Featuring Members of The Subdudes and The Pura Fe Trio, Young Ancients Look to Make Name in FoCo and Beyond

by Tim Wenger

In the music world, the word ‘incestuous’ is more of a good thing than bad, and is used frequently to describe the scene here in Colorado. Young Ancients, a new super group from Fort Collins, fits the term perfectly- John Magnie and Steve Amedee of internationally-acclaimed The Subdudes, and Cary Morin of The Atoll and The Pura Fe Trio have come together to slide a new tile into the context of Colorado blues.

All three of the guys have musical roots around the country, but have been settled in Fort Collins since the late eighties. “Me and Steve moved up to Fort Collins in 1987 with The Subdudes from New Orleans,” says Magnie. “Cary was either there right then or very soon. We’ve played music together and known each other for a long, long time but this is the first time we’ve banded up together.”

Things came together quickly and efficiently for the group, and they began arranging songs in a manner that they liked almost immediately. “It was a whim of fancy, of John, to get together,” says Amedee. “We started working on some tunes, mostly Cary had a bunch of tunes he had written, and we had this great instant chemistry.”

The band is making the rounds up in Northern Colorado, having already hit Avogadro’s Number, Oskar Blues Brewery, The Blind Pig, and other spots with The Swing Station in Fort Collins coming up on December 14. They will also be gigging down in New Orleans and Austin in February, with plans to hit it hard in the spring and beyond back here in Colorado.

As far as an album, the guys have been putting down what they write as it comes and hope to have a recording for their fans as early as March. They have been taking care of the recording themselves, in Amedee’s Knucklehead Studio in his home.

Stylistically, Young Ancients are a step beyond what the members have done in the past. Morin brings a finger-guitar style to the band to complement the blues and Americana approach, and Magnie and Amedee are pushing the envelope on their own talents and approaching this band from a new angle. “We’re always trying to make something new,” says Amedee. “These guys are artists here, and they are always pushing the envelope. As far as percussion, I’m always trying to look for different ways to make it happen. The feel is totally different with what we’re doing now. I’m not going to play the tambourine like I was in The Subdudes.”

“Steve and I love to do harmonies and be a rhythm section too,” says Magnie. “That’s why it works really good with Cary, because he is writing and singing and playing great stuff, and we can implement that and make it work together.”

“I’m excited to play this whole new set of music that just sprang up in the last few months,” says Amedee. “As a musician, you always love to have something new.”

Online: reverbnation.com/youngancients

Tags: the subdudes, Young Ancients, The Pura Fe Trio

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