Archive Nights

by Tim Wenger

Ask most in Denver’s music community and they will confirm that the attractiveness of the Mile High City reaches far beyond mountain views and micro brews. While both of those are of plenty here and can each provide their own inspirations for songwriting, it is the network of support that brings bands in, pushing them onward, that makes our scene so strong. Some, such as Archive Nights, relocate here from music meccas like Nashville, Tennessee because they feel “it’s just so oversaturated there,” according to drummer Jake Boshart, the completing member of the crew who successfully auditioned upon the band’s formation. The way the group found Boshart strikes a chord similar to how they all ended up in Denver.

“They put up posters all over town, and had John Bonham’s picture on the poster,” Boshart says. “I was like, ‘I gotta at least find out who these guys are because they have great taste in drummers. I emailed them and got connected through that.”

After meeting as freshman at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Boshart and the rest of the crew composed of bassist Fruci, vocalist guitarist Ryan Gasaway and guitarist/vocalist Will Timbers started putting ideas together and eventually began gigging in Nashville. The scene there, however, is oversaturated and prevents many hard working, talented groups from gaining any traction. September of 2013 saw Archive Night’s relocation to Denver. “Everybody (there) is a musician, and there’s not even that big of a rock scene,” Boshart says. “There are unbelievable musicians everywhere, but we didn’t find much room to grow.”

“We finished up at (Vanderbilt University), did our four years there, and decided we had to keep going with the band,” Fruci says. “Will (Timbers) is from Denver originally. His family was in Europe and they had an open house. They said if we wanted to graduate and move here for a year and not pay any rent and just play music together, that we could. It was unreal.”

“Chris and I shared an all-pink room,” Boshart says. “There were giant stuffed animals everywhere. It was crazy.”

Without major bills to pay and plenty of time to focus on their music, the guys have been gigging around the city and have dropped an EP entitled Clock Ocean (see the review in CMB Vol. 8, issue 8, January 2014 at coloradomusicbuzz.com). “We’ve had unbelievable feedback,” says Boshart. The group has played at more clubs in Denver over the last year than they played their entire career in Nashville. “People just kind of ignore you there. We’re here now, and getting a lot of great feedback.”

Those in Denver may recognize Archive Nights for their unique four by four foot drum stand, affectionately dubbed “The Octagon. The band spins the platform using pegs pushed with their feet to rotate the drummer around in a circle. “We built it from $70 of equipment from Home Depot,” says Fruci. “We like to spice up our live show with some drum breakdowns.” But back before their days of fancy showmanship, the four young guys were not much more than college kids trying to figure out how to make a name for themselves in a busy music business.

At the point where they currently stand, Archive Nights gigs in Denver once every two months but spends most of their weekends in between on the road, performing around Colorado and neighboring states like Wyoming and Kansas. “We do these weekend mini-tours and we identify some location that is within a two hour radius and that’s our first stop, and then Saturday we’ll give ourselves (up to) an eight hour drive,” says Fruci.

In addition to the gigging, Archive Nights is recording nine songs to be released as three 3-song EP’s. We’re going to release them all at the same time,” says Fruci. “We’ve grouped the songs based on characteristic and story arc. Each EP will be a little bit different.”

Recording is finishing up now and the music is heading into post-production and the band is working towards a December release. They are funding the project through Kickstarter. Keep posted on the project and other happenings of the band at archivenights.com - Colorado Music Buzz Magazine

By Demiera Harris


Take a moment, before pressing play, to look at the picturesque cover of the Clock Ocean – EP by Archive Nights. Note the brightness of the moon, dominating and fluorescent, hovering in a midnight purple/blue atmosphere. See how the light reflects gently off of the waves of the ripples of the water. Appreciate the depth of color and attention to detail that went into such a simple picture. Do this, and you will have just brushed the surface of the music to come.

Now, go ahead and press play, and be greeted by “Clock Ocean.” The vocalist has impressive range, able to hit both deeply low and impressively high notes while only stepping in the middle briefly to get to the next sound. It doesn’t take long to start bobbing and rocking along with the fun, catchy and creative beat, particularly near the end.

The next song “Can You Be the Grey?” shows just how in sync each musician is with each other, and with the overall tone of each song. The drum creatively keeps the song moving without being boring; the bass handles the low end wonderfully, weaving in and out of the rhythm guitar parts, which complements the lead guitar; and on the top of it all are the nicely toned vocals that sweetly present the meaty lyrics.

“Goldmine” has a little touch of the surf rock vibe, almost reminiscent of the music in the Emerald City stage of the Sonic Adventure game. You’ll notice that “Why I” has a fascinating riff that pauses, wraps, layers and stacks all throughout the song.

The guitar blasts the door open on “Hanging To Dry” before the sultry vocals even make an appearance. I can’t help but envision myself belting out every high, low, and sharp note at the top of my lungs, along with the careful plucking of my signature air guitar, and the rhythmic shaking of my head to go along with the drums. This is the kind of song, with all the right flavors, that should play on radios throughout the nation.

“Help Within” ends the album strongly with a melody comprised of a double step guitar beat followed by a cascading slew of notes that may make YOUR fingers sore. Each part adds its own unique punctuation to make each bar different from the one preceding it, though the rhythm is rather complex in itself.

Note, I listened to the album on Soundcloud, and the order was a bit different than on Bandcamp. That said, every single song was absolutely riveting from opening to conclusion, and I often found myself wanting to listen over and over again just for the freedom to focus on different parts each time through. This was an album I did not want to end! I sincerely hope these guys find their way to the radio and become known in households around, as the sort of musicianship and creativity contained within these five songs is hard to come by. Fantastic work! - The Equal Ground