The Mind-Blowing Debut CD from Grant Gordy
Colorado-based guitarist Grant Gordy released his self-titled debut CD this past May and it is absolutely mind-blowing. Filled with some of the best up-and-coming acoustic musicians on today’s scene, I have listened to it over and over again, and I could continue doing so! I’ve been an avid fan of Grant’s for some time now and I am so thrilled to help promote this CD to the best of my abilities, including his upcoming official release party at Dazzle Jazz Club, right in the heart of Denver on 9th Avenue and Lincoln Streets, on Wednesday, June 16 at 7 p.m.
I hope I’ll see some of my fellow music fans out there and I hope you’ll all go buy a copy, if not at the party itself (I will be selling them there!), then through Grant’s website at www.grantgordy.com. Don’t forget to buy several copies so you can give them to your friends!
This week’s Westword has Grant Gordy as their lead Beatback feature–check it out here–and you can also hear his appearance on the recent “Roots & Branches” show on KGNU here (about 1:35 into the program).
See you Wednesday at Dazzle!
That was amazing!
Thanks to everyone who came to the first Spunky presents show at the DNote this past Friday! [View photos from the show.]
I am convinced Robert Eldridge is one of the best guitar pickers in our state. His range of style and his preciseness is quite mind-blowing. Whenever I see someone like Robert play, I feel many things, including a touch of envy at such talent. I love music very much, and was schooled in it as a bona fide band nerd growing up, but I lack the patience and discipline to come anywhere close to what someone like Robert does, day in and day out. It’s moving and inspiring, and makes you realize how important it is to have in life, such music. All the performers made me feel this.
The show was the Denver metro debut for Hillbilly Inferno. The band is very much steeped in bluegrass and old-time but is evolving and will continue to evolve. “Chocolate Jesus” and “Pig in a Pen” brought the house down, as did original material of banjo player Keith Frankel. I took some video of “Pig in a Pen” but I confess my camera is not the latest and greatest, and the lights were quite low, so I don’t feel best to post it, but it was fun to review it and hear the roar of the crowd. The band hasn’t been together in its present incarnation for too long, having added vocalist Molly Zackary several weeks beforehand into the mix, and bassist David Pucul only a couple of weeks before as well. They’re growing by leaps and bounds so I can’t wait to see the progress they make as time goes by.
Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams are the best country band in Colorado. That’s a big statement to make so I don’t take it lightly. I don’t say things I don’t mean, and I know there are some other AWESOME country acts in Colorado, but my heart lies with the Hi-Beams. Front man Halden Wofford is a modern renaissance man. Not only can he sing and play some mean guitar, he is a visual artist and a writer who has published his own book, The Long Gone Lonesome History of Country Music. Everyone in the band has an amazing list of credits and rich backgrounds, and they’re all super-cool nice guys. They’re great representatives for our state, and I know they’ve got a lot of touring around the country all summer long, so even if you’re not in Colorado, you can catch them in your town and I STRONGLY recommend you don’t miss them. Check out their tour calendar.
The Hi-Beams were so kick-ass that I barely could believe how awesome it was. I could have listened to them all night, could have watched them for as long as they’d indulge, and the crowd was right there with me. They kept asking for more and more. Part of the joy in all of it for me is to see how happy the audience was. The dance floor was packed and were responsive to everything Halden and the band said and did. When you’ve been around for a while and have seen the gamut of different bars and clubs, and audiences who range from full-on “into it” to completely ignoring the fact there is a band, or at worse, stares at the band with their arms folded like “so what?” well, seeing something like that, where all night long until the very end there is an appreciative crowd, it really gives a satisfaction that’s hard to come by most times. You really can’t ask for much more as it’s one of the sweetest feelings ever.
I am very honored that all these top-notch performers agreed to be part of my first-ever Spunky presents show, and I hope to keep working with all of them in some capacities. If you missed out this time, there will be more to come. All these acts will be performing so check their sites for when you can catch them next, and you can subscribe to my posts or connect with me in numerous ways to catch the next Spunky presents show TBA soon!
Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams
Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams
Hillbilly Inferno
Robert Eldridge
Spunky Presents Show This Friday!
Hi friends,
I just wanted to remind all of you about the upcoming Spunky presents show this FRIDAY, April 23 at the DNote, 7:30 p.m.
We’re gonna have a slammin’ party. I’m serious. I cannot WAIT to see all of you and your friends, and to hear this great music with you. The Hi-Beams, I dare say, are the best country band in the Front Range today. I can’t wait to ask Bret Billings what it was like to share the stage with Willie Nelson. Or ask the whole crew what it was like to perform for “A Prairie Home Companion.”
