Senior student coordinator Dave Moody says both weekends of Rocky Mountain Rhythm at Colorado State University Pueblo were hugely successful.
RMR is an opportunity for local bands to showcase their music/sound here in Pueblo. The concerts were held at the Buell Communications Center.
The second and final night of this spring’s program happened on Feb. 22. Colorado-based band Tensas and The Mourners closed out the night after the opening act at which the CSU Pueblo Guitar Ensemble performed.
Tensas and The Mourners are a hard-roots, rock-style band from Colorado that features members Desha Campbell, Aloener and Tensas.
“The kind of music that we play is like the White Stripes, as we like to blend a lot of genres of rock, while using multiple instruments,” Tensas said.
The group started as a duo before they transitioned about six months to one year ago when they added new member Aloener to the group, who was 16 years old at the time.
“When I was added to the group, they wanted me to play bass guitar, which isn’t normally my main instrument, so I had no clue what I was doing in my first performance. So that was a bit scary. However, it was still a fun experience,” Aloener said.
The group is also known for its stage presence and the variety of musical instruments that they swap out on stage during their performances. For example, Tensas sings lead vocals and plays the electric guitar, the mandolin and the harmonica. Campbell plays the trumpet, drums, bass guitar, piano and sings vocals. Aloener plays the bass guitar, electric guitar, drums, and sings vocals.
The group played a couple of songs that Campbell and Tensas wrote together. One of those songs is titled: ‘Carnival.’
“When we wrote ‘Carnival,’ we were inspired by all of the messed-up things in the world, good and bad, and Tensas wrote all of the lyrics for the song,” Campbell said.
“When I wrote the lyrics for the song, I was north of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit. And with everything that I have seen in my adulthood. I have noticed the world is like this vicious circle, as it is like being on the Ferris wheel at the carnival. So we wanted to give this song this spooky carnival rock vibe,” said Tensas.
The group also played the first song that they wrote together as a trio, called: ‘Little Bird.’
“I think this song is the most special song that we have written as a group because of how the song came about. We were just jamming after rehearsals one day and as a group we really liked the song that we were playing, so we decided to record it and release it this past December,” Aloener said.
After their performance, the band sold merchandise in the lobby of the BCC for fans to check out, which included T-shirts and stickers with the band’s logo on them.
Tensas and the Mourners has upcoming performances on March 7 at Analogue Books and Records, where Aloener will have her solo debut as she will be the opening act for the band. They also will be performing at the Steel City Music showcase, located downtown on Union Avenue on April 12-13.
“I am really excited about my first solo debut because I will be performing a new song that I put out called: ‘24.’ I also have friends coming to support me, so that is fun but also nerve-wracking because as an artist I want people to hopefully like not only my solo music but my band’s music as well.
“My new song is called ‘24’ because it is about my past relationship and how it went down. The meaning behind the song is that love shouldn’t be hidden, and it shouldn’t be a crime because that number specifically is close to the day that my past relationship and I got together and separated,” Aloener said.
