Woodhouse

Beginning simply as high school friends jamming away in Elizabeth, Colorado has evolved into Woodhouse, a six-piece indie blues rock band based in Denver. With support from their fans and loved ones, the sextet generated the funds needed to produce their self-titled debut EP using Kickstarter earlier this year. Recorded at Evergroove Studio with Brad Smalling, the group debuted their EP over the summer with a release party at Denver’s Larimer Lounge. In this exclusive AXS interview, Woodhouse shared the details of their background, EP, and more!

AXS: Are you Denver natives? If not, where is everyone originally from?
Woodhouse: Well sort of, most of us are from Elizabeth, Colorado. Our keys player [Michael LoNigro] is from Arvada. (Yes you can be from there…) The origin of our bass player [Jon Panek] remains a mystery.

AXS: What brought Woodhouse together?
Woodhouse: In another life, Eric Gehringer [drums], Ian Kueht [guitar], and Jake Woodhouse [vocals, guitar] played together back in high school and Marc Bernardini [guitar, vocals] was band manager. But then one night, a decade later, we were all drinking and playing combination Rock Band 3/Chatroulette and someone was like, “Hey, why don’t we dust off those instruments and play for real again?” With that, we all moved in together and started Woodhouse in the basement of our Congress Park Victorian (it was tight). Jon brought bass to the band soon after, and Michael on keys was the last to join. Now we all agree, he’s the second most important band member, after Jake.

AXS: How long has Woodhouse been together? What have you learned during that time?
Woodhouse: Woodhouse became a band in 2011, or at least that’s when we made it Facebook official. We spent a lot of time learning how to craft songs together and perfecting the art of drinking. We’re a six piece band, so coming up with parts that fill out the sonic landscape, while still maintaining our individual sounds can be challenging. We’ve learned that making a great EP requires a ton of time and energy, but can also be a lot of fun. If you’re in a band, get out of the basement and record.

AXS: Where was your first show in Denver, and what was the experience like? Who else did you play with at the show?
Woodhouse: The Lion’s Lair. We heard the Rolling Stones played there once. We showed up for an open stage night and played to several drunks, at least one of them liked us. Our second show was again at the Lion’s Lair, this time booked but under the wrong name, Woodrose. (Or maybe it was Wordhorse?) It was a hell of a show though.

AXS: Have any Denver musicians inspired Woodhouse?
Woodhouse: Houses, Roo and the Howl, Stephanie Dorman, Nathaniel Rateliff, Dan Craig.

AXS: What inspired Woodhouse’s 2015 self-titled EP?
Woodhouse: What inspires all music worth listening to? Narcissism mixed with self-loathing.

AXS: What was the writing and recording processes like on Woodhouse?
Woodhouse: We were well prepared when we went up to Evergroove Studio for the weekend. Brad Smalling at Evergroove really understood and focused our sound. Some of the songs had been kicked around for the better part of a decade, but really only came together when preparing for the record. Our writing process generally involves one of us bringing the bones of a song to practice, chords and a verse/chorus melody, then everyone adds in their own instrumentation to bring it to life.

AXS: What projects are Woodhouse currently working on?
Woodhouse: We’re always writing new music and working on improving our songs. There’s always that possibility of a road tour sometime in the near future.

AXS: What else is Woodhouse involved in locally, either as individuals or as a group?
Woodhouse: Eric and Ian are involved in the Denver chapter of Sofar Sounds, an organization that puts on secret underground house shows. All of us also have grown-up day jobs in case this whole rock star thing doesn’t pan out. Two band members are married now, sorry ladies.

AXS: Does Woodhouse have a goal in mind for the sound the band produces? Are there certain influences or themes the band tries to inject into its own music?
Woodhouse: We are often under the influence of whiskey.

AXS: For someone who has never seen or heard Woodhouse, what would you tell them to entice them to watch your set?
Woodhouse: Some have said, “They’re actually surprisingly good”. Still others have said, “Dammit, I can't get your songs out of my head,” the next day. If you would like to have these kinds of thoughts, we suggest attending one or more of our live shows at any of Denver’s fine dive bars currently offering Woodhouse on seasonal rotation.

AXS: What would your ideal live show look like? Where would it take place? Any particular time of year? Would a specific band/musician share the bill with or open for Woodhouse?
Woodhouse: Europe. We’re going to be huge in Europe.

AXS: What shows are you looking forward to over the next few months?
Woodhouse: Jason Isbell, Glen Hansard, In The Whale, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, CHVRCHES, Strange Americans, Daughter, Kopecky, Desaparecidos, Sallie Ford.

AXS: What do you enjoy most about Denver’s music scene, and why?
Woodhouse: There’s always great music here. Pick any night of the week, and there are a dozen venues around town with someone worth seeing. - Alli Andress