on campus, but going live on-air on CSU’s student-run radio station, 90.5 KCSU, is a first for the presidential bucket list.

On Wednesday, March 6th, Parsons sat down with KCSU DJs Erin Fuller and Riley Hilbert to talk about her mission to bring live music back to CSU and take a nostalgia trip into her favorite campus classics.

THE GOBLIES: KCSU's Hot Takes About The 2024 Grammys

KCSU — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 19:19:57 +0000

The Grammys have come and gone, but the music directors aren't convinced that they covered everything. Join Jalen and Paris as they recap the 2023 year in music and give their "Goblies" to artists and bands they appreciated.

Megan Thee Stallion, SUPERB*TCH, glass beach, Courting, and a Sneak Peek into February

KCSU — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 20:16:10 +0000

The music directors wish you a happy new year! Catch up with the music released in January with Jalen and Paris, and stick around towards the end for a sneak peek of what they'll be doing in February.

Penelope Scott, Danny Brown, Jockstrap, Andre 3000, and Winding Down The Semester

KCSU — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 19:40:48 +0000

Some unique music dropped in November, and the music directors are in the know! Join Jalen Thompson and Paris Huckaby as they recount the month in music and close out the fall semester.

Hiromi, Sufjan Stevens, Sampha, Troye Sivan, and What The Music Directors Are Wearing For Halloween

KCSU — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 19:11:50 +0000

KCSU’s Music Directors Jalen Thompson and Paris Huckaby are the destination for eccentric and eclectic music taste within the CSU community. Their podcast maneuvers the world of music through their eyes including new releases, pop culture, interviewing other music connoisseurs, and the links that bring the two together <3. Come hang out and jam with KCSU’s hottest musical takes.

October has come and gone, but the music released will linger on for the rest of the year! Join the music directors as they chat about their favorite releases from October and hear what costumes they'll be pulling off for Halloween.

Earth Eater, Teezo Touchdown, Frankie and The Witch Fingers, Mitksi, and the Music Directors Black Country, New Road Concert Outing

KCSU — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 20:34:02 +0000

For their monthly podcast, music directors Jalen Thompson and Paris Huckaby sit down to recap music released in the month of September.

Gettin’ the Goose: A Preview of CSU’s Fall Concert Shenanigan

KCSU — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 02:22:47 +0000

KCSU’s programming director Laura Andrews sits down with members of the improvisational indie-groove band Goose ahead of their upcoming concert at Colorado State University on October 7th, 2023. The band talks about their hidden Fort Collins upbringings, their two sold-out Red Rocks Ampitheater shows on October 5th and 6th, their musical influences and evolution, and plays some nature trivia while they’re at it.

The upcoming Goose CSU concert, presented by CSUMarcom, AEG presents, the Music Business Collective, and KCSU is free to all CSU students. Additional general admission and VIP tickets are available for purchase through the band’s website. For more information about the show, visit CSU Source.
https://source.colostate.edu/csu-hosting-goose-concert-on-campus-oct-7-free-tickets-available-to-students/

Battle of the Bands 2023 - Basement Baby: From Crowd to Stage

KCSU — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 21:38:39 +0000

KCSU's Battle of the Bands is our annual local music festival that's hosted at CSU. Four bands face off and the audience gets to vote for who they liked best! The winners get a cash prize and a slot playing at CSU's Ramskellar.
In this episode, Basement Baby tells a cryptic story about their name and how they want to spread their good vibes from the stage.

Battle of the Bands 2023 - Clementine: If Weezer Was Good

KCSU — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 21:36:30 +0000

KCSU's Battle of the Bands is our annual local music festival that's hosted at CSU. Four bands face off and the audience gets to vote for who they liked best! The winners get a cash prize and a slot playing at CSU's Ramskellar.
In this episode, Clementine talks how they came from the roof of the snack shack at Holiday Twin Drive-In to playing big gigs around Colorado.

Battle of the Bands 2023 - Bridge Renaissance: 9 Chord Wonders

KCSU — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 21:35:21 +0000

KCSU's Battle of the Bands is our annual local music festival that's hosted at CSU. Four bands face off and the audience gets to vote for who they liked best! The winners get a cash prize and a slot playing at CSU's Ramskellar.
In this episode, Bridge Renaissance chats about their jazz/indie/funk fusion sound and their constant evolution as a band.

Battle of the Bands 2023 - Stil Runnin: Energetic Blues Metal or Psychedelic Jungle Rock?

KCSU — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 21:33:44 +0000

KCSU's Battle of the Bands is our annual local music festival that's hosted at CSU. Four bands face off and the audience gets to vote for who they liked best! The winners get a cash prize and a slot playing at CSU's Ramskellar.
In this episode, Stil Runnin tells us about their journey from California to Colorado and their mixed up story (or stories?) of how they got their name.

Hozier, Cautious Clay, Noname, and Getting To Know The New KCSU Music Directors

KCSU — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 20:23:01 +0000

KCSU's Music Directors Jalen Thompson and Paris Huckaby are the destination for eccentric and eclectic music taste within the CSU community. Their podcast maneuvers the world of music through their eyes, including new releases, pop culture, interviewing other music connoisseurs, and the link that brings the two together <3. Come hang out and jam with KCSU's hottest musical takes.

March Recap: Boygenius, "Daisy Jones and the Six", Morgan Wallen, "Swarm", and Drake Drama at Lollapalooza

KCSU — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 20:11:55 +0000

Music Directors Bridhid and Bailey recap music events, talking about their favorite albums, singles, and pop culture moments for the month of March.

An interview with Ben Mozer, owner of The Lyric

KCSU — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 21:11:03 +0000

Ben Mozar discusses the local film scene and how his support of local artists led to his creation of The Lyric, an independent movie theater in north Fort Collins. Interview by Sulaiman Akbar.

