Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
THE REP, 12/16/04, Nicole Girard: "Their sophomore release [Cage Free] is a punkier, more eclectic follow-up . . . [with] powerful, Karen-O-like vocals . . . ."
GET OUT, 2/17/05, Albert Ching: "Blue Fur's second effort is a brave deconstructionist act . . . the result is a more 'organic' feel . . . suiting their stylish brand of garage rock. Lead singer Nicole Laurin's vocals are the star of the album, at times Chrissy Hynde throaty ("Cafe") and alternately Shirley Manson breathy ("She Doesn't Have You"). . .[The album] raises the stakes . . . but still retains an inescapable sense of fun."
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 12/18/04, John D'Anna: "Lots of news about our friends in the band Blue Fur as they get ready to release their new CD later this month . . .they're finalists in the Arizonamusicradio.com battle of the bands [and] . . .chosen to be one of the bands in the P.F. Chang's Rock n' Roll Marathon in January [2005] . . .lead singer Nicole Laurin may even channel Exene Cervenka of X fame."
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/29/05, John D'Anna: "Blue Fur-thur -- Forgive us for the oblique Ken Kesey reference but we're just in that kind of mood. Could be because we've been listening to the new Blue Fur CD Cage Free, which really rocks. Check out the band tonight . . . You'll probably notice their fans are all wearing T-shirts with the band's cool new logo, which was designed by the lovely and talented Polly Swann.”
THE PHOENIX NEW TIMES, 5/5/05, Serene Dominic: “[K]ind of a quirky Lene Lovich/Suzanne Fellini sound . . . Singer Nicole Laurin has an enjoyable presence . . .she nicely pulls off the low-voiced bitchy stuff, like "She Doesn't Have You," and the band sounds like it doesn't take itself so seriously that a good time and a cold beer are ever too far away.”
- Phoenix Newspapers
Discography
Cage Free, 2005, self-produced nine-song album
Blue Fur, 2001, self-produced fourteen-song debut album
She Said, 2002, Arizona Anti-Tobacco Benefit Compilation album ("Let Me Go")
The Integration of She, 2002, indie film soundtrack (ten tracks from 'Blue Fur')
PF Chang's Rock and Roll Marathon Compilation, 2004 ("Too Soon To Go")
PF Chang's Rock and Roll Marathon Compilation, 2005 ("China")
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Blue Fur formed in 1996, the result of some good college friendships and bad post-college breakups. The current lineup has been in place since 2004. Their first CD, BLUE FUR, was named "manager's favorite" at Borders Books in Phoenix. The single "Baby Let's Drive" got airplay on KZON, and became the #1 downloaded MP3 on the Arizona Republic newspaper's website. The entire album appeared in the soundtrack of the independent film, The Integration of She, in 2003. The band opened the NHL Playoffs at America West Arena, opened for Bryan Adams on the main stage and played the GoGo's sidestage at the Fiesta Bowl Block Party two years in a row, opened for America at a Scottsdale resort, played Molly Malone's in LA, and performed with Goo Goo Dolls' drummer Mike Malinin, and opened for the Gin Blossoms at Hayden Sqaure Amphitheatre in Tempe.
Since the recent release of their second CD, CAGE FREE, in January 2005, has met with good press and the track "China" was the finalist in KALT's Battle of the Bands and is being played on KALT and Arizona State University's the Blaze. The band opened for Blues Traveler and Collective Soul at the 2005 Tempe Music Festival, played to hundreds at the Phoenix Art Museum and was given a feature location at the PF Chang's Rock n' Roll Marathon, in addition to being selected to perform at a press showcase event in Scottsdale. Blue Fur has played everything from four-guys-at-a-dive-bar-at-1-am shows to thousand-person festivals in Phoenix, Tucson, and Flagstaff.
But the band's favorite place to try out new material on its unsuspecting audience is the funky galleries of gritty Grand Avenue, where the band isn't afraid to get truly physical on stage and make a ton of noise with its latest pop-punk creations, which are due for another new release in Fall 2005.
Links
