And Sometimes Why

Mike Berg

 Mike Berg, front man, lead singer and guitarist of the Denver based band  And Sometimes Why has the type of band musicians die for, talented, passionate and mature. I knew this band was great before I had even entered the building,  just the deep groovy sounds emanating through the brick wall as I walked towards the entrance of the venue was enough.

I cocked my head to one side like a dog trying to understand a human when they talk to their dogs, what was this sound, why can I tell already, from outside the building that this band was excellent, the bass, drum beat, the silky lead, what was it?

Bill TravisAs soon as I walked into Herman’s Hideaway located in downtown Denver I heard Mike Bergs deep smooth vocals and the incredibly tight groove being laid down by this young band I felt like I had been listening to them for years, it sounded so familiar, comfortable and beautiful, what was not to love instantly. I heard Lindsay Buckingham like droning leads, and Santana backbeats, powerful smooth vocals reminiscent of Dave Mathews or maybe Chris Martin. The band is comprised of members Mike Berg (Salus/Mike Berg Band) on lead vocals and guitar, Justin Gomes (Battery Park/Solar) on bass and backup vocals, and Bill Travis (Esovae/Savage Henry) on Drums and background vocals, keyboards on this night were played by a guest musican,Justin Miller. He's a part of the Jason Vigil Band. "A super good dude" according to Mike. I gather that the position of keyboardist is up for grabs currently, if I could vote I would say that the young man at the wheel of the keyboards on this evening complimented the band perfectly, I wondered how different the sound would have been with out this particular musician, he’s definitely a keeper.Guest Keyboardist Justin Miller

Justin Gomes bass playing was excellent and his animated playing style balanced nicely against the stoic stance of Mike Berg who played brilliantly on both his beautiful blonde Gibson electric acoustic guitar and his magnificent and much coveted Paul Reed Smith Starla Guitar complete with the Bigsby B5 tailpiece and a Grover Tune-O-Matic bridge. It was obvious that his influences cover wide swath down the genre chart from The Police to Tool and back to James Horner, all great stuff and so easy to enjoy completely almost immediately, there is no learning curve with this band.

Mike Berg

I struggled to get a good shot of the superb drumming of Bill Travis but eventually made my way to stage right up on some stairs to get some nice profile shots of this masterful percussionist. This band is really something special and well worth listening to, check them out and let me know what you think. I have found a few songs on their MySpace but have not yet been able locate any to buy. I will update this post as soon as I locate their music for purchase stash.

Side note; the venue Herman’s Hideaway is one of if not they best venues I have yet to visit in the Denver region, not too big, not too little, a nice big wide stage, great sound system, prompt and courteous wait staff and hell even the damn bouncers were nice.

And Sometimes Why Jammin

Down The neck

Mike and The Blonde Gibson

Shadow Man

Drummer Bill Travis

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This entry was posted on Friday, March 27th, 2009 at 8:00 pm. It is filed under Live music reviews, Past shows, Photography and tagged with And Sometimes Why, Denver, Mike Berg. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.