Otis Taylor brings trance blues back to Buena Vista – Chaffee County Times

What do Derek Trucks (Allman Brothers, Tedeschi Trucks Band), Tommy Bolin (Deep Purple, James Gang), Warren Haynes (Government Mule, Allman Brothers), Gary Moore (Thin Lizzy) and Bill Nershi (String Cheese Incident) all have in common? Theyve all played with Otis Taylor.

In a summer replete with live music gems, Taylors upcoming performance 8:30 p.m. Friday at The Lariat is the crown jewel.

Taylors music has repeatedly garnered awards, and he has received critical acclaim for his work as a songwriter, a lyricist, a vocalist and an instrumentalist.

His music shows up in Hollywood movies like Public Enemy, starring Johnny Depp, and Shooter, starring Mark Wahlberg.

Taylor calls his music trance blues, which he compares to Haitian Vodou music.

In an interview with BG Blues and Music News, Taylor describes trance blues as American trance music, cause its just drums. Theres no chord changes, its repetitive, and when you have something thats repetitive it puts people in a trance, you lose your sense of time.

Released in February, Taylors latest album, Fantasizing about Being Black, features renowned dobro player Jerry Douglas and jazz trumpeter Ron Miles.

The album combines new material with some older songs that examine the historical trauma of the African American experience through stories that ultimately reveal the enduring nature of the human spirit.

Taylor was born in Chicago, and his family moved to Denver during his childhood. I started off playing banjo at 14, Taylor said. His website shows a Denver Post clipping with a photo him playing banjo while riding a unicycle.

I was gigging by 65. After learning the banjo, Taylor moved on to the guitar, then blues harmonica, and he went to London to perform at the age of 19. But he eventually left the music scene for almost 20 years.

I quit music in the 70s, he said. I wasnt happy and didnt need the money. I had a little antiques business. I also ran a bicycle team in the 80s for 4 years.

In 1995, Taylor said, the bike team sponsor opened a coffee house and called some friends to play. One of them was Kenny Passarelli. We went to high school together.

Passarelli is a legendary bassist who has worked with Elton John, Dan Fogelberg, Hall and Oates, Stephen Stills and Joe Walsh; he also co-wrote Walshs hit single Rocky Mountain Way.

Passarelli convinced Taylor to perform along with guitarist Eddie Turner, and the favorable response to the show prompted Taylor to return to the music scene.

Since then, Taylor has recorded 15 albums, including White African, which earned him four nominations for the W.C. Handy Award (now known as the Blues Music Award) and won him the Handy for Best New Artist Debut.

The album explores the history of race relations and social injustice and addresses the lynching of Taylors great-grandfather.

Guitarist JP Johnson, son of Lariat co-owner Court Johnson, played on two of Taylors albums and toured with him.

JPs flying out to play with us for this show, Taylor said. Hes a killer guitar player. Ive known JP since he was 15 so this is a special concert to me. Wed like to keep it a tradition.

Taylor performed at The Lariat last summer, so the beginnings of that tradition are in place, and its one that will hopefully continue for many years.

Gasoline Lolipops leave a good taste

Colorado Daily readers voted Gasoline Lollipops the Best Local Musician/Group for 2017, and in 2016 Westword named the band Colorados Best Country Artist.

The Denver Post calls Gasoline Lollipops Uncompromised, vicious and authentic.

The bands music inhabits the sonic realm known as alt-country, where it is the wild, rambunctious punk rocker of the family.

The band members arrive in Buena Vista with a third album under their belts. Resurrection completes a trilogy that began with Death followed by Dawn.

In reviewing Resurrection, Scene Magazine says, Gasoline Lollipops has managed to take the well-tread turf of alt-country and make it feel newly discovered. There is nothing hasty about (Resurrection).

These are songs that have been road-crafted before a live audience . As a result, they almost immediately sound like classics youve probably heard somewhere. ... We have musicians who are considerate of each performance, and a production quality that honors the songs.

Band front man and singer-songwriter Clay Rose said the he and his fellow musicians are currently working on a new album scheduled for release Dec. 16 at the Fox Theater in Boulder and doing a Kickstarter campaign to fund it.

He said the album can be pre-ordered, noting, Its going to be our first vinyl release. Nobody has CD players any more but people like artwork and liner notes.

So Buena Vistans can expect to hear plenty of new material Friday.

Rose said the band has evolved significantly since its early punkabilly days. Its been a revolving door, but this incarnation has been together about two years now. We have six band members, all of whom live in Boulder County.

Muscially, Roses influences include outlaw country musicians like Townes Van Zandt and Willis Alan Ramsey as well as The Allman Brothers Band, Jimi Hendrix, folk music, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. My three main influences are Leonard Cohen for lyrics, No FX and Allman Brothers.

A sign of the bands growing recognition, come September Gasoline Lollipops will perform at Red Rocks Amphitheater for the first time.

Playing in Buena Vista will also be a first for the band, but Rose said hes traveled around the Upper Ark Valley quite a bit as he has a fondness for Valley View Hot Springs.

BV LIVE MUSIC SCORECARD

Friday 3 p.m. Farmers Market Dan Waldvogle Country

Friday 6 p.m. The Lariat A.J. Fullerton Progressive blues

Friday 6 p.m. The Beach Coral Creek Newgrass

Friday 8:30 p.m. The Lariat Otis Taylor Band Trance blues

Saturday 3 p.m. The Peoples Stage Backyard Berserker Rock

Saturday 6 p.m. Eddyline Brewery TLoop Band Acoustic pop, folktronica

Saturday 6 p.m. The Lariat Barb Maxey Acoustic blues

Saturday 9:30 p.m. The Lariat Gasoline Lollipops Alt-country

Sunday 1 p.m. Eddyline Brewery Lazer and Levi Blues, country, rock

Sunday 6 p.m. Watershed BV Laura Goldhamer and Dandu Eclectic

Wednesday 7-10 p.m. The Lariat Open Mic Night

Thursday 8:30 p.m. The Lariat John Primer Chicago blues

Compiled by Joe Stone

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Otis Taylor brings trance blues back to Buena Vista - Chaffee County Times