They warned you.
When tickets went on sale earlier in the summer for Ska Brewing’s 18th anniversary party with The English Beat, their social media sites recommended you “get tickets early.” It should have been heeded as more of a demand than a suggestion.
Music lovers who won’t be at the party can settle for something that is, in my world, equally good: an evening of electric country, punk, garage and blues that used to be called “rock ’n’ roll.” Performing in town at The Balcony will be The Moetones from Cortez and Durango’s newest rock band, Papa Otis.
Papa Otis includes Steve Mendias on drums and vocals, Jeff Moorehead on guitar, slide guitar and harmonica, and Guy Ewing on bass. The trio pays homage to hillbilly blues and garage rock of the ’60s, as well as the pioneers of earlier rock ’n’ roll. It’s a raw sound, reminiscent of a time before digital studios became the norm and polished perfection was far from what most bands were achieving. It’s a sound Mendias refers to as “mono, glorious mono.”
“Coming out of the late ’70s and ’80s, recordings were already becoming digitized,” Mendias said. “When you listened to Ramjam do ‘Black Betty’ and you found out it was Leadbelly, you went back and listened to Leadbelly’s version and I didn’t like it then. I didn’t know better. As I got older, I listened to that stuff and said ‘that’s it.’ That’s what Papa Otis is about, appreciating the analog of lo-fi rock and roll.”
Mendias’ drum chops and love of early rock and its lo-fi offerings come from his father. The senior Mendias also was a drummer, touring nationwide in his own rock band.
Those sounds, recorded in some of America’s early recording studios loaded with imperfections, are what appeals to Mendias and what he wants to do sonically.
“Early recordings that we like sound best when put into their correct perspective of sound,” he said. “ ... It’s the Led Zeppelin recording where the bleed is. When you turn up the drum track and you hear the vocal. It’s those types of things that make it sound good.”
Mendias is achieving this sound through a constant search and collection of vintage equipment. He’ll remain on the hunt for old microphones and amps while finding material from modern artists like The Forty Fives who share his love of analog, or covering someone older such as Billy Childish, T-Model Ford or Junior Kimbrough.
If the rough sound is something that is sought after by the musicians, the idea of doing so intentionally is lost on someone accustomed to the perfection of studio and stage recordings. Yet for lovers of modern lo-fi who likely own an obscure collection of 45s, it’s as comforting as home cooking.
“It’s very purposefully gritty,” Mendias said. “Some people don’t get it. I had a guy at ‘Who’s Your Daddy’ say ‘Steve, there’s something wrong with your vocal, there’s a blown speaker.’ I said ‘if it sounds like there’s a blown speaker, then we are right on the money.’”
Liggett_b@fortlewis.edu. Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager.
Bryant’s Best
Today: The Spinning Wheels will play rock music, 6 p.m., no cover, Moe’s, 937 Main Ave., 259-9018.
Saturday: Rock music with the Moetones and Papa Otis, 6 p.m., no cover, The Balcony, 600 Main Ave., 422-8008.
