Issuu

PG.12

PG.18 JORDAN BURGETT &

RESIDING ELSEWHERE

TAKE YOU TO RUBY PINES

PG.22

DAVID WIMBISH

MUSIC review

PG.6

The Pretty Shabbies

BANDWAGMAG.COM P UBLI SHER

ELY CORLISS

ART DI R EC TOR

CARTER KERNS

E D ITOR

JED MURPHY CO N TR I BUTO RS

JED MURPHY LANDON UNGERMAN ZACHARY VISCONTI SHANE LOEWE

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The Pretty Shabbies FICTION

Shane Loewe

BandWagon Magazine

and dissonant wailing of electric guitars evoking feelings of sitting in a smokey lounge, squinting at the poker dealer over a two and seven in your hand that you’re gonna 100% bluff on. Either that, or a general feeling of drug induced paranoia.

It seems in recent years, Denver has been a psych rock crucible, and The Pretty Shabbies’ new record, FICTION, is the latest piece to come out of the city. Their self-proclaimed “pulpy” manages to reconcile sounds and influences from past and present, in pursuit of the future. The front of the album is a back-to-back cacophony with songs like “Crazy Glue,” which sounds as if System of a Down woke up as The Beach Boys and then dropped acid. The song “Burnt Sugar” somehow makes string instruments sound like they’re drunk, and a strong bass drives the whole album from bassist Ace Stanley. The songs blend elements of a sort of crooner jazz with the distant

After the song, “Hey Now,” which is clearly a tom-drumbeating protest anthem against rising fascism, the sound defined so far gives way to something more care-free and jammy, with tracks like “8 Mile Bossa,” “Headbutter,” and “Popskull Whiskey.” “8 Mile Bossa” is a bossa nova track about white rappers (I don’t know what else I expected from a song called “8 Mile Bossa”), and “Headbutter” wears its inspiration on its sleeve with a spoken word cadence starkly similar to Beck, maybe with some Sublime influence thrown in the mix. The back half of the album does contrast a bit with the front both sonically and thematically, but it is altogether charming. So, the next time you’re playing cards, wearing a plaid blazer, driving through Commerce City; or feeling some combination of gritty, schmaltzy, and/or hairy; The Pretty Shabbies’ FICTION might be the record for you.

RETURNING TO FORM:

DAVID WIMBISH (& THE COLLECTION)

ON REVISITING OUR ROOTS AND STARTING FRESH BY ZACHARY VISCONTI

nder the helm of songwriter David Wimbish, the band known as The Collection has been pumping out sprawling, alternative folk records from the Appalachians for over a decade now. The band’s sound evolved over the course of four full-length records, culminating in a contemplative, yet spirited folk rock catalog backed by Wimbish’s poetic, at times confessional lyric writing. Last year, however, Wimbish released a self-titled album under the new, albeit familiar, moniker David Wimbish & The Collection, opening a new chapter as a solo artist while still honoring his former band’s legacy. The release includes a pair of new songs, as well as a handful of hits from the past decade, re-recorded at a studio in Nashville as Wimbish prepares to hit the road by himself. In a recent conversation over the phone, Wimbish spoke with BandWagon about the change and what he has up his sleeve for 2026. As soon as we hop on the phone, we laugh as we realize we still have each others’ numbers from a show we played together almost ten years ago in Lincoln, Nebraska. Wimbish stepped into a new chapter, both musically and generally, re-branding to the new moniker. With this he has shifted toward songs of healing and community following a whirlwind of major life changes: a natural disaster, becoming a parent, preparing to move, and parting ways with his old band. Since the band had nearly the same lineup for around five of the ten years they played, he says he didn’t feel quite right continuing the name after the band ended around a year ago. Still, he wanted to bring some of the old songs with him, while also having to make decisions quickly to re-establish the musical space as he embraced some major life changes. “Part of holding on to that moniker is just sort of wanting to combine all the things that I've been able to be a part of,” Wimbish says. “I've always been the songwriter for The Collection, so it was like, I don't want to lose this ten years of stuff I've done with this project completely by being like, ‘I'm in a new project.’ PHOTO: CHASE DENTON

