Almost Vegas   

Motorhome trying to branch out from Fort Colllins

Denver Daily News
Friday March 6th 2009

by Gene Davis

Most Colorado bands subscribe to one of two theories for booking shows: play around two local gigs a month so the fan base/friends and family aren’t overextended — but know the band is still relevant — or relentlessly tour across the country. Basically, it’s the difference between bands that do music as a passionate hobby and those that do it as a living.
And then there’s the select handful of groups like the country-rock group Motorhome that play approximately 150 shows a year but generally keep it within Colorado. The band, which is among the biggest consistent draws within their hometown of Fort Collins, is gradually expanding their reach throughout the state through relentless gigging and effective promotion.
“We keep on branching out,” said Jeff Schitter, the band’s manager. “Every show that they play, their crowds keep on getting bigger and bigger.”
Motorhome plays country with a rock edge and will appeal to fans of Cross Canadian Ragweed and Drive By Truckers. The band’s live show has the mix of meticulously rehearsed songs with the loose spirit that’s necessary to pull off the bar country rock genre.
The emerging five-piece is putting the finishing touches on their newest album, which Schitter says will have lots of really good songs and then a few amazing tracks.
Motorhome is still a relative unknown in Denver. However, the quintet’s aggressive plan to play all of the major markets in Colorado — including Durango and Steamboat Springs — means people outside of the Fort should soon become familiar with the talented outfit.
“We’re trying to start a radius and push out from there,” said Schitter. “We will eventually get down everywhere, but it’s an issue of one day at a time; you can’t put the cart before the horse.”

Motorhome
Where: Skylark Lounge
When: Friday, 9 p.m.
Information: MySpace.com/Motorhome

Mountain Music
February 2009
Volume 2 Issue 2

by Jack Coffman

Despite being voted Best Alt Country/Country/Americana band by the Fort Collins Music Association, no genre title limits this Ft. Collins-based five-piece group's fervent approach to rock music. Motorhome's music is real and raw and encompasses whatever sound is true to the feeling, be it country, rock, folk, or whatever else may come up.

They say their music is kind of like "Rebel Country" -- Waylon Jennings, David Allen Coe, Robert Earl Keen, or Johnny Cash-- but with mandolin, drums, bass guitar, and two electric guitars to give them that hard edge.

With Matt Thornton (guitar, vocals), P-mann (guitar, vocals), Darren Radach (mandolin, accordion), Ben Prytherch (bass), and John Motley (PO BOY DRUMS), motorhome has a big, crunchy, down-home rock sound that is completed by honest, direct, and telling lyrics:

"Cigarette pressed between my lips / beer between my knees. I've been looking for something to satisfy my needs," Thornton's gruff, whisky-soaked, cigarette-stained voice belts out during the first line of motorhome's original "Never Coming Back."

Their goal is to take audiences out of themselves and put them in a more comfortable place, a cozy motor home if you wil, if even for a little while.

"Motorhome's purpose is to entertain people. It doesn't matter what's going on in your life at the moment, weather things or good or bad, our show's give people a place to get away," motorhome guitarist and singer, Matt Thornton, said. "Everything could be falling a part in the real world, but step into a good show with positive energy and life gets better if just for a little while."

Sky-Hi Daily News
Winter Park, Colorado
November 7, 2008

By Cyndi McCoy

Motorhome and Woodbox Gang "The Hottest Thing around these parts"




Motorhome and Woodbox Gang fans: "Prepare for a rockin' good time."

"Rebel Country" band Motorhome once again pulls into Winter Park with its hard country edge. Meanwhile, The Woodbox Gang, southern Illinois' "original trashcan Americana band" also returns to perform in the Fraser Valley. Both are excited to play, especially with new local fans in tow.

Matt Thornton and Matt Mahern a.k.a. "P-Mann" (guitars/vocals), Darren Radach (vocals/mandolin (and possibly a new electric mandolin)), Ben Prytherch (bass), and John Motley (drums) are the drivers of Motorhome. While playing 120 shows this year, they have been working on writing new songs and expanding their repertoire. Some songs are political, some about food, and there's one about death with a side-bar love story, said Thornton, who writes most of the songs with Mahern.

Their sophomore album is set for release early next year.

"We have very high expectations and a feeling they'll be surpassed," said Jeff "The Candleman" Schitter, band manager.

Motorhome plays almost all originals in a style similar to musicians like Waylon Jennings, Robert Earl Keen and Johnny Cash, "only with electric guitar and more rock influence," he said.

"Motorhome is one of the hottest things going on around these parts," Schitter said. "It doesn't matter what's going on in your life at the moment, whether things are good or bad, their shows give people a place to get away."