February Recap: Rebecca Black, Paramore, Ice Spice, The Grammys

KCSU — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Brighid and Bailey recap music moments in the month of February-chatting about their top artists, albums, songs and their thoughts on the Grammys.

Pixie and the Partygrass Boys On Festivals, Skiing, and Utah Culture

KCSU — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the KCSU Music Podcast Bailey Liverman sits down with Utah based band Pixie and the Partygrass Boys to talk about their appearance in Steamboats Bluegrass festival WinterWonderGrass and more!

Nick Anderson of The Wrecks Talks Childhood Songwriting and More

KCSU — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Follow KCSU's music team through an interview with The Wreck's lead singer and guitarist Nick Anderson.

Talking Shop with Odie Leigh

KCSU — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

KCSU's Bailey Liverman sits down with musical artists Odie Leigh to talk about everything from her recent tour to her musical beginnings.

Colorado Musician David Lawrence's Jazz Journey

KCSU — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

KCSU's Assistant Music Director Bailey Liverman sits down with jazz musician David Lawrence to talk shop about influences, new music, and more!

SZA, Backseat Lovers, zzzahara, & More Dominate KCSU Charts

Brighid Bandel — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

"KCSU’s Weekly Gems Countdown” is hosted by the KCSU Music Directors and describes the top artists that your local 90.5 FM DJs are playing this week! This article is posted weekly on Sundays and discussed on their show “KCSU Weekly Gem Countdown” which airs every Monday from 12-1. During the show, you can learn more about each musician or band before tuning in to the top 10 countdowns on Monday from 12-1, in which the music directors present to you the latest songs topping the charts and breaking down each song’s sound and feel. Follow along with our article on KCSUFM.com as well!

Cavetown Tops the Charts, While New Music Enters and Dominates

Brighid Bandel — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 20:16:19 +0000

KCSU's Music Directors Wrap up October with a Guest Review of the Halloween $uicideboy$ Concert

KCSU — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

KCSU's Baily Liverman and Brighid Bandel talk shop on music news in October with a guest appearance of Podcast Director Ben Haney! Album reviews, TikTok songs, and much more are covered in this episode of the music podcast!

Creature Canyon Spills Secrets About Their Tour Shenanigans, Favorite Music, and More

KCSU — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

KCSU Deejay Riley Hilbert sits down with San Diego band Creature Canyon for an exclusive interview following the release of their debut album "Remarks".

KCSU's Music Directors Talk September Concerts, Omar Apollo, and Much More

KCSU — Sat, 08 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to KCSU's new monthly segment of our Music Podcast the Monthly Wrap up! In this episode our music director's Bailey and Brigid go over their favorite singles, albums, music news, and much more!

Meet the Competitors Who Made KCSU's Battle of the Bands

KCSU — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

KCSU's Music Directors sit down with the four Battle of the Bands competitors to ask them questions about the performance, their bands start, and more!

Super Happy Fun Time with Bryan Bielanski

KCSU — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This week on the "KCSU Music" podcast, the KCSU music director interviews Bryan Bielanski, an up-and-coming folk Americana artist from North Carolina defying genre standards. They discuss his current tour and his crazy National Park tour over the pandemic. They also hit on what it means to be an artist in an ever-changing industry and his goals for the future.

Warm Weather Must Haves: A Playlist for You!

KCSU — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Brighid Bandel creates the best summer playlist this year because, let's face it, the mood of the music will always reflect your actual mood. Summer 2022 will be the best one yet! Since the weather has been getting so nice and we are almost to summer, she wanted to share the songs that always seem to be on her spring and summer playlist so you can discover new tunes.

Brighid’s Break Down: Houndmouth

KCSU — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Did you miss the Houndmouth with Buffalo Nichols show? Well, you’re in luck because this week on the semester’s first episode of the KCSU music podcast, music director Brighid Bandel is bringing the concert to you. In this episode, Brighid breaks down the concert into tiers and categories so you can get a full look into the bands, their sound and the sets. You'll feel like you were there complete with the smoke machine smell in your hair.

We also want to thank the Aggie Theatre for letting us review this cool show!

Meet the originators of Denver-based label, Coastless Creatives

Music Director — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 12:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the "KCSU Music Podcast," music director Lindsay Johnson talks with Alex, Ransom and Jack of Coastless Creatives. The LLC began as Alex's senior project at Metropolitan State University and has since become a live label serving a variety of musicians, artists and venue owners in Denver and beyond.

Their vision for Denver's music scene is ambitious and exciting. Tune in to hear them discuss the gap in the community that Coastless Creatives fills, what (not) to do when you sell out a venue a little too well and who wants to have dinner with the Dalai Lama. Keep an eye out for this name as you go to your favorite local shows in the future — Coastless Creatives intends to go far, and they're only just getting started.

Songs used, courtesy of Coastless Creatives:
"Hot Vodka" by Tonguebyte
"Goodbye" by People In General
"Westcliff" by blankslate

KCSU's Halloween Creature Feature

Music Director — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 17:46:00 +0000

Join KCSU's assistant music director, Stevie, as she gets an inside look at a modern monster's music taste. Interviewed audience members include the Headless Horsemen, a long-dead vampire and more! Tune in to see who likes to listen to Grimes and who wants the Grim Reaper to produce their own album. Which Halloween creature's music taste best matches your own?

Love of music, travel and the oud: An interview with musician Shelley Thomas

Music Director — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 12:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to the "KCSU Music" podcast by KCSUFM! Join music director Lindsay Johnson in an interview with musician Shelley Thomas.

Thomas has a rich musical background that incorporates elements from Balkan, Arab, Hindustani, African, classical and pop styles to create her own unique genre: world chamber pop. She's a talented vocalist and oud player and recently took her craft a step further by not only composing but performing, producing, mixing and mastering her own work. The result is her most recent release, Free: a pop and R&B-style EP that captures her moving vocals and powerful musical ability.

Thomas has a winding and dedicated back story that's sure to inspire you to stay close to your own creative endeavors. She can be found at shelleythomasmusic.com.

