Rakim said it best: "It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at."
And, on that note, starting after this, my second-ever post to DC-9, you'll be getting fed a steady streamline of Dallas music news/notes/anecdotes/whatnot from me on this page. But, for now, a little history. As you may or may not know, I came to the Observer via the Colorado Springs Independent, where I rocked out for a year and a half as the A&E editor. And, seeing that pretty much every person I've met here in Dallas (granted, in a music setting) has asked me about the COS scene, I figured I'd just bite the bullet and let you see for yourself. You probably know OneRepublic thanks to Timbaland's ubiquitous remix of that band's song, "Apologize," and you might know about The Procussions, an old school-style rap duo on Rawkus Records. But both of those acts bolted from the Springs to LA to "make it big." So, here's a steady sampling of MySpace page links from the best of the still-local best that the Colorado Springs original music scene has to offer. Check 'em out--they could use the page views.
First up, Black Pegasus. The Springs' top rapper, Black P (pictured above) just dropped his newest disc, fresh off of tours with the Ying Yang Twins, Pharoahe Monch and the RZA. Unfortunately, he left the best song on that disc, "Get Mine," off of his MySpace page, but "Rep That" isn't a bad track either.
Next, check out The Nicotine Fits. Aside from the awesome name, these guys bring it with a pretty rockin' live show. And (I just found this out), according to their MySpace page, they'll be touring to play here in town late in may to grace the Darkside's stage. How convenient.
Three more Colorado Springs bands after the jump.
Eyes Caught Fire is about as arty as it comes in the Springs' local live music scene. Their recorded efforts don't really do justice to their live show wall of sound, but they do, indeed, showcase the sometimes Radiohead-like abilities this group is capable of producing.
Abracastabya is what I like to call "circus rock." It's creepy and reminiscent of evil clowns at times, but its also enticing as hell. Pair that with this group's awesome sense of humor (their songs have titles like "Street Cred Named Desire") and you've got a nice little package.
And last, but certainly not least, we've got El Toro De La Muerte. Probably my favorite of the bunch and probably the most experienced as well, these guys combine crafty songwriting with a certain je ne sais quois -- like you feel like you've heard a band that sounds just like them before, but you can't quite place exactly who that band is. Either way, they're pretty rockin'. And they throw one hell of an annual Halloween show/party.
And that's that.
Not a bad little scene they're fostering up in the shadow of Pikes Peak, huh? -- Pete Freedman
