On Saturday, January 4th, bottlerag.org braved the cold to see four local bands grace the stage of Skylark Lounge. Brandywine headlined, and after the show the band agreed to sit down with br.o for an interview.
Skylark Lounge is a bar and venue located at the intersection of Broadway and Maple Avenue. The last time I found myself at Skylark was back in July of ‘24, when they were a participating venue in the Underground Music Showcase. Back then, I saw up-and-coming group, Juno Rossa. Though I have been in and around Denver’s indie music scene since my teen years, it was my first show at Skylark.
The venue itself exudes a quirked-up retro vibe. It’s split in two with a lower level bar, and a secondary-bar, a stage, and a dance floor upstairs. The black-and-white tiled floors, the high-top tables with vinyl stools, and the bisexual lighting create an atmosphere reminiscent of an old-school jazz bar. The result of this aesthetic when mixed with the kind of grungey-rock groups that the venue hosts is an indie-skeeze kid’s wet dream. Suffice to say, this is one of my new favorite venues in town ;).
Doors for this show opened at seven, an hour before music was set to start. I arrived around 7:40, and the venue was still mostly empty aside from a few floaters, however, by the time the first band, Tinnitus, hit the stage, a healthy crowd had formed.
Tinnitus
Tinnitus is a three-piece band whose sound I would describe as authentically grunge verging on punk. I heard them compared to Alvvays, but I would say their sound is more akin to a band like Dazey and the Scouts. They also very much reminded me of another local band, Opium (@opiumband2021), but less gothic and more ragey.
I appreciated the lead singer’s unaffected/monotone on-stage persona as well as the funky (sometimes comical) song titles such as “SPOILED MILK” and “FRENCH ONION DIPSHIT” (the sort of song titles this writer believes can only be written out in all caps).
Although the band so far doesn’t have anything released to stream, they did promise the crowd that they would be preforming more shows around Denver in 2025. They advised anyone who is interested in hearing more to “keep their ear to the ground”. I am already eager to see the group live again, so I’ve made sure to follow them on Instagram @tinnitusdenverband, where they will announce future shows.
If you are interested in hearing some good old-fashioned angry, scream-y, rock and roll, I advise you to do the same.
The Far Reaches
According to the posters, a character called Fox and the Cosmic Caravan was meant to follow Tinnitus. I don’t know who Fox is, and I am sure they would have put on one hallofa show, however, I cannot say I am disappointed at the outcome of Fox’s cancellation, only because The Far Reaches were such a pleasure to watch.
For a two-piece band, these guys pack a punch! The first word that comes to mind when trying to describe their sound is primal. My boyfriend called them “scream-o”, but I would argue that there was more to it than that. The overdriven guitar and powerful drums were giving surf-rock and speed-metal, music you can skank to. The noises that the vocalist was making, though they were indisputably screams, were not the same sort of screams you would hear in your typical scream-o songs. They were animalistic screeches, they were beeps and bops, scats. Noises that are fun, natural and unnatural all at once, new and fresh. The kind of noises that feel good to make, they speak to the soul.
At least, that was my experience. Others had mixed reviews, and I can agree that the noises this band was making weren’t always pleasant, necessarily. I think, if you are a person who can jive with weird, freaky noises, then The Far Reaches are for you.
This band also has yet to release any music (from what I can tell), but I highly recommend seeing them live. You can follow them on Instagram @thefarreachesmusic
ENSO (Electric Nomads of the Sonic Odyssey)
ENSO diverged from the gritty, fast-paced vibe set by the first two bands and slowed things down over the course of their 30 minute set. Nevertheless, this 5 piece band’s psychedelic sound drew the largest crowd of the evening to the dance floor. Though this was definitely not music to skank to, it was great for practicing my goth-y arm-dancing, and many people in the crowd would agree.
ENSO’s songs are not only impressive on a technical level, the pure artistry behind the project is admirable on its own. Their original pieces all fit together to form a story (a concept album is in the works…).
I got to talk to the lead singer Travis a little bit about his work. He told me that the band came together after he moved from Boston to Denver. He came to the mile-high city with an album already in the works, and he needed a band to play it with in order for his vision to fully be realized. He said that some of his main influences are Pink Floyd and King Crimson, which comes through very clearly when you hear his work. For anyone looking to dive into live psychedelic rock, ENSO is a great starting point.
You can follow them on Instagram @_ensoensoenso_
Brandywine
Headliner Brandywine kept the energy up late into the night. Their sound was heavily influenced by the rock artists of the early-90s with a modern rock twist. Luckily for you, you don’t only have to rely on me to describe it to you; you can listen for yourself! Brandywine has three singles released on all streaming platforms and you can hear them right here at bottlerag.org as well!
The boys in Brandywine are true performers, especially lead guitarist Brock, who was not only absolutely shredding on his guitar, but also tackling impressive stunts, the likes of which I’ve only seen on TV or in movies.
It truly felt like this was a band I should have been watching at a venue like Mission Ballroom, so I felt lucky to get to see them in such an intimate setting, before they get big ;).
After the show, I sat down with the guys for an interview to learn a little bit more on what the band is all about.
Can I get all your names to start? And what instruments you play as well?
Mike: I’m Mike. I play drums.
Brock: I’m Brock, I play electric guitar.
Jake: I’m Jake, I play bass.
Dylan: I’m Dylan and I sing. I play guitar.
Where are you all from?
Mike: Massachusetts
Cool. What part?
