A Ballad Is the Air That You Breathe - Colossal Yes

Widely known as the ‘drummer dude’ in Comets on Fire, Utrillo Kushner’s musical talents range far beyond the drunken-master-style wailing he unleashes on any given night with the Comets. Having tickled the ivories for close to a decade, Kushner assumes command of the keys in Colossal Yes and steps it up as a full-fledged piano man. Colossal Yes has existed in Kushner’s mind for years, heard only by a few close friends on home demos or at one of a handful of solo shows. Far from their humble beginnings, these simple piano chords and melodies have morphed and developed over the years, reaching maximum clarity on the debut ablum Acapulco Roughs. The risks are obvious, but the payoff is ever greater chooglin’. In fact, the two elements that should damn Colossal Yes to lite-rock purgatory - unabashed sincerity and piano-playing - miraculously works to the band's advantage. Somehow, when untainted musicianship meets earnest presentation something happens, and the results are damn good. Maybe it’s just the joy of creation. If you haven’t guessed yet, this is the ‘70s. The idealized, mythological ‘70s, where you’re not sick of great songs because play-it-to-death AOR stations haven’t been invented yet. Think Badfinger, Harry Nilsson, Procol Harum, The Band. The true essence of rock, stripped to its essentials by virtue of its vainglorious indulgences, existing forever as the absolute articulation of the form. Colossal Yes is the greatest affirmation of them all, bigger than big, and there’s no joke behind the smiling.

Utrillo Kushner - Keyboard & Piano, Eli Eckert - bass, Garett Goddard - drums *** Occasional assistance & inspiration from: Tim Tsuda - Bass & Tracy Sawyer - drums***

(Bio Taken From Colossal Yes' Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/colossalyesrock) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.