Being in a band is an all-time job. When you’re a DIY outfit in an industry with no nine-to-five regularity it has to be, as in addition to being talented, you also manage all of the red tape that comes in the form of show promotion, social media outreach and tour booking. That will also keep you from getting soft while keeping the music pure, as it’s made with the mindset that your life depends on it. When it’s what you do to put food on the table and pay the bills, it kind of does.
Denver’s Pink Fuzz is one of those bands, a power trio who have made music a 24/7 venture as they navigate the indie rock landscape.
If you go
WHAT: Indie rock with Pink Fuzz, Acid Wrench, Alicia Glass.
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday.
WHERE: Cold Storage Art Collective, 1129 Narrow Gauge Ave.
TICKETS: $15.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.instagram.com/pinkfuzzband.
Pink Fuzz – John Demitro on guitar and vocals; sister Lulu Demitro on bass and vocals; and drummer Will Trafas – will play Durango on Saturday. The all-ages show will also feature local band Acid Wrench along with Alicia Glass and her band, taking place at the Cold Storage Art Collective.
“We call it a lifestyle, we just eat, sleep and breathe everything Pink Fuzz, and there is no time off,” John said. “When you’re starting out it’s a passion project; you’re not really getting paid and if you want it to happen you have to do the things to make it happen, so we just kind of push through. We’re very lucky, we’ve been able to do tons of touring, and we stay really busy.”
As kids, the Demitros were pushed into piano lessons that they hated. John, however, always wanted to be a guitar player, and his persuading Lulu to be in the band would ultimately get the ball rolling. They started banging out songs collectively pre-pandemic, sweated it out through lockdown, and are now gaining some solid traction in the indie rock world.
There sound is an aggressive cocktail of catchy ear candy and fuzzy garage rock, part of which comes from John’s baritone guitar, a rare instrument in the rock world but one that sets the sound apart from other bands.
“It’s more leaning toward a bass, and also the string gauge is much bigger than a regular guitar,” he said. “A lot of people play nine, 10 or 11 gauge, I play 13s. So they’re kind of like piano strings. We’re also tuned down, so it helps with the heaviness; our sound has this cool lowness to it.”
That sound is self-defined as “high speed desert rock.” Raised by music-loving parents including a guitar-playing father, they were digging into Stevie Ray Vaughan and Led Zeppelin as kids. Classic rock eventually gave way to The Strokes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Queens of the Stone Age, among others.
“I think we have a wide range of boxes that we check, which I’m super proud of, because all the members of the band have different music we listen to, and different ideas we bring to the table when we sit down and write,” John said. “So, it’s cool to see that all come together in a song, and be able to check all those boxes, but still have a curated sound.”
They remain a band that continues to gain fans via shows at independent venues; it’s those places where you’ll find like-minded music lovers, people after raw and pure music that takes a little digging to uncover.
“We’re all about doing nontraditional shows. We have friends throughout the country that have venues that have hosted us at loading docks or something like that,” John said. “That’s where some of the funnest rock 'n' roll shows happen, in the underground parts of the city. We’re super stoked about that.”
Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. Reach him at liggett_b@fortlewis.edu.
