Its Just Bugs。 are one of the most outrageous bands to ever win the BandWagon Battle of the Bands. Entering as the underdogs, no one saw them coming as they swept the whole thing, winning the cover of this magazine and taking home the $1,000 prize. Essentially a hip-hop band, Its Just Bugs。 mixes elements of hardcore, electronic, and comedy into an honest and insanely original wrapped package. Made up of MCs Patrick Richardson and Alex Koutsoukos, Noel Billups on keys, Tyler Sanderson on drums, and Jack Jordan on bass, Its Just Bugs。 has found themselves resonating with audiences. We spoke with Richardson and Koutsoukos about winning the battle of the bands and the answers weren’t quite what we thought they would be.
Continue readingTag: Electronic
Jai Wolf: Ahead of The Pack
When Sajeeb Saha, A.K.A. Jai Wolf, made the move out of EDM he discovered a sound that finally fit the musician, and person, he was.
Continue readingTop Tunes Thursday: The Garden — haha
This week, I stumbled across Orange, California duo, The Garden. Founded by twin brothers Fletcher and Wyatt Shears, The first couple of vexing seconds told me I had found a winner. I wouldn’t describe the clattered natterings of The Garden weird (though you wouldn’t be wrong to do so), so much as unexpected. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing or listening to at the time, The Garden is a non sequitur.
Continue readingAlbum Review: Joe Lee Parker— Daiji
For the last few years, one of the local artists I’ve personally supported was musician/photographer/former BandWagon staff member Joe Lee Parker, who has been one of the mainstays of the Greeley music scene for the last few years due to his Sound Art Live shows. In January, Joe released Daiji, a collection of his experimental snyth/electronic music, on Bandcamp and on CD, but due to the hustle-and-bustle of the new year I completely missed it until I attended one of Parker’s shows in March, where he gave me the CD himself. Since then, I’ve gotten to listen to it a couple times, and it’s great.
Continue readingThere’s Something To Be Said Sticking To Your Guns: An Interview With The Juan MacClean
In true DFA fashion, the album bristles with vintage synthesizers and dreamy arpeggios, and the length of the songs allows for the grooves to have a settling effect that fits nicely into their aesthetic. With vocalist Nancy Whang taking more of a lead on the album, the songs exude class and talent. Recently, we had a chance to catch up with The Juan MacClean after his DJ set at Bar Standard in Denver.
BandWagon: Do you ever see yourself as a Top 40 musician at some point? Do you ever see yourself shooting for that 3 to 5 minute pop song that’s accessible to everyone?
The Juan MacClean: Yeah I used to think that kind of thing, that one day, I don’t know if you would even call it “selling out,” but as an experiment see if it is possible to do that kind of thing. But the reality of it is, it’s not really possible. At that level everything is so manufactured. I could sign to a major label and that kind of stuff but it would be burning my career. I would lose all my real fans and it would be too weird for the rest of the world.
Continue readingAlbum Review: The Echo Chamber Synesthesia
I’m going into The Echo Chamber’s new release, Synesthesia, completely blind. While I have an interest in electronic music, I don’t necessarily listen to a lot of it, and while The Echo Chamber has played here in Greeley, I can’t recall ever attending one of their shows. So I’m largely judging it as if this is the group’s first album, even though this is the Fort Collins-based group’s second release.
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