“We had to clean up in order to play rock and roll,” vocalist Vince Patterman tells me about his Wisconsin-grown band, Gription.  “I had to end the booze and speed in order to be a rock star.”  The irony isn’t lost on me either.

After being completely blown away by their performance at the Colorado People’s Fair, I had to know exactly why I didn’t know anything about Gription.  But when I met up with this rock quartet I knew that this was the band the Colorado music scene needed in order to be complete. 

Gription recently moved to Colorado from their home state of Wisconsin, leaving behind a Gription-ite army of hundreds, while looking for their next opportunity to expand their musical reach.  In their five-year history the band has experienced a spectrum of fortunes and failures, including debilitating drug habits, and a house fire that destroyed everything the quartet owned.  Their Behind the Music type story seems too fantastic to believe, until you listen to their music and can’t help but relate.

When I meet the band, we end up hanging out in their van to listen to the raw cut of their new full-length album they recently recorded at Blasting Room.  They wont let me have a copy, with good reason (and I would rather not have my computer hacked) so I soak up every vibration through their ghetto rigged speaker system.  They tell me that what I’m hearing is the freshest recording of the songs their fans have been listening to for years.  Still, as dated as they claim these songs are, they are the breath of fresh air modern rock desperately needs.

The band doesn’t have an image they adhere to.  They don’t bother with stage costuming or quirky themes but they seem to travel everywhere in a uniform of Converse All Stars and torn denim.  But when your band produces bass-lines that rattle your fillings and the guitarist is able to develop guitar solos that absolutely smoke, it doesn’t much matter what is on your back.  Rightfully so, materialism is lost on this band.

 “Don’t ask for a bigger Big Mac, ask for a better Big Mac,” Vince tells me as he finishes his fourth Sam Adams (a macrobrew by technicality) of the evening.  The band’s philosophy is simple: What you are given isn’t always what you want - “Demand something better.”

Vince and his guitarist brother Tommy go on to explain their frustration with the emptiness that most modern rock has.  “You’re supposed to be singing lyrics, not words,” Tommy explains, and it’s true: Bands either have image and style or no depth, or they rely on lyrics so deep that they are worthless to an audience with anything less than an MFA.  Gription knew this frustration was shared after their Wisconsin following multiplied.  Their message is one that they were compelled to share with as many as possible.

Now, with a new record in hand, Gription is out to show Colorado what they are made of.  Take a listen at MySpace and hear what I mean.  X

MySpace.com/Gription

As a kid, dreams are aplenty.  To be a lawyer; to be a doctor; a fireman or a cop – these are the common intentions of a child aiming to be a showcased success.  To most, the dream fades with time and the rigors of maturation dim the constant nags of what could have been.  Others pursue those desires and do in fact carry on the hardships of higher education, law school, residency and the continual life training.  While in pursuit of those destinations, another group of people take an entirely different path.  Sometimes these career gamblers even forego the university lifestyle in hopes to become what so little have done in the industry.  Becoming a musician, at least for a short time, takes an individual that has an entirely different relationship with his craft than others, knowing full well that failure is most likely inevitable and a dream may only be just that.  Seeing a minute possibility that they may in fact make it a reality, musicians tend to ignore statistics.  In my few years of being a music journalist no other posse of gentlemen I’ve witnessed have shown me what dedication to music is, more so than The Epilogues.  For the last three years I’ve had the honor of being part of their household, seeing the bottom of the bag lows and the even brighter oppositions.  I’ve made lifelong friends with all, and have seen what true inspiration looks like.  This - is The Epilogues.

As cliché as a made for TV movie can be, the birth of the band was much like any other.  Front-man Chris Heckman and Nate Hammond (both founding members of the antecedent band Epilogue) met at a young age, both with a common interest in music.  A few of the only kids in high school to excel not only at sports, but the less than popular choir and band class – these two formed a hard edged bond that would set the caissons needed to build The Epilogues.

June of ’06 - one drummer down, the three original members (bassist Jim Beasley, now with the All Capitals) did what any other band in their position would do - they networked.  Luckily, a friend of an acquaintance, who knew somebody, who told somebody else had a young drummer from up north in mind.  Jason Hoake, known best as Baby J, didn’t just have a background in drumming, he was born into it.  As a son of a prolific drummer himself, Jason paraded his skills around the nation; becoming co-founder of the Denver Percussion company, and even teaching workshops to underprivileged children.  The spot was filled, and the band continued.

When then bassist Jim Beasley and the band mutually split ways, Chris phoned a friend and slyly convinced him that moving from South Dakota to Denver was in his best interest.  Jeff Swoboda – then a Sioux Falls E.M.T. and recent student at Colorado State University – was convinced enough and moved into the oft times chaotic band house, giving The Epilogues a much needed dynamic.  With his admission, Epilogue added “The” and an “S” to thwart any future lawsuits from an already established artist.  Now, it became more than just a hobby.  The eggs were all thrown in a weather worn basket, and the seriousness of the situation was now a reality.

The Beautiful, The Terrifying is The Epilogues first album that was released last July at a venue packing performance at The Marquis.  The crowd was well aware that The Epilogues were a different sort of artist, but little did many of them know – the road to dropping their LP was a far cry from the typical write, record, release scenario.  Shady supporters, failed attempts with recording studios and just a lack of overall expendable cash made the 18 month jaunt (more than three years for Chris and Nate) impossible for the group to lay what they believed they needed to take their band to a higher level.  Luckily for them, the wait gave them enough time to settle all details and subtle nuances in the album that give it its signature sound.  The Beautiful, The Terrifying, to me, is the creation of raw talent, excruciating patience and above all an iron-fist dedication that new acts need to model themselves after if they themselves wish to break out in an already watered down industry.

Unfortunately for me, with limited space comes a limited story - consider this The Epilogues ice-berg.  Being behind the scenes of one of Colorado’s most promising acts has truly been one of the best experiences of my life.  I’ve lived in three years what most people only fantasize – and as 2008 has gone so far – will continue to do so until the cycle brings in the new batch.  As for The Epilogues, dreams are becoming realities.  A summer tour, Ernie Ball stage at The Warped Tour, a finished album and countless music festivals is only the beginning of what ’08 will bring them.  As the saying goes, their work is paying off and finally, the recognition for their art is rising fast.  X 

Now – It’s The Epilogues turn.

MySpace.com/EpilogueMusic