And on Sunday

The Woodbox Gang of Illinois calls its music "trashcan Americana," intertwining Americana, bluegrass, Delta blues, outlaw and traditional country, rockabilly and a little punk.

"We don't fit in anyplace, anytime. We are outsiders. We are trailblazers. And we are pretty much on our own musically," said Alex Kirt (vocals, dobro, slide guitar, mandolin, banjo, guitar, harmonica, washboard, suitcase kick drum, didgeridoo and kazoo). "We borrow ideas from many, many genres of American music, and we're raw and aggressive musically, so it's sort of like we're a big trashcan full of American music styles, all shook up."

The band name stems from the early days of Hugh DeNeal, chief lyricist, vocals and acoustic guitar. His dad started calling him and his brother the woodbox gang because they liked to play inside a large wooden firewood box. Like the band name, DeNeal's lyrics also have a story to tell and are found to be somewhat dark yet humorous.

He, Kirt and members Greg Edwards (bass), and Dan Goett (vocals, banjo, mandolin, dobro, guitar and slide guitar) have played music most of their lives. Their music is as diverse as influences like Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Ramones, Pogues, Dead Kennedys, Clash, Muddy Waters, Black Sabbath, and jug and old-timey string bands.

"We are influenced by everything we've heard, whether it's a symphony orchestra or a push rock knockin' in an old 350 engine," Kirt said. "Just about anything that makes a sound can be used to enhance the mood of a tune."

Their material is 100 percent original and their work combines the traditional tools of roots music with "unconventional" instruments like the didgeridoo, sawblade, gutbuckets, crowbars, ashtrays and rusty gasoline cans for a "more desolate, outlaw twist."

THE VAIL DAILY

Motorhome pulls into Vail

Fort Collins-based band performs at the Sandbar at 9:30 p.m.

DAILY STAFF REPORT


VAIL, Colorado — This Saturday night Motorhome will perform at Sandbar Sports Grill in West Vail. Hailing from Fort Collins, Motorhome has a reputation for giving unique, high-energy live performances. The show begins at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $5.

Dick Dime, manager of Sandbar Sports Grill, likes what's been happening musically in Denver and the Front Range, he said.

"Major labels are buzzing as the Front Range has become the cutting-edge breeding ground of new talent," Dime said. "Eclectic bands like Devotchka or hip hop groups such as the Flobots and The Umconscious have been making their mark nationally. Rock bands like The Swayback, Dressy Bessy, The Photo Atlas, The Omens and so many more are all garnering serious looks by important industry types. Then there is the dark country/alt country scene that has produced 16 Horsepower, Wovenhand, Munly, Slim Cessna's Auto Club, Drag The River and now Motorhome... Motorhome are an extension of all of this hi-caliber, even trend-setting music that is happening down the hill. I think it is really exciting and Motorhome brings a lot of momentum with them."

Motorhome — Matt Thornton on guitar and vocals, Matt "P-Mann" Mahern on guitar and vocals, Darren Radach on mandolin and harmonized vocals, Ben Prytherch on bass and John Motley on drums — has been rocking Colorado stages since 2005. Named Best Alt Country/Country/Americana Band by the Fort Collins Music Association, the band doesn't like to pigeonhole their genre. Instead, they work to write music that is true to them, and leave it to their fans to decide what to call their unique blend of rock and hard country.

Having opened up for great performers like Cross Canadian Ragweed, James McMurtry, Junior Brown, Reverend Horton Heat, The Mother Truckers, Jerry Joseph, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Split Lip Rayfield and Rose Hill Drive, Motorhome has played nearly every kind of venue for nearly every type of crowd.
With the release of their first self-produced/self-recorded album, Motorhome has yet to break their stride. Currently they're working on a second album.

"To me, the most thrilling aspect of my job here at the Sandbar is having the opportunity to introduce new music to Vail," Dime said. "I cannot guarantee that everyone will like what I am doing every time, but the quality of artists that are and will be performing here will be top-notch. ... bands such as Motorhome totally continue this trend."

Sky-Hi Daily News
Winter Park, Colorado
July -11- 2008

By Cyndi Palmer


Motorhome rolls onto Winter Park Pub satge



People are urged to "prepare for a rockin' good time" as Motorhome rolls into Winter Park with its hard country edge for a free performance at The Pub tonight.

Band members are Matt Thornton (guitar/vocals), Matt Mahern, a.k.a. "P-Mann" (guitar/vocals), Darren Radach (mandolin/vocals), Ben Prytherch (bass), and John Motley (drums). The "Rebel Country" band was recently named the Best Country/Alternative Country/Americana Band by the Fort Collins Music Association. Jeff Schitter, a.k.a. "Candleman," considers them to be "one of the hottest things going on around these parts."