An Evening with Local Indie Rock Bands Wildermiss and Slow Caves

Music Director — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

On this episode of the "KCSU Music Podcast," music director Lindsay Johnson brings you out to a night at The Aggie Theater, with reviews of performances by local indie rock bands Slow Caves and Wildermiss, as well as Denver-based Latin pop artist, Miguel Aviña. She gives you behind the scenes details like which snacks are in Wildermiss's green room, what annoys a sound engineer working a show and why you should give your local bands some love. Make sure you've got Spotify open nearby so you can jam out to these great bands after you tune in to this episode of the "KCSU Music Podcast"!

Tx2 on Challenges to his Upcoming Album and his Musical Influences

Ben Krueger — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 19:04:08 +0000

Despite facing adversity and struggles, pop-punk/ rap artist Tx2 shares the process and struggles on making his latest music. In this podcast, Ben Krueger interviews Tx2 about the punk music he creates and the process of the how the songs where made. Tx2 also talks about his TikTok popularity that recently blew up. Songs: "Make u Bleed", "Pull the Plug"

CSU Alumni and red dirt artist Dustin Massey releases new single "Bad Love"

Marie Tanksley — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 00:18:51 +0000

In this episode, Marie Tanksley interviews Texas music artist, Dustin Massey.

Interview with Grammy-nominated music producer and engineer, Suzy Shinn

KCSU — Tue, 04 May 2021 02:15:10 +0000

Known for her work with bands like Panic! at the Disco, Dua Lipa and Fall Out Boy, Suzy Shinn is an established talent in the world of pop- and alt-rock song production. Her most recent project has been producing Weezer’s latest metal-inspired album, "Van Weezer." She discusses her favorite parts of working in music, what’s in the room for a great recording session and her own influences and inspiration. She also talks about being a woman in the industry and how she recently joined legendary mastering engineer Emily Lazar’s new nonprofit, We Are Moving The Needle, an organization designed to increase the number of women in the audio producing and engineering fields — which is currently about 2% of those professionals. Shinn is genuine, hard-working and a creative powerhouse, and we’re so fortunate to hear what she has to say about what it takes to be a successful producer.

How To Find A Job In Music, Outside of the Spotlight

KCSU — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 17:20:50 +0000

Do you want to incorporate music into your career, despite being unable to sing or play any instruments like a one-in-a-million rock star? Music director Lindsay Johnson is bringing you some ideas so that you can be a part of the scene anyway.

You could be a jack-of-all-trades roadie, a tech-savvy studio songwriter, a music therapist and more. There are tons of ways to surround yourself with this powerful force and hopefully pay some bills too. There is so much more that goes into the expression of music beyond singing and instrumentals — but hey, if all else fails, don't forget to check out the job postings for your local radio station!

Tips and Tricks on Songwriting

KCSU — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Join music director Lindsay Johnson as she discusses tricks on how to write songs and create music, taking advice from some of the most popular songwriters out there, like Jack Antonoff and Taylor Swift. In this episode, Johnson covers how artists build off of their ideas to carry out a vision for a new project, what it means to write a pop song and how the mundane moments in life can hit the hardest — it could be as simple as a scarf in a drawer. If you want to know how to turn your daily life experiences into music, make sure you tune in!

A Dive Into Music Festivals: Past, Present, and Future

KCSU — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Assistant Music Director Sam Bonafe give a brief history of music festivals while also talking about how they have gained enormous amounts of popularity in the 21st century.

Your Mind On Music

KCSU — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Music Director Lindsay Johnson provides a short insight into why humans evolved to love music, how it affects your brain, and why some people just don't like jazz.

Getting To Know Denver-based duo, Alright Alright

KCSU — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 05:00:00 +0000

This week of the KCSU Music podcast features an interview with the band Alright Alright about their new album, Crucible. Listen to their creative process, how their family life mixes with their career, and what it's like to release such a personal piece of work during the chaos of the global pandemic. Photo usage/credit courtesy of Alright Alright.

Boston band Mom Rock chats about their new EP

KCSU — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 21:13:03 +0000

Musicians and fans everywhere are missing live shows. But despite the pandemic, Boston band Mom Rock released their first EP, “I Wish Every Day Was Today,” with hopes of reminding listeners and fans of the good times when we could all get together and dance to live music. Not only does Mom Rock play catchy, upbeat rock songs that make you want to get on your feet and dance, but their positive energy while performing is both eye-catching and contagious. In this podcast, Maddy Erskine interviews Mom Rock about the recording process and inspiration behind this EP, and the band's hopes for the future. Songs: "White Funky Groove", "The Afterlife", and "Xylophone" by Mom Rock.

A Brief History of Disco

KCSU — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 08:00:00 +0000

KCSU Music Director Sam Bonafe gives a brief history on disco and its influence on modern dance music.

A Brief History of Folk Rock

KCSU — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 07:00:00 +0000

This is a quick look into the beginnings of folk rock, hitting on artists who helped fuse the subgenre, as well as who’s holding it down today. It will fill you in on the influence that this music has had on American culture, and how folk rock has changed in the present day, over five decades since it’s start.

Music Mondays: Xiuhtezcatl Interview

KCSU — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 18:14:15 +0000

In this podcast, Maddy Erskine chats with hip hop artist and activist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez who recently released a new song called “El Cielo”. Xiuhtezcatl explains that "El Cielo" is a personal reflection of all of the experiences and emotions that are caused by the United States immigration system, and the love he's witness always transcend these human made borders. Xiuhtezcatl also chats about his musical inspirations, and how he has grown as a climate change activist. Photo: Armando Garcia/Industry PDX

National Coming Out Day: Local Music Special

KCSU — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 22:55:12 +0000

In honor of National Coming Out Day, KCSU wanted to feature 3 amazing LGBTQ+ musicians in our community. It was a pleasure to talk to Hotel Wifi, Kitty Crimes, and Plasma Canvas about their inspirations and experiences and play 2-3 songs from each artist.

