The aspiration of fame and fortune should be the last thing on the list of what you want to achieve when you put together a band. It’s really an unattainable goal. For every band that sells 100,000 records, there are 1,000 bands making music because they need to.
Covers of Rolling Stone and commercial radio airplay are pipe dreams, and many times, for those fortunate to achieve said pipe dreams, the art starts to suffer, the product becomes watered down as it is tailored to the masses, and fans and music snobs like myself lose interest.
Durango has a growing number of good, working-class bands whose members often take the stage after punching the clock at their regular jobs. Music may be a hobby, but if that hobby is ingrained enough, the time spent on it is on par with the time spent at a full-time job.
These bands may never come close to major media attention, and that’s fine. I’ll always be drawn to original sounds from local bands that are tied into a small but energetic music scene. Little Wilderness is such a band. The rock quartet, comprised of Paul Henderson on guitar and vocals, Dan Szabo on guitar, Juan Lopez on bass and Quanah Lansing on drums, will play tonight at The Balcony Bar.
Henderson and Szabo’s musical relationship goes back to when they played together in the now-defunct band Fuzzy Killing Machine. After a few years of shows and releasing one record, they called it quits. That was in 2011. Henderson formed Little Wilderness soon after. Szabo joined in 2013. They were able to pick up where they left off, rolling some of their original music from the days of FKM into what they do in Little Wilderness.
“I recruited him heavily, I wanted him to be in the band bad,” Henderson said last week in downtown Durango. “I was trying to get him as a multi-instrumentalist; he can play anything.”
Music talk with Henderson and Szabo is exciting, and their excitement is infectious. They both have great ears for good music, they are adept on stage and in the studio, and they are equally passionate about writing, recording and playing.
“It’s pretty rare that you find somebody that when you’re working on a song, you can kind of both know what’s going to happen at any given time,” Szabo said. “Paul and I found that connection real early on. Musically, it fits.”
Their do-it-yourself approach is nothing new in the world of independent rock bands. Yet they share a drive and a no-B.S. approach to having a good band playing original music without bells, whistles or studio trickery, whether in the studio or, more preferably, on stage.
“In the age of electronics, that’s the great separator between personable music and just stuff that sounds good on a stereo,” Szabo said. “Can you go out and can you rock?”
“You can play all you want in rehearsal and think you’re the greatest band,” Henderson added. “But you have to get out and play live.”
Liggett_b@fortlewis.edu. Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager.
Bryant’s best
Friday: Rock music with Little Wilderness, 6 p.m., no cover, The Balcony Bar & Grill, 600 Main Ave., 422-8008.
Saturday: Robby Overfield will play soul, 9 p.m., no cover, The Irish Embassy Pub, 900 Main Ave., 403-1200.
