Westword Music Showcase 2006

Personnel: Dave Shapiro (telecaster guitar, pianet, vox); Grammy winner John Macy (pedal steel guitar); Brian Schey (bass); Todd Moore (drums); Troy Schoenfelder (vox, acoustic guitar).

Native or transplant? Transplant -- from rural South Dakota to Minneapolis to Colorado.

Releases/discography: Blue Ribbon Buzz (2004). We're currently recording our sophomore effort, looking for an early fall release.

Describe your music in a sentence: Part salt of the earth, part fire in the belly, one hundred percent rousing ruralism!

Do you think you can make it out of Denver? Ah, hell, first we have to make it in Denver.

What's your idea of "making it"? 1) Opening for the Railbenders. 2) Making the money back from recording and distributing Blue Ribbon Buzz. FYI: Still working on the first one (Hey, Jim Dalton, you got my phone number?). According to my accountant, we can consider the second one as "mission accomplished," but we've heard that before.

What local artist(s) are you most excited about? All the bands with the mettle to play the music they choose to play. By the way, have you heard Great American Taxi? Kickin' country rock!

What albums have had the biggest impact on you? Harry Smith, Anthology of American Folk Music; Woody Guthrie, Library of Congress Recordings; Bob Dylan, Basement Tapes and Street Legal; Gram Parsons and the International Submarine Band, Safe at Home; Townes Van Zandt, High, Low and in Between; Neil Young, Ragged Glory; Uncle Tupelo, Still Feel Gone; Whiskeytown, Stranger's Almanac.

What artists have had the biggest impact on you? Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt and Uncle Tupelo.

Myspace: godsend or the devil? Great networking tool for bands. I'll have to side with godsend on this one.

Do you have an iPod? Nope.

BUCKWILD
NOMINATED IN COUNTRY/ALT COUNTRY
4 P.M., SHELTER

Website: www.myspace.com/buckwilddenver

Personnel: Rex Moser, Susan Phelan, Carlos Newman -- two bad boys and one very, very bad girl!

Native or transplant? One native (Carlos), two transplants -- Rex is from New York, and Susan is from Indiana.

Releases/discography: We're recording at Module Overload as we speak!

Describe your music in a sentence: Cowboy rock!

Do you think you can make it out of Denver? Hell, yes -- they'll love us in Baghdad.

What's your idea of "making it"? Second base?

What local artist(s) are you most excited about? Susan is excited about the Swanks, the Haggardies and the Blue Blooded Girls. Rex and Carlos are excited about Susan.

What albums have had the biggest impact on you? Rex: Green River, by CCR. Susan: Anything by KISS, Destroyer, Primus, Led Zeppelin, Aretha Franklin or Ray Charles. Carlos: At Folsom Prison: Live, the Highwaymen, Appetite for Destruction.

What artists have had the biggest impact on you? Rex: John Fogerty, Hank Williams and Chuck Berry. Susan: her father, Gene Simmons, Shirley Horn, Junior Brown. Carlos: Johnny Cash, the Clash, the Eagles and Guns 'N Roses

Myspace: godsend or the devil? Not the devil -- just a good-lookin' guy!

Do you have an iPod? If so, who's on it right now? I what?

CAUSTIC SOUL
NOMINATED IN GOTHIC/INDUSTRIAL

COCKTAIL REVOLUTION
NOMINATED IN JAZZ/SWING
9 P.M., DAZZLE

Website: www.cocktailrevolution.net

Personnel: Chad Aman (keys); Artie Moore (bass); Zach Pietlock (drums); Jon Hegel (saxophone).

Native or transplant? We are natives.

Releases/discography: Cocktail Revolution.

Describe your music in a sentence: We play drum-and-bass-influenced urban improv -- music that has the power to grant eternal youth and winning Lotto numbers.

Do you think you can make it out of Denver? So far, we've done quite well outside of Denver.

What's your idea of "making it"? We don't know. It'd be nice to quit our day jobs.

What local artist(s) are you most excited about? Not to sound too kiss-assy, but all the local artists are great (but actually we're the only band on the planet worth listening to).

What artists have had the biggest impact on you? Roni Size, the New Deal, Led Zeppelin, the Streets and Fishbone.

Myspace: godsend or the devil? Addictive as hell.

Do you have an iPod? If so, who's on it right now? I have an iPod, and right now it has a folder icon with an exclamation point next to it -- I think that means it's broken. Damn.

JOHN COMMON
NOMINATED IN SINGER-SONGWRITER
7 P.M., BANNOCK ST. GARAGE

Website: www.johncommon.com

Personnel: John Common (vocals, guitars, keys, samples, songs); Tom Germain (drums, vocals); Kevin Meyer (bass, vocals); Jed Marrs (keys, vocals); various friends (various things).

Native or transplant? I'm a transplant from Pensacola, Florida. The cruel humidity drove me away.

Releases/discography: Good to Be Born (John Common, 2006), The Longest Street in America (Rainville, 2002), Collecting Empties (Rainville, 1999).