Demand Live Music
wordplay: Adam Anderson

It’s been quite a year for Little Hercules. Having long since conquered the Vail Valley with their brand of high altitude funk, the group has taken on new life, creating some of their best work to date and spreading their music far beyond the reaches of Colorado, thus ascending onto the fast track of national acclaim. Both creatively and cosmically enveloped in the art of momentum that is American music, these four guys from Minturn stand on the cusp of becoming Colorado’s next great musical movement. Funk me!!!

Atop the most prolific of affirmations to the Little Hercules camp is a recent encounter with a lost legend. During a two week, twelve date conquest of Hawaii earlier this summer, the band was approached during a benefit for a local radio station by the original drummer of The Grateful Dead, Bill Kruetzman, who asked to sit in with them. After a brief equipment repositioning break, Herc ripped through the set of a lifetime accompanied by the percussive backbone of the original jam band (and yes, they did record it). Grammy winners and other notables came out of the woodwork to plug their guitars into the benefit concert that was rapidly becoming the talk of the islands. As if the entire afternoon weren’t enough, later that evening at another gig, Bill Kruetzman returned with an urge he hadn’t felt since shortly after the death of Jerry Garcia…he wanted to play more music. They jammed through Dead tunes as well as Little Herc tunes, playing the night away as their sound and their bond grew simultaneously. They were later invited to Kruetzman’s villa, The House of Spirits, where they were brought further into The Grateful fold with more live music. Surrealism set in as a blown speaker was replaced by one from the original Wall of Sound. The pure magic of the experience connected the band, crew, fans, and legend on a higher plane of understanding and friendship, creating a bond that each will hold dear for a lifetime.

It was not only the verbal and underlying confirmation of Little Hercules’ ability which inspired them. The fact that Bill hadn’t played in years and was now calling old friends and rekindling his musical presence, the fact that they inspired him, stands as a testament to their future. Though forgotten by the rest of the world, the Little Hercules family celebrated the Fortieth Anniversary of the Summer of Love with some of its original alumni.

If you have not seen Little Hercules perform, you must go check them out. They will be playing periodically at Quixote’s and Dulcinea’s throughout September and October, between after party shows spanning the entire nationwide Widespread Panic Fall Tour. If you find yourself in any of those cities, stop in and show some Colorado love.

September 21st @ Quixote’s

LittleHercules.net