Thornton, who always wanted to be a lounge singer and writes most of the band's songs, got his first guitar when he was 16 "and never put it down," he said. "Everyone tells you growing up to do what you love and you will be successful, but when doing what you love means traveling around and playing music in bars, they think you've lost your mind."

The guitarist is influenced by everything around him and thinks the most important thing about being an artist is to be true to himself.

Mahern, the other part of the band's writing team, puts together at least 95 percent of Motorhome's repertoire. He said he is inspired by "any other musical act that is putting their art out there at 110 percent." With a music degree, he is also proficient on the piano and has "a working knowledge with most every instrument."

Music came easy to Radach, who started playing piano at age six before he moved on to drums and guitar. But he always looked at music as a hobby until about age 27, when he said he thought he could take his own music "to another level." He said he tries to "rock out the mandolin in ways that haven't been done before" and that he "always appreciated how music can bridge gaps between different people." He also plays the bouzouki, accordion, guitar, bass, drums and keys.

Prytherch didn't always want to be a musician — he got a guitar at the beginning of high school and moved on toward a bass at the end of those formative years. Now full-on into the bass, his heroes include Colin Moulding of XTC, Donald Duck Dunn of Booker T and the MGs (and the house bassist for Stax Records), and Andrew Bodnar of Graham Parker and the Rumour.

"When it comes to playing shows, my purpose is to entertain the audience. If I play well and have fun, I'm happy," he said.

Motley always wanted to be a musician and has been playing drums since he was 12. He plays with at least a dozen other bands and said he's looking forward to tonight's performance. He and the band have a new (second) CD coming out in a few months and they will be making their debut journey to Oregon and Washington later this month.

"We continue to bring our music to as many people as possible, and we hope to continue doing that for as long as possible," Mahern said.

The nationally touring New Orleans act E.O.E. (Equal Opportunity Employment) is also scheduled to play at the popular Winter Park Pub, starting around 8 p.m. Saturday, July 12; as is Blackdog for the Pub's Sunday Afternoon Series starting at 4 p.m. Sunday — both also in the great beer garden venue.

One of our greatest fans is dreaming about us. This is his Dream

alright, so in my dream in the early hours of this morning, i am driving down to mexico for some reason. strangely, as i cross the border, there are no border police or anything of the like.... just a giant stone arch that says welcome to mexico.... the sky is very hazy and there are industrial plants and billboards everywhere.... it just didn't look like an area of mexico just across the border.... but when i stop for gas, i am told that the communities of both mexico and the united states have been working together to improve the quality of life on both sides.... i find a motel to stay the night, and the area has suddenly because much less appealing and looks like a dingy mexican border town.... the room has nothing more than a lamp, mattress, toilet, sink and broken mirror.... another strange thing is that everyone speaks english, at least once they realize i don't speak spanish.... i went to the office to ask the manager of the motel where i might be able to get some drinks and hear some music.... she directs me to a bar down the street.... as i approached the bar, i heard very familiar tunes and opened the door to see motorhome jamming out.... it just so happens the band is staying at the same motel as i am.... the dream then jumped quickly to the next day, when everyone in the band (minus johnny motely) and i were standing next to my car.... to save gas, we decided to go looking for motely in my car instead of p-mann's van.... no one had any idea where johnny had gone off to.... for some reason, ben asks if he can drive the car because he says he knows the area well.... as we drive around, p-mann tells everyone to keep their eyes open for a movie theatre because if there is anything good, he wants to go.... i see three theatres in a row and let p-mann know.... "what is playing," he asks..... i tell him that all three theatres are playing a movie called "posterspace" and nothing else.... "that is supposed to be a good fucking movie" is what p-mann tells everyone in the car.... ben pulls into the theatre, but the parking area is more like a driveway and the theatre looks like a house... however, we walk through the door though, and it looks like the inside of a theatre.... p-mann says something to the person at the counter and we are allowed in for free.... i think that he said something about looking for our friend who had gone missing and wanted to see if he was in the theatre.... we go in and take our seats and p-mann was really excited for some reason.... also, the theatre had a row of bright lime green recliners and couches that were reserved for the elderly and handicapped, and darin got into an argument with some people, but was allowed to sit in a recliner anyway.... no one else moved.... for some reason i decided that i should move my car from the driveway, so i exited the theatre to do so.... when i tried to get back in, they said i had to pay and all i had was my credit card.... then i decided that a stop at the concession stand was necessary.... however, i wanted caramel corn (which they had), but the lady behind the counter said she could not sell it to me because i would make too much noise eating it.... then, as i changed my order to a large popcorn, m&ms and a coke, someone who appeared like security was dragging matt thornton out of the theatre as he kept saying "i just don't get it. were they trying to say the guy was from northern california or northern italy. it just doesn't make any sense." and then i woke up. questions that the dream left unanswered: 1) where in mexico this was, 2) why myself or the band was in mexico in the first place, 3) what happened to johnny motely, 4) why ben knew his way around the area and 5) why matt got kicked out of the theatre. this story may not interest any of you guys in the slightest, but it has been a long time since i had such a clear memory of a dream and i thought i would pass it along since it involved motorhome.....
Godthizza

2008 FoCoMA Peer Awards - A Rousing Success

By Erik Myers

For the first time in recent memory, Fort Collins musicians gathered together for a night of celebration, recognition and simple hard-line rock'n'roll.