Music Mondays: Logan Ledger Interview

KCSU — Mon, 18 May 2020 08:40:47 +0000

This week, Music Director Monty Daniel was able to chat with Logan Ledger, an up-and-coming country artist who channels old western aesthetics. They chatted about songs off his new album, as well as mythical creatures and what sparked his love for country and bluegrass. Thank you to Co-Sign artist development agency, Concord Records, Ledger’s management team and of course Logan Ledger for making this possible. All music was used with permission from the artist, label and management.

The post Music Mondays: Logan Ledger Interview appeared first on KCSU FM.

Music Mondays: The Q-Tip Bandits Interview

KCSU — Mon, 11 May 2020 08:55:14 +0000

Recently during quarantine, assistant music director Yasmin Conchas was able to sit down with The Q-Tip Bandits and discuss their recent project, Ain’t It Great.

The post Music Mondays: The Q-Tip Bandits Interview appeared first on KCSU FM.

Music Mondays: Cavetown Interview

KCSU — Mon, 04 May 2020 07:31:32 +0000

This week, in another edition of the KCSU Music Podcast, Music Director Monty Daniel was able to chat with Robin Skinner from Cavetown about his new album, Sleepyhead, as well as mental health and what he loves most about his mom. Thank you to The Syndicate Entertainment Marketing Agency, Sire Records, Cavetown’s management team and Robin Skinner for making this possible.

The post Music Mondays: Cavetown Interview appeared first on KCSU FM.

Music Mondays: King Crawdad Interview

KCSU — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 15:39:01 +0000

For this week’s edition of the KCSU Music Podcast, Local Music Director Josh Kellogg had the opportunity to talk with Colorado-based band King Crawdad and even break-down one of their songs: Hutu Hop. Stay tuned for weekly episodes, every Monday.

The post Music Mondays: King Crawdad Interview appeared first on KCSU FM.

Music Monday’s: The Nova Kicks Interview

KCSU — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 23:05:23 +0000

Traveling from Thorton, CO, Enrique Sandoval and Luis Prado of The Nova Kicks joined Music Director Monty Daniel in the studio for an interview on the morning of Feb. 29, 2020.

The post Music Monday’s: The Nova Kicks Interview appeared first on KCSU FM.

Music Monday’s: Half Waif Interview

KCSU — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 17:00:32 +0000

KCSU Music Director Monty Daniel had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Nandi Rose, aka Half Waif and discuss living in quarantine during COVID-19 and her new album ‘The Caretaker’. Special thanks to Pirate Promotion, Terrorbird Media, Anti and Epitaph Records and of course Nandi Rose herself for making this happen. All music was used with permission from the artist, label and management. Below is a transcription of her interview:

MD: So the first question I wanted to ask you was where your artist name came from?

NR: That’s a good question. So I sort of have two answers, one is the silly one and one is the serious one. But I think both kind of fed into the origin story. So first off, it was from college; a friend of mine coined the term. We were talking one day about my romantic prospects and how they never seem to pan out. And he was like ‘You know what Nandi, you’ve gotta stop going after all these waifs. Like, we’ve really gotta find you a half waif.’ I loved that phrase and it stuck with me. A couple years later when I was starting this project and I needed to come up with a band name, that phrase just sort of floated back into my head. At that time, I had just left college and was feeling sort of adrift in the world. I had left college, we had moved out of my childhood home, I found myself suddenly living in New York City and in some ways felt like I identified with the plight of the waif. You know, being kind of destitute and without a home. But the reality wasn’t that I didn’t have a home, it was that I had many homes and my heart belonged to so many different places at that point in my life. So… I felt like I was really more of a half waif.

MD: That’s really interesting.

NR: The name stuck.

MD: That seems to really reflect in a lot of your music, too, which is really cool.

NR: Yeah! You know, I think that this idea of place and belonging and home has really been threaded through my life as a whole. I’m half Indian and grew up in western Mass(achusetts). I held onto this sense of identity as a way of feeling special I think. You know, that I was half Indian in this community that was all white. So this idea of being half-something has sort of followed me. That’s something I’ve been keen to explore, like where is my place in the world? You know, coming from these two different worlds.

MD: Yeah, for sure. I guess feeding into that, can we talk a little bit about your new album, The Caretaker, maybe some of the process leading up to the release?

NR: Yeah, totally. So The Caretaker is out in the world now, which I was not expecting it to come out in these circumstances. No one foresaw this time that we’re in. But it’s really fascinating to me that this record is coming out right now because I wrote it at a time in my life when I was experiencing deep feelings of isolation and a sense of removal from the world. I had moved to upstate New York, where I live now, I live in a really really tiny town. I was just experiencing this sense of stepping away from New York, where I used to live, and stepping away from some formative friendships and relationships in my life. So this album was a product of that time where I found myself alone a lot. My husband is also a musician, so he was often on tour and so I’d be alone in the country, kind of ruminating and reflecting on the state of my relationships and sort of the things I had done in my life to bring me to this point. So it is interesting now that this record is out in a time of collective isolation. Maybe it makes the music, I hope it makes the music resonate a little more deeply with people to also be able to enter into that headspace. But I also worked on The Caretaker over a long period of time. Maybe not long in the grand scheme of things, I think often artists can work on records for many years. But for me this was definitely the most focused I’ve ever been working on a record. I wasn’t touring that much and I was very stationary, again, in this small town and this house. So I was coming at this record with a sense of letting it unfold maybe a bit more organically than past projects. I didn’t feel any rush, I guess is what I’m saying. That’s also kind of reflected in this time that we’re in right now. The pace has really slowed down and it’s given us more room to reflect and pause.

MD: Yeah, definitely. I definitely felt that a lot on the record. So it’s really cool to hear you say that because it definitely did give me that feeling as well.

