Wasabi                                                                                         
Live at The Fox Theatre, Boulder, Colorado

While most of us don't know what it's like to grow up a stone's throw from the Colorado Rockies, the Fort-Collins based band, Wasabi, can croon all day long about the alpine life.  This mountain-bred sextet feels right at home in the intimate venues around their home-state, where they fuse the far-out sounds of psychaedlic rock with rootsy blues, earthy folk and a taste for sprawling jam sessions.

Blind all his life, singer and keyboardist, Brian Collins commands a special stage presence in the live performance, as he channels his handicap into a sort of "extra-sensory projection" that takes the shape of sharp, soulful lyrics and powerful, booming vocals.  Truly though, it's the collective presence of the  band, harmonizing and improvising, and coming together with a refreshing purity of purpose that resonates with their growing fanbase  (Interesting sidenote- Wasabi cites "an insatiable desire t0 create beautiful music" as the inspiration behind their inception). 

 While it's currently hard to catch Wasabi live outside of Colorado, the band has been generous enough to provide us with some footage of their live performances.  Of course, many Relix readers may already be aquainted with them, as they have been featured in the mag. and on the website since winning the JamOff competition a few months ago.  

  "Grew Up in the Mountains" is the first track off the band's 2007 release, "The Border"

  "Eclipse" can be found on the band's 2004 debut release, aptly titled "Greetings"