A Band Called Churchill

Jenn Cohen | November 1, 2011 | 0 Comments

by Jennifer Cohen

I’ve been watching Churchill grow as a band since the summer of 2009. I was covering a different show, and they happened to be opening. It ended up being my lucky night, and I’ve been falling in love with their music ever since. The band, consisting of Tim Bruns (lead vocals/primary songwriter), Mike Morter (mandolin), Tyler Rima (bass), Joe Richmond (drums), and, “the girl,” Bethany Kelly (keyboard/vocals), chatted with me about what’s coming up, and some exciting news for fans.

CMB: Your next show is Oct. 28^th with DeVotchKa at the Ogden. You played with them at the Flobots Bowling Ball recently; did you have fun?

CH: That was one of the [most fun] nights, and that marching band (Montbello High School drumline) was so cool. Being able to talk with people that have helped us out a bunch – it was just a cool gathering of a bunch of awesome people.

CMB: DeVotchKa was there as well, and you guys are playing your next show with them, right?

CH: At the Ogden on Oct. 28^th.

CMB: Do you have a favorite venue in Colorado?

CH: The Bluebird is one that always comes up. Early on, with us playing in Denver, we got a chance to play the Bluebird a couple times. They have a good place in our hearts. Another one that’s been integral in our playing is the Hi Dive. We did our CD release there (Happy/Sad, Feb. 2011). It’s small, but it’s homey, and I feel like our band has a homey aspect to it. And the Meadowlark, because that’s where we started as a band, and that was the first place to give us a chance to actually play and bring people out.

CMB: Give me some insight into who you guys are; who’s the prankster, the serious one. …

CH: Joe is the mean-joke-but-nice guy. Mike’s the responsible one – most of the time. Tyler is … Tyler is sleeping right now in the other room. Tyler is … Tyler. Bethany’s the girl (laughing). Bethany is the calm in our storm, and Tim’s kind of like … Zach Morris.

CMB: Have you been in the studio recently?

CH: We actually live in the studio. We’ve been writing and recording new demos. We have a new song that we just finished that we are working on getting out for Hometown for the Holidays, so that one’s finished. Outside of that we’re recording demos. We have probably 20-30 new ones that we’ve been working on, and trying to figure out what we’re going to do. We have a show on Dec. 2^nd, and we’re giving away our new single, “Change.” There will be a lot of little surprises for our Dec 2^nd show. The idea for the show is that we’re going to play some more new songs; we’re going to play a little bit different live show.

LIVE: December 1 / Hodi’s Half Note, Fort Collins / Debuting their new single, “Changes”

December 2 / The Walnut Room / Last Denver show of the year