Mike: Western Mass. Like, near Springfield
I know Springfield– Basketball Hall of Fame.
Mike: (laughing) Yeah, yeah
Brock: Me, I’m from Texas, I grew up a little bit outside of Fort Worth and Dallas and stayed there like twenty years and I moved here about eight years ago.
Jake: Born and raised in Denver.
Rock on, me too.
Dylan: I’m born and raised in New Jersey, and I moved out here like five years ago. I met these lovely gentlemen, and now we’re here. Doing a cool interview.
Indeed. How did this band form?
Dylan: That’s actually a funny story.
Brock was busking on the street, he was actually playing “Under the Bridge”. I remember vividly, even though I was very drunk. And I was like, “Hey man, that’s pretty good. Can I sing with you?” And I did. He was like, “yeah, you’re pretty good at singing”. I was like “thanks.” And then that’s the tale.
And then I saw him the next day after work and I was like, “should I go see him?” I saw him again, busking, he was working his ass off. “I was like, should I go?” I had my acoustic guitar in the back of my car after work. And I drove past him actually, and I turned around and I was like, “I’m gonna go do it again.”
We ended up teaching some kid how to play a guitar, his dad gave us 20 bucks.
And after that, Brock works with Mikey, and then we got together with Mikey playing the drums, and then an old friend Jacob came through playing the bass, and now we’re all one.
Jake: I met Brock two weeks before the world shutdown in 2020
Wow, you don’t say, how did that happen?
Jake: We met at an open mic.
Where does the name Brandywine come from? If you don’t mind sharing?
Dylan: It’s not secret information, but I was born on Brandywine Rise and it was kind of the first name that sounded good, and it has an attachment to me. And now they have an attachment to it. So, yeah, it works.
People think it’s from Lord of the Rings, Brandywine Bridge, yeah, but it’s not, it’s Brandywine Rise. Now it can have its own meaning.
What are some of your main influences as a band?
Brock: I friggin’ love John Fruciante from the (Red Hot) ‘Chili Peppers. Friggin’ Jim Page.
I had dreams about all these people and I met them– I had this one dream where I met Jim Page and had his little necklace on, grabbed it, he was like, “what are you doing? You’re no so-so.” He’s like, “you’re your own”. He’s like “fucking, you are you” We aren’t copying anybody, but we are influenced, passing the torch.
Mike: Well, I was always influenced by Nico McBain from Iron Maiden, obviously John Bottom from (Led) Zeppelin.
Dylan:I love a lot of Bruce Springstien, Gaslight Anthem, Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam’s huge influence.
Mike: I’m a huge Goose fan as well.
Dylan: He’s a big Goose man, yeah. Dude like, Goose, if you were gonna…
(indistinct murmuring about Goose)
Brock: And a dead-head! He’s a huge dead-head! Show them your tattoo!
(Mike reveals a Grateful Dead themed tattoo)
Brock: Waddup???
I was named after a Grateful Dead song..
Brock: No way! That’s sick!
Dylan: I have an “Into the Wild” tattoo. It’s Eddie Vedder like “Given to Fly” is one of their (Pearl Jam) songs, and I really like them, and that’s just a big influence. Just all early 90s kind of stuff, and also classic rock, all that kind of stuff.
Jake: Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin.
Dylan: All kind of paved the road for us.
It sounds like your influences are kind of all over the place. If you could narrow it down to a genre, how would you identify?
Dylan: Rock and roll..Alternative rock.
Brock: Like, raw, visceral, heart pumping… a little soft.
Dylan: I heard they’re calling it garage rock these days.
(Indistinct murmuring about “garage rock”)
Mike: I really like the Foo Fighters.
I heard a lot of people throwing around the word “grunge” to describe you guys. Do you identify with that?
Dylan: I guess you could say so, yeah.
I also heard someone in the crowd say that “grunge” isn’t real…
Dylan: People used to say that it was just a style, pretty much, and that’s what everyone who was big back then would say
Now I think it’s safe enough to label it as kind of a sound, um, but we try to not make it (the genre) apparent so much and change our work. Like we played “Sarah,” it’s a slow song, you know, and we try to go anywhere from psychedelic to punk to just be very emotional with these songs and spread our meaning of whatever we’re playing.
Where can people find your music?
Dylan: Where can you find us, guys?
Jake: Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, all anywhere you stream music, Brandywine.
Brock: We got some raw tracks on YouTube.
Dylan: We’re looking to get a full length EP out, hopefully in the spring.
Brock: We have a website! We just came out with a website called brandywine.world. And it has literally just one page that says: “Music That Moves You” I gotta put more stuff on there.
Sick. I love websites (clearly). Do you guys have social media, people can follow you?
Dylan: Yeah, you can find us @brandywineofficial. That’s pretty much it. Our Facebook isn’t too active. We have to work on that, @brandywineofficial is our Instagram.
That’s where you could find us and find all the juicy information– tour dates, shows, all that..
Do you all individually have any parting words for the readers of bottlerag.org?
Mike: “Party, Garth.”
Brock: Honestly like, don’t worry about what the world’s doing, like, like, follow your heart and listen to that, you know, the more you listen to that, the louder it gets.
Mike: “Excellent.”
Jake: Enjoy yourself and rock and roll in rock and roll, yeah.
Dylan: Don’t take life too seriously, we’re floating on a rock and you’re gonna die, you most likely won’t see anything, so have fun.
With that, remember to steam Brandywine on all platforms and follow them on Instagram @Brandywineofficial
Leave a Reply