Two Fisted Tango

I t's been a year since the Denver-based Two Fisted Tango released its first self-titled EP, and they're ready to do it again, with a few changes. We talked to frontman Joey Boots about what the band did differently this time around, the meaning of "mainstream punk" and movies you can't un-see.

How's it going? Getting excited for Friday's show?

I'm cursing the snow right now, but hopefully everyone's got cabin fever now and will be ready for Friday.

And are you excited for the second EP to be out?

Hell yeah. It's sonically similar to the first, but we're a more polished band. There are two new guys the project. For the first one, I was playing guitar and now I'm on bass. It's me, Alejandro on guitar -- he's the soul, the Latin poet -- and Shawn on the drums. He's a firefighter, too, so he brings the fire and the rage.

So what's different about this EP?

It's a new studio. It's at Arsenal Studios. It's had 3OH!3, it's had Ellie Goulding -- so it's a step up in production. We've gone about writing differently. I've come to the guys with an idea, and for the most of the songs, we grew it out together, organically. Before, I was doing the whole thing. This time, they brought their own pieces to it and it's more cohesive.

Mainstream punk. Does that just mean the melodies are more pop?

I didn't want to go so far as to say pop punk. That's not the stuff that I'm aiming for. It's The Clash and The White Stripes that are kind of punky in that way, with some Yeah Yeah Yeahs ... Mainstream punk, it's a little bit of a spin on a genre. It's not screamo punk; it's melodic punk.

You've got lyrics on your site, so I'm guessing it's important to you that people know them and be able to recognize them.

I like that the lyrics on are the website. I encourage people to go read it there. I'm not gonna hold that back. I'm willing to share that. That's actually been pretty crucial in the writing process. When I have edits, I'll just go and make the changes there. So if the lyrics are changed somewhat since then, it's helped me write a lot.

Speaking of lyrics, I like the Gil Scott Heron reference on the first EP.

I try to have some cross influences. Some stuff like that, some not.

Do you sneak stuff like that in a lot?

One of the singles is "New Blue Velvet" and that's kind of a play on an old standard. I know that Lana Del Rey's got a cover that song right now, but it's not on that. Have you seen "Blue Velvet," the movie?

Nope.

Oh, man, I won't even get into it. You can't un-see images from that movie. It'll just stick into your head. The first one or two times I heard the song I thought this needed a new imaging. It's not a cover, it's a new homage ... On Friday, everyone's going to hear it. Everyone who comes to the show is going to get a download of the three songs on the EP, too. - Colorado Daily

I t's been a year since the Denver-based Two Fisted Tango released its first self-titled EP, and they're ready to do it again, with a few changes. We talked to frontman Joey Boots about what the band did differently this time around, the meaning of "mainstream punk" and movies you can't un-see.

How's it going? Getting excited for Friday's show?

I'm cursing the snow right now, but hopefully everyone's got cabin fever now and will be ready for Friday.

And are you excited for the second EP to be out?

Hell yeah. It's sonically similar to the first, but we're a more polished band. There are two new guys the project. For the first one, I was playing guitar and now I'm on bass. It's me, Alejandro on guitar -- he's the soul, the Latin poet -- and Shawn on the drums. He's a firefighter, too, so he brings the fire and the rage.

So what's different about this EP?

It's a new studio. It's at Arsenal Studios. It's had 3OH!3, it's had Ellie Goulding -- so it's a step up in production. We've gone about writing differently. I've come to the guys with an idea, and for the most of the songs, we grew it out together, organically. Before, I was doing the whole thing. This time, they brought their own pieces to it and it's more cohesive.

Mainstream punk. Does that just mean the melodies are more pop?

I didn't want to go so far as to say pop punk. That's not the stuff that I'm aiming for. It's The Clash and The White Stripes that are kind of punky in that way, with some Yeah Yeah Yeahs ... Mainstream punk, it's a little bit of a spin on a genre. It's not screamo punk; it's melodic punk.

You've got lyrics on your site, so I'm guessing it's important to you that people know them and be able to recognize them.

I like that the lyrics on are the website. I encourage people to go read it there. I'm not gonna hold that back. I'm willing to share that. That's actually been pretty crucial in the writing process. When I have edits, I'll just go and make the changes there. So if the lyrics are changed somewhat since then, it's helped me write a lot.

Speaking of lyrics, I like the Gil Scott Heron reference on the first EP.

I try to have some cross influences. Some stuff like that, some not.

Do you sneak stuff like that in a lot?

One of the singles is "New Blue Velvet" and that's kind of a play on an old standard. I know that Lana Del Rey's got a cover that song right now, but it's not on that. Have you seen "Blue Velvet," the movie?

Nope.

Oh, man, I won't even get into it. You can't un-see images from that movie. It'll just stick into your head. The first one or two times I heard the song I thought this needed a new imaging. It's not a cover, it's a new homage ... On Friday, everyone's going to hear it. Everyone who comes to the show is going to get a download of the three songs on the EP, too. - Colorado Daily