Kevin Micke & Gerta Cornett
This was the inaugural awards ceremony for the Fort Collins Musicians Association Awards, held April 27 at the Aggie Theater. Awards were based entirely on the emailed votes of musicians across Northern Colorado, as the association leaders desired an awards ceremony running on the perspectives of actual musicians over the general public.

"We didn't want to make it a popularity contest," said Greta Cornett, FoCoMA President.

The show saw a significant turnout from local acts across the musical spectrum: from the avant-garde vibes of Good Old Fashioned Sinners to AC/DC cover band High Voltage, the mingling of musicians was high and heavy, something Cornett was proud to see.

"It's been a great night, just seeing all the different musicians show up and support the association," Cornett said, adding with a laugh: "It's been cool seeing those jam bands hanging out with that metal crowd."

The highest honor of the night went to John Magnie, who was named winner of the FoCoMA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Magnie, the 59-year-old keyboardist for local bluegrass act The Subdudes, has been kicking around Fort Collins for over 20 years, but has traveled across the nation with his music, undergoing the full musician experience: he has performed under different names, played among the finest in 1970s New Orleans, saw national recognition for his talents with the subdudes, and has established himself as something of a role model in the Fort Collins community. These factors played a pivotal role in the FoCoMA's decision to award him the Lifetime Achievement Award.

"People don't realize how much impact he's had on Fort Collins," Cornett said. "He's been in a national band. He has done so much for the community, him and his wife: both are vocal supporters of local music, volunteering for KRFC, acting as mentors, doing recording… Whatever he can possibly do, he's done, which is why we decided he should be our first winner."

Other winners of the night included The Jimi Austin, who took the heavily contested Best Indie Rock Band award, an award that 15 other bands had been competing for. Jimi Austin drummer Shane Zweygardt showed up to pick up the award, clad in his own detailed tuxedo suit. Zweygardt said he had been surprised to have seen The Jimi Austin claim the award, but was satisfied nonetheless. When asked what he thought of the current music scene in Fort Collins, Zweygardt said it was currently riding high in the quality of the community.

"(The scene) goes through different waves," Zweygardt said. "Sometimes I get depressed about the scene here, because we've been losing a lot of venues at some point, but overall its good; there's a really good sense of community in this town, especially in this last year. I found that there are more bands that are friends with each other, there's no more competition, we all have the same ideas, and we all play together."


Immortal Dominion
The award for Best Metal Band went to longtime Fort Collins death metal group Immortal Dominion. The five-man outfit made their big screen debut earlier this year with five songs in the ghastly comedy-horror flick Teeth, which won the award the Special Jury Prize at last year's Sundance Film Festival.

Brian Villers, guitarist, was pleased with receiving recognition from the musical community.

"It feels good to have actual musicians recognize us, rather than some website with people emailing each other," Villers said. "This is actually real."

Winners of Best Jam Band were Wasabi. Bassist Eric Skjerseth was on hand to pick up the award; a win he said he had been surprised to have received. Skjerseth, comfortably cool in a sweatshirt and a beer in hand, said the group had recently busied themselves with preproduction for their next album.

Skjerseth said he had loved the scene in Fort Collins, and the FoCoMA's had been a testament to the power of Fort Collins music.
"You can go out and see any kind of music any time of the week," Skjerseth said, adding he had particularly enjoyed the Germanic antics of Umlaut. "There are really good bands in every kind of genre."

Throughout the evening, artists took to the stage, including faux metal rockers Umlaut, vibrant punk group Underminer, the swelling raw rockers of The Lost Decade, and a stirring rendition of "Rock n' Roll Jesus" by Odd Socks. The show came to a close with a full performance from Motorhome, who took the award for Best Country/Alt. Country/Americana band.
Check www.focoma.org for more info.

I was just sitting here thinking about all the other bands that motorhome has opened for and it is a good list.

Jr. Brown

Split Lip Rayfeild

Micky and the Motorcars

Legendary Shack Shakers

Cross Canadian Rag Weed

Rose Hill Drive

Rodger Clyne and the Peacemakers

Slim Cessna's Auto Club

Jerry Joseph

Wow! The list keeps growing everyday.

Thanks to everyone for letting our dreams come true.

Thanks
Matt