 |
 |
| Recent News |
 |
|
Ben
Combe Joins Particle!
Check out Jambase.com, Jambands.com and Particlepeople.com for
more info!
|
|
|
|
Kind
Jam – Buckeye, Arizona
A New Breed of Homegrown
Bands Surfaces at Arizona’s 1st Jam Festival
Review
by Randy Ray
www.homegrownmusic.net
April 22, 2005
(excerpt)
Badshoe had entered another improv dimension.
I made a point of talking to several of the band
members after their electric set in a mad flurry
of exchanged e-mail addresses, phone numbers and
CDs. Great sound from a talented band looking
to play melodic riffs imbedded into the deep pocket
of improvisational music. |
|
|
|
Badshoe
and the Mojo Farmers
Two
rising bands from the Valley jam scene
By
Darcee Espelien
© 2005 Flagstaff Live!
April 14, 2005 12:00 AM
(excerpt)
Badshoe’s sound may carry a deeper, trippier
groove, but there’s nothing heavy about
their take on life or music. In fact, when I ask
them how they came up with such an unusual name
for their band, keyboardist Dan Biederman replies,
“Ben’s (Combe, lead guitar/vocals)
dad came up with it,” Biederman says. “We
thought it’d be a funny name for a band.
Neither Ben or I put too much stock into any name.
He just said casually, ‘My dad always thought
Badshoe would be a funny name.’ And I was
like, ‘Great!’ A name is very much
what you bring to it. Before I heard the Grateful
Dead I thought they were a heavy metal group.”
Describing the band’s sound, Combe says:
“Good stuff you can dance to,” to
which Biederman replies, “Yeah. Good stuff
you can dance to.” With a little more prodding,
Biederman explains that Badshoe pulls from groove
heavy influences like funk, jazz, rock and electronica.
Their style also carries a slight world beat vibe,
bringing in island percussion and succinct, playful
bass lines.
Badshoe’s hard work and unique sound are
starting to pay off. They released their first
studio album, Cannonball Savant, last October.
This month they will headline the Friday segment
of Kind Jam, the Valley’s very own take
on summertime hippie music festivals. Badshoe
will then head to Germany this June for a brief
tour with German band Mars Mushrooms, with the
tour ending in Amsterdam. The band has high hopes
for the future.
“(We hope) to broaden our horizons as far
as booking goes and how far away from home we’ll
stray; that’s kind of on the business side,”
Biederman says. “Keep the audience guessing
and everybody interested and having a great time
while still musically stimulating ourselves and
staying true to our creative impulses. It’s
a tough balance: wanting to succeed commercially
while staying to true yourself and what you want
to achieve. Because we all want to be professional
musicians but none of us want to join Britney
Spears’ tour, so there is a balance there
that we’re looking for. We just go out and
rock and hope for the best.”
See the Mojo Farmers and Badshoe Fri, April 15
and Sat, April 16, at the Mogollon Brewing Co.,
15 N. Agassiz. |
|
|
|
Fusion
band Badshoe sails into popular slot
Craig
Astwood
Special for The Republic
Mar. 17, 2005 12:00 AM
Taking over the reins as the Thursday night act
at The Sail Inn in Tempe is a pretty big deal.
The bar, downtown just west of Mill Avenue, has
been doing live Thursday night shows for the past
10 years.
Badshoe, a fusion funk rock foursome, will play
its first of many planned Thursday shows tonight
to help celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
"I kind of feel like we are taking the torch,"
said Dan Biederman, 27, keyboardist for the group.
The Noodles held the Thursday night spot for two
years before recently moving to Sunday nights.
"Thursdays are our biggest and funnest weekday
night," bar owner Gina Lombardi said. "Lots
of times, Thursday matches Friday."
According to Biederman, Thursdays have been successful
nights for cover bands in Tempe for at least 15
years. Badshoe, however, is not a cover band.
The guys said they are up to the challenge of
keeping the music fresh from one week to the next,
despite only having one full-length CD under their
belts.
"It's a litmus test," said Ben Combe,
28, guitar and lead vocals. "We're trying
to mix it up from week to week but still play
originals."
Combe, a Massachusetts native, grew up with Biederman.
Both now live in Tempe.
Gannon Burleigh, 28, drums, is a Detroit native
who also lives in Tempe.
Adrian Goldenthal, 27, is the only Valley native
in the band. The bassist grew up and still resides
in Phoenix.
All four of them are very serious about playing
and recording music.
Each comes from a jazz background and has either
studied music in college or has a college degree
in it.
The guys estimated they spent more than $800 a
day to record their debut CD, which was released
last year.
Fusion is a style of music that blends jazz with
elements of rock, funk or rhythm and blues.
"If you want to do something new you have
to do a fusion," Burleigh said. "Straight
rock has already been done."
According to Combe, the band might play a bluegrass
tune in the middle of its set and then break out
into a Miles Davis song, a pop song or an '80s
cover song.
Band members said they feel this kind of diversity
is what will keep live crowds interested from
week to week.
Badshoe's members hope overseas crowds will be
interested as well.
The band has a trip planned in June for Europe,
where it will borrow equipment from friends in
Germany to play some live shows.
The Sail Inn is at 26 S. Farmer Ave. There is
a $5 cover. Music begins at 9 p.m.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
