Like the cool seniors looking out for the promising freshmen in high school, some respectable local bands took it upon themselves to steer Saving Verona in the right direction.
Not that this group of 18- and 21-year-olds represents the youngest rockers on the scene. But it is one of the few local bands to garner gigs with national acts before any of them donned a graduation cap and gown.
Now the power-pop quartet that started when two grade- school kids decided they liked playing instruments together more than watching football with their dads is releasing its second album. We caught up to frontman Bryce Hoops to find out more.
Q: Your dad’s old cover band: Did it make you move or make you blush?
A: A little bit of both, actually. He was always jamming in the basement while me and my cousin (drummer) Paul Harris would watch. We thought it looked fun. They played rock, a few country songs and a few Green Day covers. We really digged those songs.
Q: What’s this about a Dislocated Thumb?
A: Oh, that was me and Paul back in the day. I was 11 or 12 when we first started jamming. He was a sophomore at Ranum High School. (Dislocated Thumb) would play during halftime at family Bronco parties and stuff. And instead of watching the game, we would be downstairs on my dad’s drums and guitar, playing anything that made noise. It wasn’t really anything you might call music.
Q: Who is Ben Lee (in the song “Ben Lee”), and where did he go?
A: Ben Lee is one of my best friends. We went to Skyview High School together before he moved to Wisconsin three or four years ago. It inspired us to write the song. We recorded it a couple times. The newest recording is on our new CD. Ben always says he’s proud of how much we’ve grown over the years. And I guess the song worked because he moved back here and now he’s going to the University of Colorado-Denver.
Writing about girls and stuff is overrated. Don’t get me wrong. We still have our share of songs about girls. But people also want something fresh. They like new topics that they can still relate to, like a friend moving away.
Saving Verona plays a CD release show Saturday at The Bluebird Theater with D.O.R.K., The Trampolines, RedLine Defiance and With No Regrets.
Staff writer Elana Ashanti Jefferson can be reached at 303-820-1957 or ejefferson@denverpost.com.
