Artist description Battery Park is a dynamic combination of sound and emotion. It was said once that if Pearl Jam had started in Boulder, CO, they would be Battery Park.

Music Style BP grooves, hits hard, and cools you down all at the same time.

Musical Influences Led Zeppelin, Live, Fuel, Dave Mathews Band and The Blues in general.

Similar Artists Live, Train, Matchbox 20, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews

Artist History It was the summer of 2000 in Denver, Colorado and Battery Park was just 4 guys jamming in j's basement bedroom. He turned his bed up against the wall to make room for Chaz's drum kit and slept on his couch for most of that summer. They moved furniture to make room for all the other equipment and tried to keep the noise down so the police wouldn't pay any visits. "I remember (keeping the noise down) wasn't too difficult on my part ", recalls j. "I think I was singing through a pair of 10 watt turntable speakers at that point." Some investments were made in equipment upgrades, but after only playing a couple of acoustic shows together, the lead guitarist and bassist parted ways with the band to go back to school, leaving j (vocals) and Chaz (drums) to either find a new group of players or just quit. The latter wasn't an option. j posted an ad on the web for a lead guitarist. At the same time, Kevin Linderman posted an ad looking for a new project. They talked and Kevin went over to jam one evening in August of 2000. From the opening chord, they all knew it was a match. The progressions for "Should" and "Coming Home" were written in the first two sessions. "It's pretty strange", said Kevin and j. of the formation of the new group. "After 3 years of living in the same place, it took the World Wide Web to meet somebody who literally lived 3 blocks away." Things quickly grew from there. Kevin knew of Stone (percussion, vocals) through mutual friends and asked him to sit in on a session. The addition was perfect and they promptly asked him to stay. The band found a bass player to fill in and played their first gig in October, 2000 at a "New Band Showcase" at the Soiled Dove. When the practice space was moved to Kevin's larger basement, they were introduced to Damon Brown, a friend of Stone's, who was a fantastic sound engineer. Damon immediately stepped in and began helping the band with everything from sound to equipment to marketing. During the course of the next year, the band gained a lot of steam and achieved a good deal of success. Their song, "Tell Me" was featured on a segment of VH1's ROCK ACROSS AMERICA in June of 2001. Later that summer, they won the Jim Beam Unsigned Band Northwest Regional competition at the Hard Rock Café (Denver) and competed at the National Finals with only 4 other bands from the entire U.S. at the Gothic Theatre. They continued to gain a reputation as a great live act and played several high profile benefit shows, played at the C.H.U.N. People's Fair, and recorded and released an EP called "Five Songs". In the fall of 2001, they were again in search of a bass player, so Stone introduced the band to another friend of his and he was asked to sit in on bass for a couple rehearsals. The band was immediately impressed and felt that this was THE guy. Skye was asked to stay on permanently after the first practice. Kevin had meet Todd (Keyboards, vocals) through a musician finding agency and he sat in on keys. The sound from the new lineup blew the guys away and Todd accepted the position. It was official. Battery Park had all the pieces in place. Battery Park is currently playing out as often as they can and enjoying the music that they create together. "My favorite time is being on stage, surrounded by the rest of the guys, and watching the audience react to the things we're doing together…it's amazing." says j.

Group Members j.Brown - vocals, guitar Kevin Linderman - guitars Chaz Smith - Drums Todd Davis - Keyboards, Vocals Skye Perry - Bass

Albums Scattered Pictures

Press Reviews Battery Park Scattered Pictures (ICU) BY JASON HELLER An indie-rock-scarred hipster's first reaction to this disc might be one of disgust. Clean, processed guitars? A singer in tune? Swelling anthems that would sound at home on an SUV commercial? Yes, all of this -- and not an ironically dissonant note in sight. Battery Park's music falls somewhere between every mainstream band you've been conditioned to loathe: Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Ben Harper. Dig a little deeper, though, and it becomes apparent that not only are these guys sincere, but they actually know what they're doing. Tastefully arranged keyboards and percussion augment the typical guitar/ bass/drums format, and the tunes build up, climax and resolve like, well, like songs are supposed to. Perhaps that's the point: Rather than concepts or postures, Battery Park plays songs, maybe even better than most of their radio-worn influences do. If this sounds up your alley, by all means, rush right out and buy Scattered Pictures. (Better yet, see the band when it appears Friday, December 6, at the Soiled Dove.) If you're too cool for mainstream rock, make it a guilty pleasure. westword.com | originally published: December 5, 2002

Location Denver, Colorado - USA

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