Hillbilly Inferno played a show this past Saturday at the Snake River Saloon in Keystone and the band is really coming together. They now have a bass player and the sound is really taking shape. They have some amazing originals and they play some awesome covers, like “Chocolate Jesus,” one of my all-time favorite songs. The mountain kids really enjoyed them and there was some hot dancin’ as well as hard drinkin’, so it was quite the time.
And the band is giving away free stuff at EVERY show–never know what it might be–but this past show a lady in the audience was celebrating a birthday so she was awarded the prize of a humping dog. And she really loved it. LOL. Yeah, it was a offbeat, fun time.
Robert Eldridge is someone I’ve known and loved for several years now. He has a great band, Zeut, and I really enjoy his versatility and eclectic performances. I am so happy that he is going to set the tone for this evening. It’s a real treat to have someone of such caliber and integrity on the stage first, to get it heated up right for everyone to follow.
I am very honored that all three of these highly polished, professional acts–true artists with deep craft and talent–are playing my first Spunky presents show at the DNote. If you know them or not, I guarantee, you will love them, for everyone loves good-quality music, and all of them deliver.
See you Friday!
Spunky
Honky Tonk MAGIC
Now that it’s April 1, I’m feeling *foolishly* giddy about the upcoming Spunky presents show on Friday, April 23 at the DNote.
Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams are headlining the show, and the April issue of Marquee Magazine wrote about them being part of the upcoming Ft. Collins event, FoCoMX. I couldn’t have said it better than their writer, Jordan Bleckner:
Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams’ throwback and stylish take on the honky tonk genre is a breath of fresh air amidst other wannabe retro acts. With some of the choicest players on the Front Range and a professionalism that is bar-none, the Hi Beams landed themselves on the famed NPR show “A Prairie Home Companion” in recent years and Wofford’s distinct vocals continue to garner the band well-earned attention.
There’s something about honky tonk that is especially appealing to me. I think it’s a mixture of growing up in Kentucky, exposed nonstop to Hank Williams.
Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams
In fact, a lot about this show reflects a certain nostalgia in my music tastes. I have an unusually high tolerance for banjo, I like to joke, as bluegrass and old-time styles were always surrounding me, too. Keith Frankel of Hillbilly Inferno, one of the support acts for the evening, is certainly a gem that is to be discovered by a wider audience through this and future shows and recordings. The band has an amazing repertoire and mixture of experience and talent–truly unique, new and exciting.
And what a treat to have Robert Eldridge be the one to set the tone for the evening. I have a great affinity for masterful guitar playing, and Robert is an amazing performer whose level of diversity and musicianship really sets him apart from the pack.
And of course I’m trying to persuade you to come to this show–it’s in my blood and what I do–but that’s only one aspect to writing this for me. I’m very grateful for the musicians and the venue to allow me to bring all of them together, and for their help in making it a spectacular evening for the greater community. I get very passionate about good music and talented performers, so I can’t stop myself from talking about it! I am excited.
I hope you’ll be part of the honky tonk magic and more…see you on April 23! The music starts at 7:30 p.m.
Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams Headline Spunky Presents Show, April 23
MEDIA ADVISORY
March 26, 2010
For immediate release
–HALDEN WOFFORD AND THE HI-BEAMS HEADLINE SPUNKY PRESENTS SHOW, APRIL 23–
WHAT:
Spunky is pleased to announce that critically acclaimed honky tonk band Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams will be headlining the Spunky presents show, filling in for Grant Gordy, who had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances. Support acts for the evening are Hillbilly Inferno and Robert Eldridge. Tickets are $7 at the door.
WHEN:
Friday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE:
The DNote, 7519 Grandview Avenue, Arvada, Colo. 80010, phone 303-463-6683
CONTACT:
Laura “Spunky” McGaughey, Spunky PR, spunky@spunkypr.com, 303-550-5652
# # #
Quick Links: Spunky PR | Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams | Hillbilly Inferno | Robert Eldridge
Tech Demons!
Hi everyone!
If you have been trying to visit my site here or have been trying to send me an email at spunky@spunkypr.com over the last 36 hours or thereabouts, I’ve been having some technical issues with my domain so I wasn’t getting emails nor was the site working.
I believe, however, that everything should be fixed and back to normal.
If you were experiencing problems communicating with me, I am very sorry!
Thanks for your patience and understanding,
Laura aka Spunky
Changes to April Show
Hi everyone,
Grant Gordy had to cancel his performance at my Spunky presents show at the DNote on April 23. It’s unfortunate but the show will go on with a great replacement act TBA soon, so stay tuned for an announcement in the coming days.
