American Grandma with Girlpool at Lost Lake
Local Denver band American Grandma played alongside Girlpool and packed the intimate venue Lost Lake Lounge on Wednesday, October 23. The night at Lost Lake was a unique occasion, as both American Grandma and Girlpool are led by trans men.
American Grandma is a local band from Denver, headed by Jensen Keller (he/him), with Caden Marchese, and Bryce Slavick. They released their first album, girlcult, in 2016, and on December 6, 2109, American Grandma will be releasing a new album called Superdog. Keller has been making music since high school, but this will be the third full length album released by the band in its current form.
American Grandma has been a mainstay of the Denver and Boulder DIY scene, touring and collaborating with other bands in the area. The band is a true testament to the music community in Denver and art born from collaboration. Keller and Marchese are also in the band Tenants; the pair met as students at the University of Colorado Boulder, where they were a part of the label First Base Tapes. First Base Tapes released music by Scotch Grins, which is how they met their soon-to-be new drummer, Bryce Slavick.
Keller emphasized the importance of the community and shows in the area, and said “Being able to play with and get exposed to people has been really helpful.”
Keller also mentioned Madeline Johnston of Midwife, and that she “has become a really close friend and collaborator of us three in American Grandma.” Additionally credited are performance venues like Seventh Circle, one of the first places Keller performed. American Grandma and Midwife toured together last summer, and Johnston also worked with the band for two songs on the upcoming record.
American Grandma has played with prominent bands from outside the Denver area like Jay Som, Soccer Mommy, and Chastity Belt.
Artists like Girlpool and Alex G have brought more attention to DIY music, and they have been gaining popularity, something Keller is excited about. “I think people now are kind of opening their minds to different styles,” Keller said. “People crave artists who are just being themselves and being authentic. And that’s always going to be admirable.”
Right now, Keller is looking forward to their album release on December 6 and the release show on December 7 at Rhinoceropolis. American Grandma will also be putting out an album of unreleased songs which Keller calls an album of “old rarities.”
Since American Grandma’s last album, “it’s been over two years, which feels really long,” Keller says, “but a lot has happened.” Since their last release, the band has toured twice, and Keller has started hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
In order to navigate his changing vocals, the band was “going to put off vocals as long as possible just so that it could sound as true and as far in the future as possible,” Keller said. He went on, “The songs included in this album span a time before I started HRT. It’s in the songs by nature even if it’s not said specifically.”
The new Girlpool album, What Chaos is Imaginary, is also the first album released by the duo since Avery Tucker, guitarist and vocalist, transitioned and began taking testosterone. The band is touring to promote the album, with some shows seeing them as openers to King Princess.
For Keller, seeing Tucker come out as trans was heartening. It’s been over a year since Tucker came out, and now Keller gets to open for him. “He was the first person who I was aware of coming from that same position as me. It was really cool to see,” he said.
American Grandma was wonderful at Lost Lake Lounge, once again, a spot where they opened for Chastity Belt in the past. Keller’s vocals rang through, and his bellows struck at the climax of the band’s songs. The set had strong performances from Marchese and Slavick drums punctuated the set.
Girlpool took the stage and found a primed and eager crowd after openers Bellhoss and American Grandma. They played a mix of songs from their newest release as well as their previous album, Powerplant. Their new songs meshed well into their set, and new songs like What Chaos is Imaginary offered an evolved sound of Girlpool’s established aesthetics.
The pair also bantered with the crowd; after joking about astrology and Virgos, Harmony Tividad spontaneously played Come As You Are by Nirvana. The audience laughed while Tucker started improvising lyrics to the well-known grunge song.
Unfortunately, Girlpool ended their set early. After demands for an encore, Tividad returned and said that she was unwell. She had the flu and felt like she was going to pass out, and the group decided to cut the set short.
The night was full of great performances from queer artists, and it was really wonderful to see two bands with trans men as vocalists. For more Girlpool, you can listen to their new album. For more American Grandma, stay tuned for their new album Superdog on December 6 and their release show at Rhinoceropolis on December 7.
*Photo of Girlpool by Arjuna
