Colorado's Subdudes to rock out for KDNK

By Gregory Conroy
Carbondale Correspondent
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
April 11, 2008

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Carbondale, Colorado — Certainly not to be subdued on this night, the Fort Collins quintet “The Subdudes” will be coming to Carbondale to play a concert honoring community radio station KDNK’s 25th anniversary tonight.

The on-again, off-again band that started out playing a perceived one-time performance in New Orleans back in 1987 certainly has come a long way with their sound. They will be bringing their southern-rock, bluesy style of music to Carbondale’s new community recreation center for KDNK’s birthday bash.

Doors open at 7:30 p.m., with openers Frank Martin and Randy Utterback taking the stage at 8 p.m. and The Subdudes following at 9 p.m.

KDNK Development Director Amy Kimberly said she’s very excited about the performance, and said it is one to not be missed.

“I’ve been promoting them [The Subdudes] for a long time, so they seemed like the perfect fit for KDNK,” Kimberly said.

Having once owned a nightclub in Telluride where The Subdudes would often come and play, she developed a relationship with the band that has proven to be long-lasting.

“We’ve played them a lot on KDNK,” said Kimberly. Ever since the beginning of her friendship with the band, Kimberly said that she has observed how local community radio has appeared to help the band’s career.

Kimberly said that the band has developed quite an underground following as a result, not just in Carbondale, but all over Colorado and around the country.

According to the band’s Web site, in the early goings of discovering their sound, the band originally received complaints for their style of music being slightly too loud for the relatively small venues that they were playing. As a result, the band decided to take a different approach to their performance and play their melodic acoustic music a little more “subdued.”

Thus, the band found its name.

A band whose history spans three decades and reads like a Shakespearean epic full of break-ups, heartache, reunions, ousting and love. Today, the group is going stronger than ever, cranking out new and original tunes and has really sown their roots and established their place in Colorado.

With Tommy Malone singing lead vocals and playing guitar, Steve Amedee on tambourine, drums and electric mandolin, Tim Cook laying down the bass, John Magnie tickling the ivory and the accordion, and Jimmy Mesa on bass and guitar, it’s easy to see how the band’s adeptness at playing multiple instruments creates the full sound that they are known for.

“There’s a genuine spirit of creativity,” says Malone. “It’s fun, it’s exciting. It’s truly fun. We enjoy making music together, we’re enjoying writing together. It’s fun as hell to me.”

Today, The Subdudes continue to tour, harder than ever, and are winning over a new generation of fans who missed out the first time.

During the performance, resident artist Majid Kahhak will be doing a live painting of the band, and audience members are welcome to watch the creation as it unfolds.

Being a “performance artist,” as Kahhak explains, he said that his paintings aim at capturing the essence of the band and the music being played in their look and design.

Kahhak said that live performance painting usually takes only 20 minutes, more or less, depending on the scale. A silent auction for the painting will take place following tonight’s celebration with proceeds going to support the radio station and its various programs.