“But I also don't want to be in the same thing, so I think my goal has been to sort of try to marry my entire career into one space. And I don't know if that's been successful or not, but that's been the goal.” Wimbish is also open about the album he is currently working on, calling from the studio in between sessions. He expects to start releasing songs from the record early this year, and he says his time moving toward the solo approach, while chaotic, has also sharpened his vision. “Now that I've had a year to sort of marinate, I feel like, as I'm stepping into the next record and space, I have a little more understanding of what I'm doing now,” he explains. ”And I feel like that will probably become more public and seen as these songs get released, and I move into this next phase.” In the immediate future, Wimbish is moving from his longtime home in North Carolina to Richmond, Virginia, citing both new parenthood and living through a severe hurricane in Asheville as major contributing factors. For Wimbish, this newly opened chapter in his personal life has him feeling more established in the new approach to his music as well. “It was a very fast sort of like, ‘Okay, here's the new space around what I'm doing,’ and I'm proud of it and really happy with it,” he adds. For his self-titled album, released last July, Wimbish recorded with a live studio band in Nashville—an approach he had wanted to try out for a long time. While most of the eight-track release is comprised of thoughtful, rootsy takes on old songs, two tracks are new, including the pensive closer, “Take It With You.” Tracks like “Medication (Deserve To Be Well)” and “You (Taste Like Wine)” call back to the many songs of The Collection era, while leaning further into a Southern twang that feels particularly fitting for this album. He’s also created more space around his day-to-day songwriting habits over the course of his career, and he says he’s worked to make it more of a daily routine and ritual than doing it every once in a while.

“It's become much more of a practice and an intention, and sort of putting myself to work, rather than just waiting to be inspired,” he notes. His newer tracks, and especially those he’s working on now, are also more focused on healing, community and intention than those of previous releases, he explains. “Something that makes me feel excited or hopeful is just feeling like, on this new record, I'm coming from a place that feels much more like, ‘Whoa, there's been a lot of healing and change in my life, and wanting to just sort of offer kindness and compassion to people. “So I'm hoping the same for these shows: coming out and getting to play, really, for like, some of the first times since stuff with my band, my hope is that people can come to the shows and not just experience the show, but there can be some sort of space around intention and healing and community together.” PHOTO: HUNTER RENTZ

CATCH DAVID WIMBISH ON A THREE-SHOW COLORADO RUN THIS MONTH: JANUARY 8 - COLORADO SPRINGS AT OSKAR BLUES, WITH GRAYSON RATLIFF JANUARY 9 - DENVER AT THE BLACK BUZZARD, WITH PIE LOMBARDI AND RENÉ MOFFATT JANUARY 10 - GREELEY AT MOXI THEATER, WITH PIE LOMBARDI

• PA RA MO U N T BA L L R O O M

• TH E M E TR O P O L I TA N

•ALEXIS DRAKE

You can still hear the echo of boots on boardwalks, but now they’re headed downtown for happy hour. Today in Cheyenne, murals pop, cocktails clink, and makers turn grit into something downright gorgeous. STAY AWHILE. WE CLEAN UP NICE. C H E Y E N N E .O R G / C H E Y E N N E - C H I C

JORDAN BURGETT &

RESIDING ELSEWHERE

TAKE YOU TO RUBY PINES

PHOTOS: @SHOTBYARAM_

BY LANDON UNGERMAN

uby Pines is a collaborative album by Colorado artist Jordan Burgett and producer and creative Taylor Higgins, both formerly based in Iowa, who began working together in early 2024. Burgett, long recognized locally for his versatility as a rapper, steps into new territory here, reshaping his voice for a rock-driven, theatrical sound. Higgins, an artist, producer, and engineer whose work has taken him across the world, anchors the project with bold, textured production that defines its gothic tone. Released in two parts and completed as RUBY PINES SUPER DELUXE on November 14, 2025, the seven-track record moves between postpunk electronica and shadowy experimentation, shaped in part by Higgins’ recent tour through Eastern Europe lending to the album’s gritty atmosphere. From the opening line ‘I’m just a small town runaway’ from “SMALL TOWN RUNAWAY,” the narrative takes shape. Across the record, Burgett constructs a smooth, confident persona that’s dark, seductive, and emotionally guarded. It’s a character built to survive loneliness. Lyrically, Bur-

gett set out to confront what he describes as “rebellious messiness,” reflecting on a slick, overconfident identity that once reinforced darker pillars of ego. As the album unfolds, that confidence begins to erode. Instrumental tracks like “CINNAMON SKIES IS 4 TABS OF TERROR” and “TRACK 6 (THE RUNNER)” remove vocals entirely, allowing Higgins’ ambient compositions to guide the listener deeper into the project’s emotional terrain. These moments feel like wandering without a destination with pauses that invite inward reflection. That journey culminates in “PHIL,” the softest and most exposed track on the record. Here, the persona finally collapses. “Look at my sober soul. How did you notice me?” Burgett sings, revealing something fragile beneath the theatrics. “This is the side of me I usually protect with my overzealous persona,” he explains. “In the end, in every person’s heart sits a wounded child that’s seeking love.” Recorded in just ten days, Ruby Pines came together naturally in Higgins’ base-

ment studio in Nederland, Colorado. The duo built off one another instinctively, pulling from eras that shaped them from '80s ballads to Limp Bizkit and Beastie Boys, and filtering those influences through a more haunted lens. “We never go into a session knowing what we want to make,” Burgett says. “It’s always Taylor fiddling around with some shit, and then I’ll probably perk up and be like, ‘Oh, that’s it.’” The name Ruby Pines arrived late in the process. During a filming day, Higgins remarked, “You can smell the pines,” and Burgett took that and ran with it, giving a name to their new sonic world. As Burgett and Higgins prepare to debut Ruby Pines live at The Black Buzzard on New Year’s Eve, the music continues to evolve. “We get to enhance the songs, lengthen them, add halftime sections and jam stuff,” Higgins says. “Ruby Pines feels like it’s meant to be played live.” Experience it at Midnight in Ruby Pines on December 31, 2025, at The Black Buzzard in Denver—both artists’ first headline show, and the next chapter in a story still unfolding.