Thanks!
Spunky
Press Release: Spunky presents Grant Gordy, Hillbilly Inferno & Robert Eldridge at the DNote, Apr 23
–SPUNKY PRESENTS GRANT GORDY, HILLBILLY INFERNO AND ROBERT ELDRIDGE AT THE DNOTE, APRIL 23–
(Denver, Colo., March 16, 2010) — Spunky is pleased to present her first show at historic Olde Town Arvada’s DNote, known for great pizza, music, art and friends, on Friday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. with Grant Gordy‘s Jazz Project, Hillbilly Inferno and Robert Eldridge. Tickets are $8 at the door.
GRANT GORDY, guitarist for the legendary David Grisman, will be joined by friends to deliver some of his original jazz music. Gordy is a long-time collaborator with many talented musicians across the country and will be releasing his self-titled solo debut album this June, featuring some of these up-and-coming collaborators: Alex Hargreaves, Paul Kowert, Jayme Stone and David Grisman himself. Preview copies are available for the media.
Gordy “belongs to the new elite family of American acoustic practitioners who are pushing the ever-expanding envelope of a musical frontier, incorporating many of the forms developed here in the last century,” writes Grisman in the album notes. “Mr. Gordy’s musical cohorts are among the creme de la creme of this new crop of string innovators.”
While Gordy is widely known for his bluegrass/new acoustic ventures, sharing the stage with luminaries such as Mike Marshall, Edgar Meyer, Béla Fleck, Darol Anger and, of course, David Grisman, this evening will showcase his jazz inclinations and he will be playing electric guitar. A rising star who hails originally from Portland, Ore., he now calls Denver home, but travels internationally to showcase his burgeoning talent. This March and early April, he will be recording with Jayme Stone in Toronto, Canada, before jetting off to St. Petersburg, Russia for appearances with the Expedition Quartet.
Supporting Grant Gordy and his Jazz Band will be HILLBILLY INFERNO, a new collaborative project in the Mile High City featuring three consummate performers in the acoustic scene and beyond: Keith Frankel on banjo, Chris “Citrus” Sauthoff on guitar and Julie Gussaroff on mandolin and vocals. A mixture of old-time, newgrass, folk and even funk and Hindustani, this is their debut show.
All three are on the faculty for the esteemed Swallow Hill Julie Davis School of Music in south Denver. Frankel, a protege of Tony Trischka, is one of Colorado’s brightest banjo players. Citrus is most widely known as a former touring member of George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, as well as his own funk/hip hop/rock band, U.S. Pipe and the famous ’90s-era funk band, Lord of Word and the Disciples of Bass. Gussaroff grew up in New York, surrounded by a musical family, and has worked with and learned from some of the best in the business, like Mike Marshall.
Opening the evening is ROBERT ELDRIDGE, the eclectic and mental guitarist, who has opened for the likes of Arlo Guthrie, Buddy Miles, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Opie Gone Bad, Kathy Mattea, and many more. He’s performed with myriad bands over his span of 20 years of playing, and is the current lead guitarist for the band Zeut. Eldridge has also been featured on NPR, PBS and various CD samplers throughout the world.
Tickets to see these amazing performers all in one evening are just $8 at the door. The DNote is a friendly, all-ages venue located at 7519 Grandview Avenue in Arvada, phone 303-463-6683. The show begins at 7:30 p.m.
Spunky presents a special show with Grant Gordy, Hillbilly Inferno & special guests at the DNote, Apr 23
Hi everyone,
I am absolutely thrilled to be promoting a show I’m presenting!
Friday, April 23 at the DNote in Olde Town Arvada, Grant Gordy has graciously allowed me my dream to present him prior to his new album release for a special evening with his jazz project. Grant, as many of you music connoisseurs would know, is the guitarist for the legendary David Grisman.
Supporting him is the new Denver-based project, Hillbilly Inferno, which features Citrus, Keith Frankel and Julie Gussaroff.
We’ll also have special guests kicking off the night, which starts at 7:30 p.m.
The DNote is a very special place with very special friends of mine. They have wonderful food in addition to all the great music they present, a great deal of it local. Please support them as they support the local community & our arts scene. Their website is www.dnote.us. You can learn all about the magic of the evening at the Facebook invitation here.
I really hope to see all of you there. This is a big night for me and I’m so excited, really excited, just absolutely boiling-over happy about doing this and I am thankful to the DNote for the opportunity!
Love,
Spunky
