I believe that great musical talent can be measured by how well a musician or band performs live. When you think of all that goes into performing live, it makes sense. Recently I enjoyed some great live music and boy…it packed a full punch of exceptional musical talent! They call themselves Chimney Choir and are a collage of bluegrass folk music and so many other sounds that you just to need to hear them to get what I mean. Really, don’t deny your ears of these melodies.
My first time hearing them was a few weeks ago in Taos, New Mexico. The trip down there from Denver was spontaneous and our first night there, my friend and I came across Chimney Choir jamming out in the historic Taos Inn. Right away I was impressed with how their sound was so rich and strong, yet they sang and played so naturally. It seemed to come from every part of their being with little effort because it was such a part of them – their voices and their instruments. When they moved into the next song, I was really intrigued and even more impressed to see them each change instruments. One went from playing the banjo to the keyboard, another from the acoustic guitar to the percussion, and the third band member added a harmonica to wielding an acoustic guitar. My favorite? The guy with the guitar and harmonica was sitting on a white Samsonite suitcase that he used his foot and drum pedal to keep the beat with. On practically every song, they rotated like in musical chairs and showed such talent in everything they each touched.
At some point in their set, I of course introduced myself: Kevin Larkin, Kris Drikey, and David Rynhart were who I got to know. I was excited to also learn that they’re based out of Denver. Within a week after getting back home, I went and enjoyed them once again at the Walnut Room in downtown Denver. At that performance, they had an additional member (my apologies for not remembering his name, but let me know and I’ll update this) who played a metal trash can lid while also spinning a bicycle wheel frame, allowing for the click of the spokes to blend into the melody of the song! Now that’s what I call creative talent. And it sounds amazing!
So check out their site: ChimneyChoir.com and let me know what you think. Make sure you look me up to go with you to their next show too!