It could have been a weekly movie night among friends. Instead they taught themselves instruments and made a band.
“It started with us making popcorn, drinking beer and playing music,” said drummer Christopher Nelsen.
In that order, exactly?
“Well, no, it was popcorn, music and then beer,” Nelsen said.
Added his bandmate, singer-guitarist Robert Rutherford, “You see, Georgina can eat her weight in popcorn.”
“We use olive oil,” said the petite bassist, Georgina Guidotti.
With a beer boost and popcorn high, four old friends began playing music together in the summer of 2004 without the intention of recording a CD. They started playing clubs six months later as The Clap. Now the same group of musicians is releasing a remarkable album at the Hi-Dive on Saturday as Rabbit is a Sphere, and it’s rightfully one of the most anticipated local releases of 2006.
Rabbit is a Sphere is one of those rare groups where everything seems to happen organically, communally. They already knew each other, so practicing twice a week was a smooth step forward. Who writes most of the music? The lyrics? The easy answer: They all do. (It’s also the right answer.) The quartet has a way of working together on songwriting and other creative ventures that makes it obvious this is a collaboration born of friendship.
“With us, any idea is explorable,” Nelsen said.
“Robert had a song in his head at one point,” said singer-guitarist Natalie Winslow, “and we had to translate it.”
“Yeah, all I knew is that I wanted it to be a fast and funky song,” Rutherford added. “I told them what I heard, and the band interpreted it.”
The song is “Stars at Noon,” the fourth song from RIAS’s debut, “Laps in the Sleep Saloon.” The track encapsulates the band’s adventurous spirit and penchant for musical exploration, which is to say, RIAS is never easily nailed down.
The vocals, especially when split into harmonies, can recall X. The words are more Beat poetry than traditional lyrics, and while the band claims no influences from Ferlinghetti, Kerouac & Co., that restless soul and streaming consciousness is still present. The music is wickedly manic, careening across the musical map. Calling the Pixies an influence would be on-point but lazy. Think early Lemonheads, Violent Femmes and Jonathan Richman.
“We’ve never said, ‘We want this certain sound,’ ” Guidotti noted. She obviously means it. Especially during their formative growth, RIAS was a band that easily could have been misdiagnosed as bipolar. But upon deeper listens it was obvious the same four minds were collaborating on all of the music – from the spastic cackle of “Stutt Family Happy Puppet” to the lush, rolling narrative of “Cough and Convince.”
“Now we’re sounding like a band that’s diverse,” said Winslow, “rather than a whole bunch of different bands.”
Rabbit is a Sphere
INDIE ROCK|Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway; 9 p.m. Saturday with Cat-a-Tac and Roger Green|$7|hi-dive.com
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TALIB KWELI One of the most gifted MCs in the game is in Denver tonight for a gig at the Ogden Theater. Judging from Kweli’s last few performances in Colorado, the fiercely talented rapper is one of the most fascinating live performers touring today.
THE LEMONHEADS Evan Dando helped define ’90s indie rock, and he brings his reformed group to the Bluebird on Saturday for a night of melodic nostalgia – and a few good tunes from the group’s eponymous new record.
SNOW PATROL This Scottish troupe hit pop gold with 2004’s “Final Straw,” but they hit pop platinum with this year’s “Eyes Open,” which positions them near the top of the FM dial’s heap. They’ll bring their repertoire to the Fillmore on Tuesday.
+44 Think blink-182 with an electronic bent – although not that electronic, judging from the first single, “When Your Heart Stops Beating.” This new group, formed from blink’s ashes, plays Wednesday at the Ogden.
AUTOVAUGHN If smart, ’80s-minded, guitar-fronted pop is your bag, plan on hitting the Walnut Room on Thursday when this hot Nashville rock act plays a rare Colorado show.
– Ricardo Baca