NR: Cool.

MD: Your music seems to have some really vivid imagery in it, was there any kind of scenes or stories that seemed to influence you a lot on The Caretaker?

NR: So this view that I’m looking out at right now I would say was a really formative image for this record. I’m looking out at my yard and there’s a train that goes right through the backyard. It’s funny because leaving New York, I was gonna get away from the subway sounds, instead I’ve moved to this house that has a freight train that goes like right through it. But it’s something that I’ve found very comforting, actually. Again, I don’t see too many people where we live. We see a lot of birds and a lot of animals where we live and we see this train. So there are these non-human signs of life kind of populating the backdrop of this record. You can hear that in the sound of insects, these sort of night bugs that would come up in a big chorus in the backyard. They make their appearance very literally on the record a couple of times. But also in some of the synth sounds that I was using, I was trying to emulate just the sort of like fuzzy chatter of these bugs in the yard. And the caretaker, this character that sort of emerged in my mind as I was finishing the record, her narration really takes place on this porch, looking out at the scene. She was charged with taking care of the land, but instead, the land is completely overgrown: much like my own backyard. And so the weeds are sort of growing up all over in the cracks of the house and the animals are taking over. So this setting of almost like untouched nature became a big backdrop for the record. So those are a lot of the images I was pulling from.

MD: Yeah, that’s really cool. There’s a freight train that actually goes through Fort Collins and I can see it like right outside of my window, too. So —

NR: That’s so cool!

MD: Definitely can relate. You can hear it wherever you are in Fort Collins, I swear.

NR: Oh, I love that! Yeah, it’s like a nice reminder, I don’t know. It feels like everytime I hear the horn, you know, and it’s approaching from down the tracks it’s like a little hello.

MD: I love that. Well, I wanted to delve into specifically two songs on the album. The first one that I think hit me kind of hard was “In August” (segment of song plays) I kind of felt like in the song, you were struggling to let go of someone who had maybe hurt you. Could you maybe tell me a little bit about the story behind this song?

NR: Yeah! This was, as I was sort of alluding to earlier, this was a point in my life when certain friendships were no longer working. And I think a lot of that is a product of growing up and leaving the sort of easy bonds of school and college. And ...

Live In-Studio: The Copper Children

KCSU — Tue, 22 Oct 2019 16:59:14 +0000

From now on, when I think of dedicated musicians, I’ll think of The Copper Children. There was traffic, there were technical difficulties, but the entire night there was nothing but positivity. The band was initially caught in traffic on their trek from Denver, and they even did some off-roading to make their way to our studio in Fort Collins. Although we had a late start to the evening, each member came to the studio with one goal: to have a good time. And that’s what we did.

The interview got weird, specifically with our discussion of monkeys, but everyone was good with that. The Copper Children played four live songs throughout the night, and let me tell you, they are amazing live. Each recorded song is brilliant in its own right, but the chemistry of the band and the way they expand on each song when performing is truly amazing. Overall, the band’s poistivity, relaxed nature and creative genius made the night a beautiful memory.

You can listen to their performance below.

—

Support local musicians! Here are some other bands you might like:

Los Mocochetes

Andy Babb and the Big Beautiful Band

Cactus Cat

The post Live In-Studio: The Copper Children appeared first on KCSU FM.

Live In-Studio: Mlady

KCSU — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 19:06:38 +0000

Mlady is coming into the music scene strong this year. Their debut, self-titled EP consists of 6 beautiful originals, 4 of which they performed during their sessions. Between the live music, we discussed the band’s initial chemistry and the lighthearted competitiveness between members.

The post Live In-Studio: Mlady appeared first on KCSU FM.

The Rocky Mountain Review November 15, 2018

KCSU — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 01:09:35 +0000

On this episode of The Rocky Mountain Review, JD and Emily interview Frank Boring, CSU’s documentary filmmaker, on the upcoming documentary for CSU’s 150th anniversary. Next, they cover local news, featuring a segment on Odell’s Cloud Catcher beer and a CTV performance from local artist Danielle Ate the Sandwich. This episode also features national news, Thanksgiving-themed cupcake tips from Podcast Director Cheyenne Duba, and an interview with The Wonder Years by Video Director Sam Bulkley.

The post The Rocky Mountain Review November 15, 2018 appeared first on KCSU FM.

The Wonder Years Interview

KCSU — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 21:19:32 +0000

The Wonder Years’ earlier releases contained a sense of raw energy, captured in the depths of suburban Philadelphia and reflected the emo and pop-punk genres disdain for living in suburbia hell. Surrounded by white picket fences and false faces of the community, they found a niche of fans who felt the same feelings towards their hometown. The raw energy of their earlier records like The Upsides and Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing reflected in a way that lead singer, Dan Campbell, created and displayed his vocals and lyrics; not quite capturing the standard rock & roll frontman sound. Instead, he created his own style of singing and lyricism that reflects how he truly feels in his own personal struggles with being scared, lonely, and feeling lost. The Wonder Years’ earlier style made them a staple in the world of pop-punk by combining these ideas with cutting, heavy guitar, and drums that backed these ideas.

Jump almost ten years forward to their newest release Sister Cities, and the band’s ethos has grown to a global perspective. Distancing themselves from their pop-punk roots, they created a clearly defined “rock” album with a new sense of depth in every second of their songs. This new profundity reflects their sentiments for experiencing the world while being displaced from their hometown. It’s an album about global connection and the experiences that they needed to share.

Below is a brief interview over the phone with Dan Campbell, you can read through or listen to the interview.

The Wonder Years will be playing at Washingtons on Saturday, November 19th with Have Mercy, Oso Oso, and Shortly.

So this is your second bout of touring on Sister Cities, which I feel like is a large leap away from your previous records you’ve produced. With the record you released a book with a collection of photos and journal entries. I’m curious to get your take on streaming services, especially in the last few years, that eliminate the physical connection of music and the accessories that come with it. What’s your outlook on that?

