American Relay

Nick Sullivan and Alex Hebert of the Denver-based band American Relay are the kind of guys that you feel like you have known forever within minutes of meeting them. We had been invited to come see some “real” rock at a low-down club on Broadway in downtown Denver. I am not one who can pass on an offer to see rock and roll played hard, loud and with passion, so we headed downtown to Three Kings Tavern for an evening of high energy entertainment.

Within minutes of arriving at the tavern, we secured a select location up front near the stage and then buzzed down the street to score some of the finest Pizza in Denver at a pizzeria called Famous Pizza. We hustled back to the tavern and enjoyed a few brews with the pizza and hunkered down for what we hoped would be a great show. A few minutes later, I was introduced to a quiet young man named Nick who invited us backstage to visit while we put new strings on his guitar.

Entering the dressing room was a surreal experience in itself. One of the walls were covered with hundreds of band posters that must have been placed one on top of the other for years, the other was covered with graffiti. The room reeked of guitars, tube amps, cheap beer, road-weary musicians and worn-out guitar stings…my kind of place for sure. A galvanized tub of ice filled with beer set nearby, the only “perk” of this most-brutal job with the glamorous title of Musician. I quizzed Nick about how long he’d been in this band, to which he replied “about 5 years.” We chatted about music and influences and recording while he restrung his arsenal of axes. I know a lot of musicians and have been a part of many, many late night jam sessions, so sitting here with Nick seemed like being at home. Nick was humble, soft-spoken and a beautiful spirit. He had a sly smile that made you wonder what he was really thinking as I snapped shot after shot of him, the room, his guitars and anything else that moved.

A few minutes later his partner in crime and music came in packing his drum set piece by piece. His name was Alex Hebert, the second and final piece of this musical puzzle. He, too, was easy to talk with and very soft-spoken. He said he had just returned from Africa where he had been visiting his recently-retired father and had only been back in the States a few days. As we discussed musical influences, I could tell I was going to enjoy the show, but I had no idea just how much. Moments later, the other acts of the night came in, Reverend Deadeye and Becky Lee with Drunkfoot, both of whom had just recently returned from Europe.

Nick announced that they had decided to go first rather than last since it was his Birthday show and he needed more time to get drunk–fair enough I thought—besides, I couldn’t wait to hear a Power Duo. Now, there are a lot of power Trios out there but I could not recall ever hearing a Power Duo and was wondering how they could pull this off.

From the moment Nick strummed the first chord, it was evident that these two were special. Tight doesn’t do justice to them. What a knock-out show! Denver must have more talented musicians per capita than any place on the planet. I have witnessed some killer Power Trios in my time but Nick and Alex of American Relay blew my mind, a Power Duo? What Hell? Only two musicians who are seemingly fused at the ear could possibly pull this act off without the sound getting old after a song or two. Nick’s vocals are so pure, authentic and soulful that your mind will race trying to think of someone to compare him to, and then you will give up. His licks are so sweet and raw I thought to myself “So, this is what it would have been like to hear Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page in a garage blowing out the jams, when they were young and ready to kick the world’s ass.” Alex’s drumming was second to none, bluesy, jazzy, back beats coming out front, fading away and then a crescendo with rolls that would make Keith Moon roll over in his grave. These guys rocked me to the core with their power, finesse and talent. All I can say is “Denver, you are one lucky city to have so much talent to choose from on any given Friday or Saturday night.” I’m done talking about it now and will just let the pictures do the rest.

Check out their CD “Corn and Oil.” As Jon Solomon describes it: “American Relay, Corn & Oil (Self-released). Nick Sullivan and Alex Hebert’s two-man blues assault is thick as Quaker State and has the muscle of a ’68 Pontiac GTO. This souped-up hot rod is screaming down the highway with some fuel-injected fuzzy Delta blues under the hood. Jump in and take a ride.” Nick and Alex signed my copy and as I was walking away, Nick said “Hey, take this too…” It was a great poster for that night’s gig, what could I say but thank you, Nick, for the great show, for the wonderful CD and poster and a night of music I won’t soon forget. Catch their next show January 23 at Cicero’s or February 14 at the Larimer Lounge.

PS. If you are over 20, you may want to bring your ear plugs, this band only has one speed and volume level: 11. It’s only rock and roll and that’s the way its played.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 10th, 2009 at 10:48 am. It is filed under Live music reviews, Past shows, Photography and tagged with American Relay, Nick Sullivan, Three Kings Tavern. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.