Almost Vegas

Michael Roberts

Creating fresh-sounding roots music ain’t easy. It’s a bit like trying to make a new antique. Somehow, though, the quintet riding in Fort Collins’s Motorhome manage to pull it off. Singer-guitarist Matt Thornton shakes up the formula with the gruff incongruity of his voice; on “Innocent I Know,” he recalls a backwoods James Hetfield. And if co-frontman Matt Mahern, aka “P-Mann,” isn’t quite as distinctive, his braying delivery is tougher than usual for the genre. Just as important, multi-instrumentalist Darren Radach, bassist Ben Prytherch and drummer John Motley, who’s since left the group, bite into the material instead of nibbling its edges, as on “I Know Better,” a raveup that finds everyone shouting, “Don’t love you!” with lusty glee. Which is always the best kind.

The boozy bravado that one expects from these hard-living lads is there in spades, as is the freedom-loving redneck element, as heard on songs like “Don’t Do That.” But tempering their speed-addled classic-country attitude is the occasional regret track as well. They’ve switched from whiskey to beer, they’ve gone from Marlboro Reds to Lights and have given up cocaine altogether. But even with the clarity of hindsight they’re still not trying to be too good, they’ve just slowed their dogged pursuit of self-destruction a bit.

The sound is also a step up from their debut. Recorded, mixed and mastered at some of our cities’ world-class studios, every mandolin, guitar, Fender Rhodes and high hat sounds pristine. Vocalists Matt Thornton and Matt “P-Mann” Mahern again share signing and songwriting, and though I prefer Thornton’s grit to the P-Mann’s at times Axl-esqe wail, both have improved as songwriters and can now be heartfelt without sounding melodramatic. Though Motorhome may think they’re only Almost Vegas, their dirty, country-fied rock’n’roll sounds fully there.

By Nathan Harper

Motorhome’s members like to laugh, but they still take their music seriously
Kurt Brighton

November 2, 2007

The guys in Motorhome are seriously funny. They’ll deny it, but don’t believe them. At the band’s live shows the between-song banter—and sometimes during-song banter—is an ever-escalating series of dares, one-upmanship of twisted, adolescent humor pushing to and beyond the edge of tastelessness.

“We’re all funny, but we’re not ‘funny guys,’” said singer/guitar player Matt Thornton. “I mean, we don’t write out jokes or plan anything. The stuff we say on stage is just an extension of our conversations—we can be laughing in the van on the entire drive to a venue—it just comes out. I can’t help it, and I’ve tried. I’ll say something and then immediately go, ‘Oh, Jesus, did I just say that?’ And I’ll look over at my girlfriend and she’s just shaking her head.”

That’s not to say that the band is a comedy act, or that they’re bad musicians using humor to cover a lack of talent. In fact that’s one of the amazing things about the group: even as they intersperse their songs—a rich, upbeat amalgam of country, rock, and bluegrass—with silly jokes and one-liners, the band will then break into a complicated three-part harmony or key change, and you know instantly that they’re for real.

The group-made up of Thornton, guitarist/vocalist Matt “P-Mann” Mahern, Darren Radach on mandolin, drummer John Motley, and Ben Prytherch on bass—has been around for just a few years, stemming from open mic performances by Mahern and Thornton at the now-defunct Connor O’Neill’s. And even though the band released a self-titled studio album just last March, the group is recording a show at the Aggie on Nov. 8, with plans to use the performance on a live album.

“It’s a completely different sound, what we do live, versus what we do in the studio,” said Radach. “Pretty much the way we recorded that album was individual tracking. So we thought this would be a quick and easy way to get another album out, maybe something a little bit more what we really sound like. Hopefully there will be some roaring in the background so people will think we’re a big deal. Maybe cut and paste some crowd noise in there…”

The addition of Prytherch to the band is another reason Motorhome wanted to put out a new recording as soon as possible. Having previously played in a band with drummer Motley, the rhythm section backbone of the band has taken on a sharper, more compelling edge.

“They really mesh well, and they’ve got that going again now,” Radach said. “If you don’t have bass and drums working together, you can’t really get anything else going.”

Which brings it back to the main difficulty with Motorhome: describing the band’s sound. There are elements of bluegrass, elements of jam band sensibilities, and there’s a definite twang in most of the songs. But there’s also strong, driving rhythms and a certain amount of power in them too. With a quirky set of backgrounds in various musical styles, Motorhome has a sound that is what most bands hope for but never achieve: unique.

“John’s a punk rocker,” said Thornton, “Ben’s a rocker, and Darren’s more of a bluegrass guy, and I’m kind of in between it all, and P-Mann’s more of a jam band guy. So it all comes together. Without everybody it wouldn’t have the sound it has.”

Added Radach, “We kind of had established our sound based on everybody’s background being different. We sound like Motorhome because we are all so different as musicians that it has to be that way. We’re like, ‘What are we?’”

Damn good would be one way to describe the band. Just don’t call them funny guys.

by B. Dutch Seyfarth 

Here at the Colorado Music Buzz, we pride ourselves on scanning the horizon for the next thing in local music. Colorado is growing talented bands at a level never seen before. It’s fun as a music writer and music fan to watch the music industry excitement surrounding our state’s incredible talented bands and performers. 

Think about it: in the last 15 to 20 years, our fine state’s music community has produced “the String Cheese Incident”, Yonder Mountain String Band”, Big Head Todd and the Monsters”, “Leftover Salmon”, “Drag the River”, “Devotchka”, “16 Horsepower”, “Uncle Earl”, and of course recent success stories with “Rose Hill Drive”, “The Fray”, “Single File”, “Meese”, “Tickle Me Pink”, and “The Photo Atlas”. Heck, this short list doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of bands that are out there touring nationally and internationally garnering critical acclaim and fans. So, in the spirit of the new year and helping talented Colorado bands gain exposure, I’d like to add the band “Motorhome” to the list of bands to watch in 2008. 

“Motorhome” seemingly came out of nowhere in 2007 from Ft Collins although they were founded a few years prior in 2004. As of late 2007, they graduated to true headliner band status with a few high attendance Ft Collins Aggie Theatre shows. Of course, many people may take us to task on whether or not “Motorhome” is indeed a true country band. Well, here in Colorado, country music means a very different thing than most parts of the country. “Motorhome” brews it’s own special blend of country music with uniquely Colorado musical elements of bluegrass, folk, and even a bit of psychedelic jam rock. Add cigarette and whiskey soaked vocals to the mix and there you go, you have a decent idea of what kind of music “Motorhome” plays. 

“Motorhome” is comprised of Matt Thornton on guitar and vocals, Matt Mahern on guitar and vocals, Darren Radach on mandolin and numerous color instruments, Ben Prytherch on bass, and John Motley on drums. On the band’s latest self release, the band combines a novelty song called “Johnson’s Corner” about the famous truckstop along interstate 25, to more serious songs such as “Maria” which deals with the topic of veterans returning from war facing uncertainty back at home. Besides “Maria”, perhaps the strongest song on the latest album release is “Razor” which has lyrical content focusing on the time worn topic of a poisonous love affair. “Razor” swells atop a power ballad song structure that incorporates mandolin, crunchy guitars, biting vocals, and wave after wave of background vocals. 

Most amazing is that the band recorded their last album with incredibly lo-fi equipment including just a few mics and a computer with no outside professional assistance. When you get a chance to hear the quality of the recordings on the band’s Myspace website (especially “Maria” and “Razor”), I think music fans will be amazed at what the band accomplished.