Well that’s kind of why we went so over the top with the physical product. We knew that a good percentage of the fanbase, or just in music fans in general, that are happy to just have the music at their fingertips. And here it is. It’s cool. I have it, I press play at midnight and boom… The record is there. But there’s still a lot of people who love music and love to have a physical product for music. We learned about it really early on in our career, when we started doing 7’s of our EPs way, way back, like 2008. People were buying these records and I couldn’t believe that all these people had a record player. And sometimes people would say, “I don’t even have a record player, I’m just a fan of music and this is a thing I can collect to show that fandom.” Right? So here is a physical manifestation of the fact that I like this song, in a way that you might collect a baseball card as a physical manifestation of your fandom of baseball. So, we know that there are people who care about the physical product. They like to look through the art. They like to read the lyrics. So we thought that as music moves to more of a digital space, we should make the physical product so engrossing that it feels like you’d be missing out if you didn’t have the opportunity to engage with that product. You can listen to the record on your own and it can tell a story to you, but if you open the book up and you look at the photos and read the journals, you can experience on a whole different level. We wanted to add that option in there for people who really care about physical music.

With the book you went really in-depth with 200 pages of photography and clips from your journal.

Yeah, so it is photos. I shot the European tour, our tour manager Dave shot Latin America, Japan, and Australia. Our touring photographers, Kelly and Mitchell, shot the U.S. and Canada. And Megan at our label shot the studio stuff. So there’s a million photos in there, so many pictures. Along with tour journals, poetry, paintings that our drummer did, scans of artifacts from the songs on the album… I kept the paper crane that I reference in “Raining In Kyoto,” we scanned that in and it’s just on one of the pages. So that kind of stuff.

Speaking of “Raining In Kyoto” and getting into Sister Cities a bit more, I think that song sets an astounding starting point and sets the theme for the entire album. Was that always meant to be the opening track for the record?

No, when you first start writing songs you just gotta get a couple out. Once you start structuring it then you get a feel for what could be an opener. But from the first time that I started thinking of that as an opener, it was perfect to me. Once I got my brain around it, it made a lot of sense.

I think that on this record your voice has certainly grown and matured a lot. It’s changed throughout the years in the band. I was amazed to hear the depth that you’re creating with your vocals. You’re able to bring detailed expression into all of your lyrics. Have you ever been vocally trained or did you just grow into this updated form of singing?

I think the biggest thing we did this time was get a whole set up of in-ears (monitors) for writing, so that I could actually hear myself sing while we were writing the record. Which was not a thing that we had available to us before. So it actually makes a massive difference because I can hear myself. I’ve never been able to hear myself while we write a record before. So it’s basically been that everything has to operate in binary. If I want to sing quiet, there can be no drums. As soon as there are drums, I had to sing as loud as I possibly could to hear myself over the drums. Which put us in a situation where I was either very quiet over very quiet music, or belting at the top of my range over everything else. So technology, honestly, opened up the option for that.

On this tour you’re with Have Mercy, Oso Oso, and Shortly. Each of you covered each other’s songs and put it up on Bandcamp with donations going towards the ACLU. What was the idea around that?

We had done something like that before on a tour, and really enjoyed doing that. I was listening to the Shortly EP and was thinking about how cool the songs were. I knew that this was a tour where we were bringing our three bands and that maybe they are less widely known than some of the bands ...

KCSU Music: Interview with The Great Salmon Famine

KCSU — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 21:26:24 +0000

By: Haley Justino

Members of the local fusion-funk group, The Great Salmon Famine, stopped into the studio for the Local Lunch Hour show with DJ TBD to discuss new music.

The Great Salmon Famine talked about their collaborative writing style as a band and their focus on honing their on-stage performance skill as a cohesive unit.

The post KCSU Music: Interview with The Great Salmon Famine appeared first on KCSU FM.

KCSU Music: Interview with Miss Jaedha

KCSU — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 22:13:53 +0000

Miss Jaedha is a Colorado State University Alumni, who spent her college years and about 7 years after graduation producing music in Fort Collins. She moved to Denver in 2017 to pursue music. She has been fan-voted as the number one electronic music producer in Colorado twice! And in 2015 she was voted best DJ by the Fort Collins Music Experiment.

Host Hannah Copeland takes an in-depth look into Miss Jaedha’s present life as an entrpreneur, DJ, and production company owner. Then, you’ll explore how Miss Jaedha grew up too fast due due to a parent’s illness during her childhood in Hawaii.

The post KCSU Music: Interview with Miss Jaedha appeared first on KCSU FM.

Bad Bad Hats Interview

KCSU — Sun, 19 Aug 2018 21:55:06 +0000

Kerry Alexander’s soft but straightforward vocals drive the tender, indie-pop band Bad Bad Hats’ sophomore album, Lighting Round. Following their strong debut LP, Psychic Reader, Bad Bad Hats continues to provide fervor in songs that confidently approach feelings of hope with heartbreak. Behind her voice and lyrics are a dreamy and infectious instrumental arrangement with melodic, clever ambiance that swings between lulled moments on “1-800” to the ardent driving forces on “Nothing Gets Me High.” Alexander spared some time to talk with me about the making of their new album, Lightning Round. They will play the Hi-Dive in Denver on Wednesday, August 22nd.

You just released your new record Lightning Round, on August 2nd. Have you played any shows since then?

Kerry: So we’ve only played, I guess, one show since the album’s been out. That was in Chicago, I guess it was last weekend. And then we have our release next Saturday… Or this Saturday. Wow. Okay.

It’s coming up quick!

Kerry: Things are happening really quick, yeah. But our release show will be our second show since the album has been out. We have been playing a few of the songs from the album on the tour from this past summer.

So you’re still comfortable with playing the songs even though they’re newly released?

