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BIGWHEEL LIVE REMIX SHOW
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Friday November 7, 2008
Come check out what happens when two of the hottest forces on the Denver ...Friday November 7, 2008
Come check out what happens when two of the hottest forces on the Denver music scene collide for a live show at Herb’s Bar on Friday November 7, 2008. There are two parts to a song, the lyrics and the music. This combination show will give DJ Vajra complete control of the soul and hip-hop lyrics, while Bigwheel will be controlling the instrumentals creating a live remix. Also featured will be live duals between DJ and musicians. Bigwheel is fresh on the Denver music front and if you haven’t heard them yet don’t miss this opportunity to fall in love with the unique melding sound of electronic live instrumentation. This show will take fixed elements of classic songs and combine it with live improvisation skills of the DJ as the vocalist and the band as the record. Dameion Hines, founder of this band, guarantees upon first impression you will slot Bigwheel in your current list of top 5 bands.
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Bigwheel at The Appaloosa Grill
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If you’ve never been to Appaloosa Grill on 16th and Welton on a Tuesday to see Bigwheel, then let me...If you’ve never been to Appaloosa Grill on 16th and Welton on a Tuesday to see Bigwheel, then let me learn ya. It’s high ceilings and ten-foot windows make the 195 person capacity bar and grill seem much roomier. The windows line the Welton St. side where you can grab one of the many booths or just opposite of the booths you can sit at the bar. Behind the bar is a giant mirror running the length reflecting Welton St. So if you want to people watch outside but you don’t have a booth, you can do so at the bar. I find myself peering into the city buses as they pass by on Welton with glowing windows in the night. Many strange faces in midst of their city travels take a seat while the bus rumbles on; a man shuffles by on the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets, scruffy and chilly peering into Appaloosa’s; I turn back to my plate of fish and chips and wait for Bigwheel to get rollin’.
They set up their gear. Bigwheel becomes a bit different from the Lola show, which I wrote up here. Dominic Lalli plays the keys, Ableton from his laptop, and saxophone while Jarod once again sets up his keyboards along with Dameion and his drums and sampler. Wires wind between them as they begin to warm up. The crowd pours in listening to the music provided by the house, but we anxiously await the band to begin.
The trio is far beyond the expected and with laptops connected to keyboards, wires to saxophones, samplers to drums, effects pads to who-knows-where and yet they begin to improvise as jazzy as the fifties Parker (Charlie) bop. To give you an idea, Dameion throws out an otherworldly sample to start. Jarod begins to bang on his keys laying the melody and kicking in the Korg for the bass-lines. “It’s G major and switches to . . .” says Jarod, which gets Dominic to come in with the lead melody. The sample still plays quietly in the background with ghost beats accenting Dameion's syncopated grooves. The song gets to the meat of the beat and Dominic starts to lift his sax to his lips: here comes the solo. He blows for a few bars that get the crowd clapping and cheering at the end.
Eventually, Denver’s Charles Parker shows up with his bass and the trio becomes a quartet. Dent appears adding emcee vocals in the mix. Now we have a typical Tuesday at Appaloosa Grill, but it wouldn’t be complete unless the audience was inspired to add their flavor to the mix. Another sax player, emcee – Zin, and a male vocalist guest appears. What’s nice to see is the melee that’s created with the inviting beats provided by Bigwheel and the friendly attitude that allows for the guests to improvise alongside. It’s a sight to see.
Dent rocks the crowd hype as Zin, relocated from Houston, spits conscious lyrics. People pack in the walkway, fill in the booths and barstools, and spill into the next room of extra tables and chairs. Everyone is talkin’, noddin’ his or her heads to the beat. A few kids you can see freestylin’ to themselves, catching the Holy Ghost so-to-speak, speaking in tongues to the beat.
Come catch the infectious music provided by Bigwheel every Tuesday at Appaloosa Grill on 16th and Welton St.
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Bigwheel at Lola's of Denver
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As you walk in Lola's of Denver the bar stretches straight ahead on your left with garage-style wind...As you walk in Lola's of Denver the bar stretches straight ahead on your left with garage-style windows on the backside that separates it from a packed patio outside. Keep walking to the end of the bar and Lola’s opens up to tabled seating with booths peppered about. The cooks are working away on the right side of the dining area which creates an intimate connection to the dining experience. Elaborate, softly lit, metalwork chandeliers hang overhead to accent the sunlight pouring through the windows behind the bar. Lola’s décor is a long shot from the usual Mexican style. Someone was creative enough to twist, cut, weld, and rivet what looks like found objects from an old Mexican farmhouse together to fabricate restaurant furniture that make a cozy restaurant seem strangely familiar, yet something not experienced. Left of the dining area sits the mighty Bigwheel.
I sit snuggled in my booth working on my laptop while Warren G’s ‘Regulate’ and The Articfact’s ‘The Wrong Side of the Tracks’ acapellas are manipulated by DJ Vajra and remixed by the band. I’d say the eclectic décor perfectly highlights Bigwheel’s approach to music. The band takes familiar and unfamiliar songs, cuts and twists J-Dilla style loops to create an entirely new beat fresh out the kick-drum, keys, bass, and Technics. What was once a familiar Hip-Hop anthem is newly twisted and mixed into a sometimes spaced out jazz lick or a salsa fury, but still funked up by the keys and the bass. At another moment you can hear Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech sliced, diced, and flared by Vajra into the back-beat mayhem provided by Dameion Hines on the drums while the melodic bass and piano are slicked out by Charles Parker and Jarod Sarlo, respectively.
The local 30-somethings cure their last night’s binge with Lola’s Sunday specials. I myself have a Modelo w/lime and salt: two bucks. The busy work-staff work hard, and unsurprisingly, with the amount of heads bobbin’ to the music. You can’t ask for a better Sunday. If you’ve never heard Biggie Smalls mashed up jazz-style, then definitely check out Bigwheel at Lola’s. Big up Bigwheel! Bigwheel makes a home at Lola’s of Denver from 2pm to 5pm once a month. In March they do it twice with the next date being March 15th. Also, Check them out at Appaloosa Grill every Tuesday.
The video above is of Bigwheel at Appaloosa Grill, and with different band members save Dameion Hines, with the same flavor as you would see at Lola's. Enjoy!
