MISCOMUNICADO

“Miscomunicado has been gaining a lot of traction in the local music scene here in Fort Collins. This 3-piece psych rock band recently released an album entitled Color.A.D.O. in April of 2014. They are known for mixing electronic music with various genres to make a sound all their own. The Whisk(e)y has a small intimate venue in the back of their bar, which sould make for a perfect intimate show with one of Fort Collins' fastest growing bands.” - The Scene Magazine

"As much as I enjoy catching bands I love, one of the best thing about writing these reviews is that I am exposed to music I might never have otherwise come across. Opening acts can make or break the total show experience, so some people play it safe and show up fashionably late, just in time for the headliner. Anybody running that strategy for this show missed a very interesting band. Miscomunicado juxtaposed a few standard ideas into a strange, but cool band configuration. Drawing from electronic acts and hip hop, they relied on laptop driven tracks for the foundation beats and bass. But instead of MCs or turntablists filling out the group, they had a two-pronged guitar attack that expanded the sound into deep-space funk. Rounding out the performance, their live projection artist, skEYEfi, provided a psychedelic visual accompaniment. Luke Barone jump started the show with a solid funk groove. Dan Scott Forreal and James Hodgkins quickly joined in with their guitars, pushing the tune into trippier dimensions. The music had a strong improvisational looseness, but the backing rhythm maintained the structure. From song to song, Barone controlled the main mood via his pre-recorded chunklets. The guitars added riff-driven, heady accents for the jam. Barone had the flexibility to extend and mutate the backing, so they could milk the pieces for maximum effect. While several of the songs were instrumentals, Forreal and Hodgkins sang some of the time. For the most part, these were funk style sloganeering -- repetitive vocal accents that could provide a bit of context for the song -- but they also had some lyrics that rose above that simple role. While Miscomunicado's music was anchored in improvisational funk, it was usually cross-pollinated with dance pop, electronica, uptempo rock, or psychedelic fringes. This meant that each song had its own character. The projection work adapted to the mood, taking advantage of found footage and movie clips or abstract kaleidoscopic patterns and animations. Given that the art was the primary source of stage lighting, that made it a supreme challenge to get good pictures, but the live experience is pretty fun." - Jester Jay

“The three-piece trip rock outfit from Ft. Collins delivers us up something savory. With tracks labeled “Sex & Drugs,” “Pizza Party” and “Midnight Snack” one can only assume that Miscomunicado had but a few things on its mid while writing - we’re assuming munchies. So if “Color.A.D.O.” was labeled a delicious Gardetto’s mix of music it would contain a few parts funky pretzels, some jam-bandy salted bread bits, and of course everyone’s favorite, the rye chip particles of psychedelia.” - The Rooster Magazine

Fort Collins, Colorado is home to the eclectic psychedelic dance party known as Miscomunicado. With Dan Scott Forreal and James Hodgkins providing gang vocals, guitar, bass, and keys between them and the backing beats of Luke Barone, their “digital sound jockey”, this three piece outfit has managed to combine virtually every influence one could find while wandering around a music festival. It’s a little bit disco, a little bit rock, a little bit hip-hop, and all psychedelic, accented by the visual art of skEYEfi, who is considered a full member of the band. “Ed Zachary”, their first music video, gives a hint of the immersive audiovisual world they have to offer, one filled with funky guitar licks, hip-shaking bass grooves, and electronic beats. Their latest album, Color.A.D.O., seems the perfect soundtrack for modern hippie dance parties, and it’s therefore unsurprising that self-proclaimed ‘hippy-hop’ artist Mod Sun makes a guest appearance on its first track. The rapper/singer/producer was once the drummer of screamo act Scary Kids Scaring Kids, and judging by their vocal approach Forreal and Hodgkins come from a similarly punk-oriented background. This is not Warped Tour, however, although it would make for a great afterparty. The sounds on Color.A.D.O. would fit better at Bonnaroo or Hangout Fest, and suit Miscomunicado perfectly to open for any and every hippie icon travelling through their state. They’ve got something to offer everybody, though, with instrumental jams, sing-along choruses, and an absolutely undeniable sense of good times and good humor that makes song titles like “Pizza Party” and “Soccer Tease” seem inspired and appropriate. Fitting with in with the positive vibes, all of their music is available for free download on both Soundcloud and Bandcamp. Album closer “Never Ever Say Never Ever” sums up their outlook nicely: “I love my life and I live my dreams”. - Dave Fox

MISCOMUNICADO brings dance, psychedelic, rock, and sweet guitar licks together to melt faces. Mine was liquidated, for sure. I remember looking over to the guy next to me and saying, “This right here is baby making music!” He said, “What?” I just smiled and nodded and he did the same, both of us dancing like headless chickens.
-JAMES GARCIA - BandWagon Magazine

Miscomunicado is a fierce and ferociously funky rock ensemble. Most tracks are vocally emaciated but who needs them with throbbing bass and guitar. Production is solid. Very interested in the next chess move this band makes in terms of sound and overall direction - 360 Watch List. - Vaughn Lowery

When James Hodgkins met Dan Scott Forreal in middle school, all that mattered to him was that Forreal had a skateboard gripped in one hand, and a cast fixed on the other. For both, the friendship was almost instantaneous and soon within the fences of Philadelphia’s skate parks the two discovered a shared bond not only as skaters, but as musicians as well.