Kerry: Yeah! We try to do that because last time, when we released Psychic Reader, we didn’t give ourselves a lot of time to play the song in front of people before our release show. I, especially, remember feeling very scared on stage. So now I was like, “Nah, I’d like to feel a little more comfortable and at ease at our release show.” So yes, we purposefully tried to give ourselves more time to get comfortable with the songs.

Understandably so, I wanted to say that I saw you all play in St. Louis when you were on tour with The Front Bottoms this last year. It’s really cool because I had never been to St. Louis before and I was listening to Psychic Reader a ton during that trip. Now, whenever I go back to listen to it I always get weird flashbacks to seeing you in St. Louis or just random parts from that trip. I was wondering if you had any songs or albums that are like that where you go to a new place and are listening to music that gives an impression of an event in your life?

Kerry: Yeah, I was actually just thinking the other day about this. I studied abroad to Paris in college and it was one of my favorite experiences of my life. I was living on my own for the first time and it’s such a great city and I really enjoyed it. I think that it was in the perfect time in my life. I was just thinking… I was listening to a lot of music while I was there but I associate two albums, specifically, with being there. A Jessica Lea Mayfield album, which I forget what it’s called now but I think her first album and then Darwin Deez’s first album. Those two I just listened to over and over again in Paris. Now, whenever I hear those albums I always feel like I’m really instantly taken back to that time in my life, and really associate it with that experience. But I like that about music. I think there are a lot of songs in my life that I really associate with a certain age or a certain trip or something. I always liked making mixes for road trips and stuff. So I have a lot of CDs like that I associate with certain trips. But that’s what I like about music in general, that it does that.

Yeah, absolutely, do you have any specific tour playlists that you listen to or is it just a large variety of whatever everybody is listening to at the time?

Kerry: Oh yeah! I think that they develop over the tour. I feel like I have a set of songs going into the tour that I like or I’m really excited about. So I play them for everyone in the van and feel out to see what people like. The ones that everyone likes get added to the tour playlist. We’ll do the thing where whoever is driving chooses the music usually so we’ll all find songs that resonate with us. But sometimes we’ll hear a song in a restaurant or something and that gets added to the playlist. I like when that happens too, because those songs really become reminiscent of certain tours. So that’s always a fun project, to make the tour playlists.

So I wanted to talk about Lightning Round a bit. Was the entire album recorded live or was it just a few specific songs?

Kerry: Yes, not the entire album was recorded live. We’ve seen a few people write that and we just leave it out there. (laughs) I think that came up because on Psychic Reader we didn’t do anything together. I think we did almost everything track by track and one at a time. We did Chris on the drums, and we did all the bass tracks, then the guitar… Everything was just one person recording something at a time. So, for Lightning Round any live recording was a very new experience for us. On the album, for “Absolute Worst” and “365” almost all of the instruments were recorded together and then we did a few overdubs on top. A lot of the songs, the bass and the drums we did at the same time. Which was kind of exciting to see that come together at the same time. Some of the other songs, three of us would go in and play keyboard or two guitars or something. So we tried to do as much as we could with multiple people playing something at the same time to get that feeling of collaboration and improvisation at some points. But, no, not all of it was live but a lot of it was for us.

Are you planning on playing those live recorded songs on the tour or do you think they have more potential for live shows?

Kerry: Yeah! It’s always a little tricky to put together sets… It was a little easier this time because everyone was playing something or knew what they were doing. But we often record as though we have an eight-piece band. We have a keyboard, we got a synth, we got shakers. But we like doing that in the studio. To me that’s what’s fun about being in the studio. You’re able to stretch your legs and get creative with what you have and play whatever is available to make the song cool. But then it can be a challenge when we put together the tour. We’re like, “Okay, there’s only four of us… So how do we accomplish all these instruments?” But that’s a re...

KCSU Music: Interview with Glass Fields

KCSU — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 16:18:45 +0000

In this interview, Glass Fields discussed how the band came together as a cohesive, collaborative group, what it’s like to be a long distance band, and their experiences with moving to record their first full length album after 6-years of being a band and home-recording 2 EPs.

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Interview: Vai Patri

KCSU — Tue, 08 May 2018 04:08:05 +0000

Musician Vai Patri stopped into KCSU for the Local Lunch Hour with TBD and they listened to and discussed her new single “Criminal.” They also talked Patri’s personal life experiences that contribute to the music she makes and how she hopes that her songs can make a positive impact on others.

(Josh Schroeder | Collegian)

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Interview: Senorita Sometimes

KCSU — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 18:16:03 +0000

Members of the local band Senorita Sometimes, listened and discussed the meaning behind tracks off of their debut album with DJ TBD.

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The Great Salmon Famine Interview

KCSU — Sat, 24 Mar 2018 04:32:30 +0000

Members of The Great Salmon Famine stop by to listen and discuss their Self Titled Introductory EP with DJ TBD. They delve into the creation of their unique brand of funk that can often draw upon elements of jazz, progressive rock, and classic rock.

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Acknowledging The Mentality Behind Music

KCSU — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 20:15:12 +0000

“Acknowledging The Mentality Behind Music” is a KCSU Music Podcast created by Mimi Hibben to enlighten music lovers and listeners about the growing problems of mental health issues within the music industry.

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Interview with The Runnikine

KCSU — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 21:55:59 +0000

A Denver band, The Runnikine discuss the energy of improvisation and the power of planning in this live interview with DJ TBD. The band ruminates on their past and current experiences concerning releasing their first EP and performing support for some high profile gigs.

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Conro Interview

KCSU — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 00:39:18 +0000

Last week our EDM expert, Stephanie, got the chance to talk to Monstercat artist Conro! Enjoy their conversation about his music background, how he goes about producing music, and what he thinks about the future of electronic music.

And don’t forget to subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes!

