kxci: : Chango Malo 2000-Present / Ryanhood 2003-Present (2005-08-30)

TUCSON MUSIC SCENE

Chango Malo 2000-Present / Ryanhood 2003-Present

Two local bands that have stood head and shoulders above the rest in making a name for themselves in the Old Pueblo by Don Jennings, host of KXCI's Locals Only In Tucson's incestuous music scene, populated by many well-established musicians that have performed for two decades or more, it might seem difficult for a young band to even get their foot in the door, much less attract a large following. But there are two local bands that have stood head and shoulders above the rest in making a name for themselves in the Old Pueblo.

In 2000, Jericho Davidson, Ian Philabaum, and Quin Davis emerged from the ashes of their high school project Poot to form Chango Malo. They rounded out their new sextet with three more high school pals, Justin Lillie, Ryan Couch, and David Clark, and began bashing out the fusion of high-energy punk, funk, and rock that has subsequently drawn huge crowds at numerous venues around town. Not content to just promote their own music, members of Chango Malo formed their own record label, Stunning Tonto Records, in order to promote a broad cross-section of the Tucson music scene. In addition to Chango Malo's own releases, which to date consists of 2 EPs and a full-length album, the Stunning Tonto label has put out a compilation album of 16 Tucson bands, as well as CDs by psychobilly band Left For Dead, melodic rockers Innisfail, punk rockers Scratching the Surface, and wall-of-sound shoegazers Manifold. Time will only tell what the motivated members of Chango Malo will unleash on us next, as they hunker down to craft their next studio album.

At the other end of the musical spectrum, but certainly no less ambitious, is the acoustic-pop duo Ryanhood. Ryan Green and Cameron Hood were, at one time, rivals in their respective high school bands, but in 2003 Cameron left behind his band EasyCo to join Ryan in Boston where Ryan had been performing in his band Illuminada while attending the Berklee College of Music. In the ensuing two years, Ryanhood has released two studio albums showcasing their hook-laden acoustic pop melodies while criss-crossing the country performing mainly at colleges and other all-ages venues, selling thousands of copies of their albums in the process. This fall, the duo opens a handful of dates for Jason Mraz in the midst of more nationwide touring, while also releasing a new live album resulting from a Locals Only performance right here on KXCI.

Labor Day weekend finds Ryanhood back in the Old Pueblo when they will be performing along with Chango Malo and 40 other Tucson bands from the past 2 decades at the Club Congress 20th Anniversary Event. 20 former Tucson bands will be reuniting specifically for the event, which takes placed on 3 stages over 3 nights. More information is available HERE