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Bands expected to bring funky fusion beats to Gondola Square on Saturday

Eufórquestra is set to play the Steamboat Resort base area on Saturday.
Josh Harper
If you go What: Bill Smith When: 2:15 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15 Where: Gondola Square at the Steamboat Resort base area   If you go What: Eufórquestra When: 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15 Where: Gondola Square at the Steamboat Resort base area  

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Alongside the OktoberWest festivities on Saturday, two bands known for their rhythmic adventurousness and stylistic range will take the stage in Gondola Square.

Starting at 2:15 p.m. local group Bill Smith will perform bringing a few new songs to Gondola Square at the Steamboat Resort base area. Following at 4 p.m. will be the seven-piece Fort Collins-based group Eufórquestra, known for over 15 years to bring their blend of roots funk, soul, afrobeat, reggae and dub to stages across the nation.

Although tickets and wristbands are required to attend the OktoberWest festivities including the beer garden and I Love Beer Cookoff, the concerts at the base area are free and open to the public.

Guest musician Kim Dawson will take the stage with Eufórquestra, bringing a new element to their show. In addition, Tallman said the audience in Steamboat also has a chance to hear a few new tunes that the group has waiting in their arsenal of tunes.

“Our goal is to make the show a dance party and put energy out there that hopefully people respond to and get out on the dance floor,” Tallman said. “With Kim being there it takes the show up a notch to bring in an element of some stuff we don’t normally get to do.”

 

 

Explore Steamboat: You guys have been known for your eclectic world beat with a variety of styles and traditions — why did you guys decide to create a sound that fuses all of those styles? Was it more of an organic formation of sound? 

Mike Tallman: It comes from everyone having different musical backgrounds but also approaching the band with the willingness to try anything. Sometimes you try something new and it works great and other times it doesn’t. We never set out with the intention of trying to be a funk band or a reggae band or a jam band, we’ve always had a real, open-minded group of guys who are always willing to try anybody’s ideas and see what happens. It comes from everybody having different tastes and being open minded about it.

 

ES: With the sound forming and evolving organically over the years, what’s that songwriting process like?

MT: Most of the time someone will bring idea to the group and we’ll work it up all together. Typically a structured idea is brought to the table then we arrange it as a band. We often times give the song the “live test.” Which includes taking an idea to become a song then putting that in front of an audience and seeing how they respond.

 

ES: With your horns and extra percussion section, what does that big band/orchestra-esque sound bring to the stage?

MT: Our sound tends to put horns upfront and those carry a lot of our melodies. It’s something people aren’t used to seeing, because horns typically play more of a supportive role. With us, horns and percussion carries a lot of our main themes and melodies.

We’re lucky to have some really great horn players we work with including Matt Bricker, our trumpet player, and Austin Zaletel, lead vocalist and our saxophone player and also one of our main songwriters as well. He can go from playing this incredible horns line then go into singing instantly.

 

To reach Audrey Dwyer, call 970-871-4229, email adwyer@SteamboatPilot.com or follow her on Twitter @Audrey_Dwyer1.
 

 

 

 


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