Shawn Cupulo and his Band “Hotfoot” are American Music
by Evan Hundhausen
Hotfoot‘s music is entrenched in classic blues, modern rock/blues, Chicago blues, folk, Americana, and country.
The band was originally founded in 2002 by Shawn Cupolo, the lead guitarist. The band has played throughout Colorado in a variety of line-ups appearing at some of the Front Range’s best venues, including The Fox Theater, The Bluebird Theater, and Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom.
The band features Tom Pakele on vocals, harmonica and guitar, Shawn Cupolo on guitar and vocals, Linda Flinkman on keyboards, Jim Sullivan on bass, and Jason Pawlina on drums.
CMB caught up with Shawn and asked him a few questions about his band Hotfoot.
CMB: You started this band in 2002? Tell me how it all began….
SC: I wanted to start a blues-based band that could be a “working band” and develop original music. We started out as a power trio with guitar, bass & drums, rehearsing in of the Wash Park neighborhood in Denver. The earlier line-up definitely had more of a psychedelic blues-rock sound. I’m the only “original” member left. After the original lead singer, Brian Heck, moved to the East Coast, our current singer Tom Pakele joined the band. He’s a great blues singer and wails on harmonica, so that helped bring the band’s sound into deeper blues territory.
CMB: So sometimes you have duo shows and sometimes a full band. Tell us what those two experiences are like. What do you like about each one?
SC: I love rockin’ out with the full band, and there’s a lot more you can explore in song dynamics and arrangements – and it’s more conducive to people getting up and dancing. But I also really enjoy playing duo gigs. We can dig into a deeper country blues sound with the duo. Tom is such a great harmonica player, we can do a real stripped-down sound and try to channel those old blues artists who we really love.
CMB: You refer to Hotfoot as “The current incarnation”. What is the most fun thing about being with your current bandmates?
SC: Playing music with my close friends. The current line-up (in addition to Tom and I) includes Linda Flinkman on keyboards and Jason Pawlina and drums, and 2 great bass players that we alternate, Jim Sullivan and Christopher Smith. All of these people are good friends and fantastic musicians. Jason and Linda have been part of the Hotfoot line-up for many years.
CMB: What kind of challenges have you gone through trying to keep a band together for 12 years? Would you say the band is better than ever now?
SC: Like anything in life, there are ups and downs. Keeping the business side of things going can get tricky, and juggling personalities and schedules can be too. After awhile, though, what matters is making the best music you can and doing it with people you enjoy being around. The current incarnation is probably closest to my original vision, musically speaking, than it’s ever been before – a band that can rock out, but also pull back dynamically and get a real authentic Chicago blues sound when we want to.
CMB: Your lead guitar playing has reminded me of Jimi Hendrix at times. Who have been your influences for guitar?
SC: Hendrix is certainly at the top of the list, along with the other great blues-rockers like Stevie Ray Vaughan. But in recent years, my style has evolved to be more economical and focused. Many of the great blues guitarists like Buddy Guy, Freddie King, T-Bone Walker and BB King are some of my biggest influences. In recent years, I’ve also really appreciated Robbie Robertson’s playing, especially the sparse way he phrased his lead work in The Band.
CMB: Speak about the music you have available on reverbnation, Some of these were recorded live at the Boulder Outlook. That’s a great spot for blues. What are some highlights of your experiences there?
SC: We only have live music up on that site, because we actually haven’t released a proper album yet. The Boulder Outlook has been a great venue that is unfortunately closing soon. Apart from a couple places in Denver, it’s one of the few real blues venues in Colorado, and they featured both national and local blues acts. I grew up on the East Coast going to a similar kind of venue (The Stanhope House) almost every weekend, and that’s where I learned the most about playing blues guitar. The folks at the Outlook were really about perpetuating the legacy of true blues music, and to be booked there was an honor. Our live tracks we have up on Reverb Nation were recorded at a show there early last year.
CMB: Are you a fan of any other blues acts playing in Colorado right now? Who impresses you?
SC: One of my favorite local blues guitarists is Randall Dubis, who I’m also honored to call a friend. There’s also a local guitarist Felonius Smith who’s a killer Delta/country blues style player. But there are tons of local artists and bands of all genres that I love – Danny Shafer, Gasoline Lollipops, Crowboy and Laughing Hands are some of my favorites.
CMB: On any given night what are your top five songs that rock the crowd?
SC: Well, the other night we had the dance floor movin’ with one of our newer original songs, “Redbone Kelly,” a slide guitar based tune with a cool groove. There are some older tunes that always went over well, “Oscar’s Lament” and “Another Mile,” but we haven’t worked them into the current line-up yet. There’s always a few great covers that get people moving, including our version of Dylan’s “Highway 61” (which we do boogie-style, influenced by Johnny Winter), and Muddy Waters’ tune “Sugar Sweet,” which we funk up.
CMB: What music websites do you promote your music on? Which website do you think is best for promoting your band and why?
SC: Most of our original stuff isn’t recorded beyond demo form yet, so we don’t really have that out there. Reverb Nation is ok for having stuff available for people to listen to and for a show calendar, and of course Facebook is necessary for getting the word out about gigs.
CMB: What other bands and side projects are you and your band members involved in?
SC: In the past, I’ve done some gigging and recording with other Colorado bands, including Folk Yeah!, The Broken Everly’s and Savage Patty, and some side work with many others, but Hotfoot has always been my main thing. Our bass player Chris has a great band called Crowboy (which is his main project), and Jason and Linda are involved with a project called Sandflower, which features the music of a great Colorado songwriter named Jeffrey Hill.
CMB: What do you do for a day job?
SC: I work at an acoustic music shop, HB Woodsongs in Boulder, and teach independently.
CMB: What can people look forward to from Hotfoot in the coming months?
SC: Right now we’re developing newer original material that I think will really play to the strengths of the current line-up. I plan on getting these new songs finished, recorded and then released sometime early next year.
http://www.reverbnation.com/hotfoot
https://www.facebook.com/hotfootmusic
https://myspace.com/hotfootmusic
Live: Upslope Brewing Company in Boulder November 13th at 6:00pm, Liquid Mechanics Brewing Company in LafayetteJanuary 24 and February 7th 2015 at 8:00pm
About the author :
Evan Hundhausen received his MFA in creative writing from Naropa University in 2001. He’s published poetry in “The Asheville Poetry Review” and has won awards in prose, screen and playwriting, journalism and poetry. He’s written about music for DMCwolrld.net and Colorado Music Buzz. Currently you can visit his blog at djcola.net.
Category: Buzzworthy
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