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<img src="http://www.toddroeth.com/downlowd-imgs/thewheel/title_thewheel.png" alt="Keeping Standard Time With the Wheel" height="104" width="945">   <div id="thewheel"> <div class="introblock"> <p class="intro"> <strong>The Wheel</strong> is a band whose name is passing through the lips of more and more in the music scene of their hometown of Denver, Colorado. As the band develops, so does their repution; and Denver won't be able to keep this band to itself for long. Gigbot took an honest look at an honest day's work in the life of this six-piece ensemble as they prepare for dates throughout the country later this year. Nathaniel Rateliff, Joseph Pope, James Han, Carrie Beeder, Julie Davis, and Ben Desoto - along with their manager Barton Dahl, demonstrate the requisite resolve to climb towards the top in city with a burgeoning music scene, and work towards critical, commercial, and personal sucess in today's indie music landscape. <p class="credit">Photographed and written by <a href="http://gigbot.com/users/troeth">Todd Roeth</a>.</p> </div>  <div id="maincol"> <img src="http://www.toddroeth.com/downlowd-imgs/thewheel/subtitle_thewheel.png" alt="Gigbot shows you what you don't hear" height="90" width="542"> <p>I always smile to myself for two reasons when I hear somebody ask me if I've heard of a 'new' band. </p> <p>Reason one: I smile because I almost always appreciate the genuine enthusiasm that comes with that question. There are fewer and fewer motives for people to share and promote an idea, a product, or anything whose incentive to do so does not involve money or themselves. Music is still one. </p> <p>Reason two: Seldom are bands really 'new'. They are only new to people's awareness. By the time a band penetrates a television signal, radio airwaves, performs on a stage for you to hear, or makes it into a conversation at happy your with your personal music maven, they've had to work hard and work long. Modest exposure takes time and perseverance. Major exposure takes all that, and sacrifice of money, of self, and above all, it takes long nights and sometimes even longer days. Those days are much like any other occupation; though the business hours may not always be 9 - 5, the hours still add up; and the tedium can be even more. </p>  <div class="featureblock">  The Wheel, performing live on Channel 2, 'Jams on The Deuce', June 16, 2009. <p> <script type='text/javascript' src='http://video.cw2.com/global/video/videoplayer.js?rnd=433033;hostDomain=video.cw2.com;playerWidth=300;playerHeight=264;isShowIcon=true;clipId=3870203;playerType=STANDARD_EMBEDDEDscript'></script> </p> </div> <p> I was afforded a personal look at one of those many long days for the Wheel, a six-piece band from Denver who may soon be one of those 'new' bands somebody will ask you about. I joined them for a live morning TV performance on Channel 2 Denver, an in-studio radio recording on Boulder's KBCO, and a live performance in Colorado's premier outdoor stage, Red Rocks Amphitheater. I watched the band juggle, and manage - and in some instances, mitigate - other jobs, their children and family, and their personal relationships. I watched them support each other and critique each other. I watched them load in, load out. I watched strings break. I heard harmonies connect. I watched them cover their equipment when a late afternoon rain shower rolled over the front range and onto the stage at Red Rocks. I watched them solve problems and just deal with others. To sum it up, I watched them work. </p> <div class="featureblock"> <p style="font-size:28px; line-height:33px; padding-top:12px; color:#000000;">"I think sometimes we ought to be doing better than we are for how long we've been at this...Then again, Jesus didn't start his ministry until he was 33. Maybe we've got some good things still ahead."<br/> <span style="font-size:14px;">- Joseph Pope</span> </p> </div> <p>When I edited these photos, I realized that only the frames at the very end of the day had an audience in them. I was with the Wheel for 14 hours that day. Their set time at Red Rocks was 50 min. In all the rest of the photos, it was only them, and nobody but me was watching. I did the rough math. Only about 7% of their day was spent playing music to a live audience. And I suspect that day was one of their better days. To say it another way, when they took the stage that evening, the audience was missing more than 90% of their story. That is the part of their story I went to find. </p> <p>I think I'll add a third reason to smile when someone tells me about a 'new' band: ask any member of the Wheel how 'new' they feel sometimes. I felt pretty old at the end of the day. One member, Joseph Pope told me his 30th birthday is soon. "I think sometimes we ought to be doing better than we are for how long we've been at this," he told me behind the stage before their evening performance. "Then again, Jesus didn't start his ministry until he was 33. Maybe we've got some good things still ahead." </p> <p>I suspect they might. But like everything worth having, they'll have to keep working for it. </p> </div> <div id="sidecol"> <h1>People who love this artist</h1>  <p>Gigbot Downlow’ds bring you better-than-backstage access to touring musicians that you can get behind. Knowledgeable interviews, exclusive photos, free tickets, and musical tracks are brought to your browser by Gigbot’s team of music-loving mechanics to help you catch some the great talent that comes to your neighborhood.<p> <p>Know the shows - and who is gonna go, with Gigbot. It’s about the best thing that has happened to live music since the whammy bar. <a href="http://gigbot.com/downlowds">See More Downlowd’s →</a></p> </div> <div class="clearer"></div> <p class="secondary-type" style="font-size:12px; border-top:#e3e3e3 solid 1px; padding:10px; text-align:center; color:#8c8c8c; margin-top:10px;"><em>Photographs and text appearing in Gigbot Downlow’ds is copyrighted material owned by it’s creators and provided for exclusive use by Gigbot. No duplication is permitted without prior consent. Read it, see it, hear it, link it, love it, but don’t take it.</em></p> </div>

2009-06-22T02:36:27-06:00

"I think sometimes we ought to be doing better than we are for how long we've been at this...Then again, Jesus didn't start his ministry until he was 33. Maybe we've got some good things still ahead."

13 The Wheel 1

the-wheel

2009-07-07T11:03:39-06:00