RUBY PINES SUPER DELUXE IS AVAILABLE NOW ON ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS.

BANDWAGON PHOTO OF THE MONTH BY JARED CHANDLER PATRICK RICHARDSON | MOXI THEATER | GREELEY, CO | 12/18/25

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STS9

AND THE ART OF THE LIVE PERFORMANCE BY JED MURPHY

t is no secret how much Colorado loves a well orchestrated jam. And for the fans of the jam band scene, STS9 is a name that carries a lot of weight and with good reason. Formed in 1998 in Atlanta, Georgia, this music collective has carved a path for themselves around the world with their tight grooves and infectious songs, combining elements of electronic, funk, jazz, hip hop, and drum and bass. The result is a live show that feels more like a musical journey than a collection of songs. Throughout the years, STS9 has been a touring juggernaut that has resulted in a staggering list of wins that includes multiple night runs at Red Rocks, consistent high-profile spots in the festival circuit, thirteen studio albums, and countless sold out shows. In that time, a lot has changed for the group, including lineup changes (the current lineup being guitarist Hunter Brown, bassist Alana Rocklin, keyboardist David Phipps, percussionist Jeffree Lerner, and drummer Zach Velmer) and an ever evolving sound. But what has stayed consistent is their desire to deliver a unique experience for their fans. Speaking with Velmer and Rocklin, there is no doubt about the amount of work it takes to maintain this level of success and what fans expect from their live shows. “When we play somewhere we try not to repeat the songs that we played the year before. So there’s a lot that goes into our show,” says Rocklin who joined the group in 2014. “Everywhere we go we’re rehearsing and working on the show all day until we get to the actual show. It’s important to conserve energy and be focused. We’re there to crush.”

“It takes a lot to share our art,” adds Velmer. “We curate these events completely differently. The prep before so we’re all on the same page is incredibly time-consuming. I wouldn't change it for anything but that’s where we are at. We’re in artist mode.” It’s this curation that fans have come to love from an STS9 show and for Velmer and Rocklin, the music they hear around them continues to be a constant source of inspiration and surprise.

“I just saw David Byrne at the Dolby Theater in L.A. and I was just so inspired. Obviously there’s the legacy of Talking Heads, but it was the way he was sharing with his band in that venue,” muses Velmer. “He wasn’t playing some huge stadium, he curated the creativity that he had behind the concept that was storytelling at its next level. And then I got to go play a show, which was really exciting.”’ “I’m surprised by music all the time, especially with my bandmates and getting to listen to them every night,” adds Rocklin. “I’m also surprised sometimes by albums I’ve listened to over a period of many years. I might listen to something I heard twenty years ago and listening to it now and I’m like, ‘wow, I never heard that before, or it hits me differently. Also, I have a teenage son, and he plays me music all the time that surprises me. I probably would not have heard that if it had not been for him showing it to me.” With a career as extensive as STS9’s, they have seen a lot of the changes facing the live music industry first hand. From the rising costs

of living affecting your average concert goer’s purchasing decisions to the steady decline of the independent venue owner, a lot has shifted over the years. But, at its core, STS9 has seen the love for live music stay the same. “As anything, the only constant is change. With promoters buying venues and these monopolies involved in this, twenty years ago, or even ten years ago, there were so many different independent promoters. It seems incredibly corporate, to be perfectly honest with you,” Velmer states frankly. “But there are a lot of positives in the idea that people just love supporting art and going to see shows. On that tip I don’t know if we’ve seen a drastic change.” “Yeah, I would say there’s two sides to the story,” Adds Rocklin. “There’s the actual moment of the concert and the music’s happening, and all the people are there. You’re sharing that experience and the beauty of that moment is still just as potent and important to people. It’s getting to that moment for the band and the fans that has completely changed.” Looking ahead and the challenges facing young musicians, Velmer and Rocklin both have the same advice; don’t give up. “Anything worth a shit takes time and consideration, just don’t give up,” advises Velmer.

“That was my literal first thought too. It’s like, just don’t stop,” adds Rocklin. “If it’s something you believe you are here to do and you are meant to play music and create music, then work at it every day. And if you can, find a good teacher and listen to a lot of music and listen intentionally, but man, don’t stop.”

PHOTO: STEVE DIBARTOLOMEO