The Oak Creek Band- “We Ain’t No Bluegrass Band”

by Charlie Sullivan

The Oak Creek Band has been flying under the radar since forming in September of 2009. The outfit has been performing at various local venues and has been on the road touring, most recently returning from a run of shows in Arizona. “We played at the Glendale, AZ Glitter and Glow Festival,” relates Steve Rogers (Bass). “They have light displays all over downtown and hot air balloons all over the place. The crowds were great, it was great exposure for the band.” Adds Paul Morris (guitar, stage piano), “Yeah, we sold out of our first run of CDs while we were out this time. We had to order more when we got back in town. It was a great trip.” I’m also going add that the band played at the Daytime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles this past year. Come on Denver, this band’s sitting in your back yard and the masses in L.A. are already on board with them? Filling out the rotation are Daniel Watters (guitar, vocals), Jenna Watters (vocals, acoustic guitar), Carl Sorensen (drums), and Ryan Ebarb (organ).

Daniel and Jenna put the act together when they moved to Denver from Sedona, AZ, both having grown up in the Oak Creek Canyon area, hence the band name. Once entrenched in the local music scene they began crafting their brand of what we’ll call ‘indie throwback roots rock.’ “I’ve heard people describe us as folkie and we do get asked to play at bluegrass festivals, but that’s not what we’re doing,” explains Daniel. Adds Jenna, “We’re not a Bluegrass band, we’re more of a rock-n-roll show live, but we’re not a sex and drugs and rock-n-roll band. We want to portray a positive persona as a group. We want people to have a good time, get up and get moving, enjoy the show, and dance a little.”

The crew has been working in the studio trying to wrap up their next release Finger Prints, which they hope to have available in March or April. “The title cut is “2012 (Quetzalcoatl).” I think people are going to like it, but I think the one they’re going to go for is “Don’t Be Fooled.” The band does promise a more refined, cohesive, sound with this release. If you haven’t heard the bands self-titled six-song debut, give it a spin. It showcases the band’s talents nicely, and gives you a nice feel for what this outfit’s potential is.

With Daniel and Jenna from out of state and Paul moving in from L.A., I asked the band, Why the Denver area to get an act together?  “Denver has some of the most beautiful venues,” Paul said. “The people in Denver really like good music. It wasn’t a hard decision.”

We were talking about future releases and other projects, and Rogers communicated a vision he has, “I picture people being able to go to our website and drag and drop songs to burn a CD. They can then pick the artwork they want for the cover. You’d be customizing your own CD. You could come back and do it again with different songs. I think it would be pretty cool.” Now that’s what I call thinking outside the box. Daniel and Jenna are also working on a project that will be called, Denver Unplugged, which will be starting up at Illegal Pete’s in Denver. The basic idea is for any band to perform their songs stripped down and talk about the songs. “I think it’s all about the song writing,” relays Daniel. “You should be able to strip it down and perform it at its basic level and it’ll still sound good.” Keep your calendars open on the first Thursday of every month, sounds like they might be on to something. Keep your eyes and ears open for upcoming show dates and the soon to be released, Finger Prints.

“All music is folk music. I ain’t never heard a horse sing a song.” ~Louis Armstrong

Photography courtesy of Max Keopke

Tags: bluegrass, oak creek band, glitter and glow festival, steve rogers, paul morris, daniel watters, jenna watters, carl sorensen, ryan ebarb, finger prints, quetzalcoatl

Category: The Rock