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Dango Rose of Elephant Revival

KCSU — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 20:24:23 +0000

Enjoy here an interview with Dango Rose, founding member and bassist for the mountain folk band, Elephant Revival. Originally hailing from Nederland, CO, the band has always embraced an environmental message, yet has also always promoted a truth and freedom in their music; something entirely unique to them.
On their way up to The Aggie Theater in Fort Collins, Dango was kind enough to call in to the studio to chat with our host, Laurelle Turner.

Music for the KCSU Music Podcast is graciously provided by our friend, Joshua Horner.

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John Simmons of Balance & Composure

KCSU — Sat, 03 Dec 2016 15:07:09 +0000

Gutted, raw emotion with rhythmic and spacey guitar that can change to a power chord verse in a heartbeat was how Balance & Composure was defined in their own niche. With the new release of their new album, Light We Made, the band starts off on something new that a lot of alternative/pop-punk bands from the east coast are seeming to follow.

There is something unique about the maturity of the pop-punk/emo revival scene that B&C can be grouped into. You can see the changes in a lot of bands whether it is because they are getting more fame, experiencing more of life, or even just maturing into adults. Light We Made stands out among the new generation of alternative rock music by combining in multiple genres that usually don’t go together while keeping the feeling of an alt-rock band.

The album came out of the band being quiet for a year and a half. After having gotten into two car accidents on tour (One which could have ended the existence of the band) the band left early from one their supporting tours and laid low until Light We Made came to light. I got to talk to Jon Simmons (Lead Vocals/Guitar) about the new album, the maturity of the band, and politics in their music.

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Gallant

KCSU — Sat, 03 Dec 2016 14:09:02 +0000

Gallant has been on the rise since his 2014 debut EP Zebra, showing the world his seamless skills within 90’s soul and R&B. But that was only the beginning of his expressive musical career. He recently came out with his first studio album, Ology, which gives a strong sense of the powerful musician the artist has been working toward. This podcast goes over a conversation we had with Gallant, covering basis from the artist’s start in the industry to the hopes he has for how his music reaches his listeners.

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Jonny Ashburn of Caspian

KCSU — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 16:13:40 +0000

Fans of Massachusetts’ post-rock outfit, Caspian are no stranger to the textural soundscapes the band paints throughout their vast catalog of releases. The band’s most recent album, “Dust and Disquiet” represents a sonic shift to a darker tone. When asked how the band was feeling going into writing this record of catharsis, Ashburn replied “We spent a lot of time writing that record. We were in our space for 8 months, doing three or four days a week. It’s definitely an emotional record for us, and there are some pretty dark spots in that record.”

If Dust and Disquiet is Caspian’s poignant emotional release, their most recent EP “Castles High, Marble Bright” is its dichotomous opposite. Caspian seems to make a return to more hopeful songs with this EP. The title track, and its counterpart “127 north” feel more somber than Dust and Disquiet, but offer a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

The two songs were recorded in the same sessions as Dust and Disquiet, but didn’t make it onto the record. Ashburn spoke to the name of the title track off of the EP stating, “Our guitar player Aaron got married, and for his bachelor party, we went up into the white mountains and did some hiking. The name came from that trip. It certainly was a time of peace, togetherness, and hopefulness that we all really connected with. Every time we play that song, it always reminds me of being on top of those mountains together as a band.”

Recently, I was able to talk to Jonny about his upbringing as a musician, his entrance into Caspian, and his job as a woodworker; among many other topics. You can listen to the interview below.

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Catch Caspian on tour with The Appleseed Cast

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Pegboard Nerds

KCSU — Sat, 05 Nov 2016 14:28:09 +0000

To the normal eye any rave or electronic concert just looks like a bunch of sweaty bodies jumping together to the same beat. However to any regular concert go-er, they can see the actual bond that is made between the crowd’s energy and the DJ’s music. Pegboard Nerds are a Danish/Norwegian duo that are anything but new to the scene of dubstep/trap style electronic music. At the stroke of midnight on Halloween weekend, the duo absolutely blew the roof off of Beta Nightclub in Denver.

Their opening song Blackout immediately got the crowd excited with the fog machine on once the chorus hit. True Pegboard Nerds fans wearing the duo’s hockey style jersey’s or not, were instantly hooked with some of their older tunes like New Style and their more recent tracks like Swamp Thing, Weaponize, Deep In The Night and a few of the tracks off of their EP Pink Cloud. Considering it was that spoopy time of the season, the duo also played their track Luigi’s Mansion, which was released last Halloween. It was very clear that the energy in the club also got the DJs excited since one of them, Alex Odden, came out into the crowd multiple times to dance as well as crowd surf while Michael Parsberg held down the fort.

Considering this was only Pegboard Nerd’s one of two chances that they got to perform as the headliner, outside of their partnered tour with the Seven Lions, Beta Nightclub was surely a boost to their confidence.

After the concert I was able to get an interview with the Pegboard Nerds and ask them about the concert, their partnership with the Canadian label “Monstercat”, and what lies ahead for their new upcoming music. Feel free to listen to the podcast online on Soundcloud or download it, in the iTunes podcast store. Just search for KCSU Music and subscribe!

Photo Credit: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bechief/

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Hannah Holbrook of SHEL

KCSU — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 18:24:17 +0000

On September 16, SHEL, a local indie rock band from Fort Collins, made a quick stop at the Bizarre Bazaar in town for a small concert and vinyl album release. One of the four sisters in the popular band, Hannah (piano and vocals), was kind enough to call in to interview with our host, Laurelle, from San Francisco ahead of the concert.

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Tyler Williams of The Head and The Heart

KCSU — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 11:59:40 +0000

On August 26th, 2016, RamFest 2016 kicked off the fall semester for the Colorado State campus with a huge concert paired with local food trucks and plenty of beautiful, evening weather. Rising stars Coleman Hell and R. City opened for The Head and The Heart (THATH), ahead of THATH’s old-out show at Red Rocks on August 28th. Tyler Williams, drummer for THATH, called into KCSU-FM for an exclusive interview, conducted by our host, Laurelle Turner.

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