“We’ve been an entity for as long as we’ve known each other,” said Hodgkins.

While this bond has seen them through 12 years of adventures, the events that deposited them directly into the Fort Collins music scene in 2011 were nothing short of serendipitous. Through a series of happy accidents Hodgkins and Forreal, alongside childhood friend Luke Barone, and visual artist Braden “skEYEfi” Happ, have brought a revitalized interpretation of art rock to Fort Collins in a project they describe as “future classic rock.”

Within the past 5 years the group has worked together to rig a project that stretches beyond the limit of what most musical endeavors encompass. Taking form as a band that honors not only the artistic side of music, but the visual and improvisational side of live performance as well, the four members of MISCOMUNICADO have created something that by their own admission doesn’t quite make sense unless you experience it up close and personal.

Harnessing elements from the realm of EDM fused with the kind of sound you’d hear at a rock concert circa the 60s and 70s, Miscomunicado has successfully teased the curiosity of audience members with a sound that is almost as unconventional as their name.

Although forming MISCOMUNICADO was a process that doled out an equal amount of hits and misses in the beginning, the group’s ongoing efforts have created an ambitious project that exists somewhere along the lines of inspired insanity and fearless confidence.

The four have spent the last several years perfecting their craft. In general the grand design of MISCOMUNICADO wasn’t something that came instantly, but instead developed slowly as each member found his individual sound and style. According to Forreal, this process of self discovery is exactly what MISCOMUNICADO is named for; reflecting the kind of thematic experience of growing up most people can easily identify with.

“For us we had experiences, both psychedelic induced and not that really made us question who we were, it made us come to grips with the fact that a lot of the things we had been taught to believe were at best somebody else’s opinion,” said Forreal, “and when you base your life around someone else’s opinion things get confusing really really quick.”

With nearly seven years under their belt as a band, the road that brought them here was initiated by an almost split-second decision to leave Pennsylvania behind via one glorified camper in 2011. Although the move wouldn’t happen for several months, the trio says that each step closer was reminiscent of some seriously freaky coincidences, and at times felt a lot like a push from fate.

“It becomes more and more weird the more in depth we go with it,” said Hodgkins on the process of moving out west.

Three weeks after departing, Forreal, Hodgkins, and Barone ran out of gas in Fort Collins; it didn’t take long before the trio started calling Fort Collins home. Although the group eventually found a more permanent residence, they spent the first two weeks living in the parking lot of Walmart while recording their first album inside the camper.

“It was everything we wanted it to be, but so much more. At the same time, we could have never imagined anything like it even though it’s exactly what we wanted,” said Forreal of their experience being a Fort Collins band.

While the band is known for the unique flavor of their sound, perhaps what sets them apart further is the fact that their visual projections on stage, created by skEYEfi, serve as an integral element of their artistic message. In some regards it seems they act as the thread that ties the whole production together. SkEYEfi is considered a full fledged band member, and while he is chiefly behind the scenes, the Indiana native can be heard on many of their records as well.

The band explains that while their choice of songs are the same from show to show, audience members shouldn’t expect to see the same MISCOMUNICADO show twice since their style on stage is heavily influenced by joint improvisation. According to Hodgkins this typically translates into a song being played in a novel way from one show to the next.

“There are so many things we adapt just based on how the crowd is working with us, or how we’re feeling,” said Hodgkins. “That’s the jam for us though, that’s us playing music.”

Regarding their off-the-fly stage approach Barone said, “we know what we’re going to do before the show because we know enough about how we each play music.”

This summer in particular marks a new era for MISCOMUNICADO. In addition to signing with the Artist Management division of Higher Ground Rehearsal Studio in Fort Collins, the band is set to play at the Mishawalka Amphitheater Friday June 17, with Dead Floyd, and will be releasing their new single Physical Lizard that same day. Their full length album is set to come out later this summer coinciding with a CD release show at Hodi’s Half Note July 22.

For more information about Miscomunicado you can visit their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/miscomunicado/?pnref=about.overview

You can also check out their Live at Higher Ground session from earlier this year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT0YNeWEGiE - http://collegian.com/